The current population of the Republic of Korea is 51,627,229 as of Tuesday, April 14, 2026, based on Worldometer's elaboration of the latest United Nations data¹.
South Korea 2026 population is estimated at 51,600,388 people at mid-year.
South Korea population is equivalent to 0.62% of the total world population.
South Korea ranks number 31 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population.
The population density in South Korea is 531 per Km² (1,375 people per mi²).
The total land area is 97,230 Km² (37,541 sq. miles).
82.79% of the population is urban (42,721,159 people in 2026)
The median age in South Korea is 46.2 years.

1. U.N. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs - Population Division. World Population Prospects: The 2024 Revision. (Medium-fertility variant).

Population of South Korea (2026 and historical)

Year	Population	Yearly % Change	Yearly Change	Migrants (net)	Median Age	Fertility Rate	Density (P/Km²)	Urban Pop %	Urban Population	Country's Share of World Pop	World Population	South Korea Global Rank
2026	51,600,388	−0.13%	−66,641	62,644	46.2	0.76	531	82.8%	42,721,159	0.62%	8,300,678,395	31
2025	51,667,029	−0.1%	−50,561	65,731	45.6	0.75	531	82.4%	42,587,468	0.63%	8,231,613,070	29
2024	51,717,590	−0.06%	−31,149	75,963	45	0.73	532	82.1%	42,454,846	0.63%	8,161,972,572	29
2023	51,748,739	−0.07%	−33,773	87,800	44.5	0.72	532	81.8%	42,323,569	0.64%	8,091,734,930	29
2022	51,782,512	−0.07%	−37,985	87,800	43.9	0.78	533	81.5%	42,193,408	0.65%	8,021,407,192	28
2020	51,858,482	0.34%	174,914	112,631	42.8	0.81	533	80.9%	41,934,110	0.66%	7,887,001,292	28
2015	50,983,912	0.89%	442,916	276,427	39.9	1.2	524	81%	41,301,851	0.68%	7,470,491,872	27
2010	48,769,332	0.38%	183,538	52,042	36.6	1.23	502	83.3%	40,601,614	0.69%	7,021,732,148	26
2005	47,851,644	0.46%	216,997	−47,821	33.6	1.11	492	82.8%	39,622,010	0.73%	6,586,970,132	25
2000	46,766,661	0.61%	279,647	−84,960	30.7	1.47	481	80.7%	37,729,427	0.76%	6,171,702,993	26
1995	45,368,425	0.58%	257,400	−208,491	28.3	1.65	467	78.1%	35,441,319	0.79%	5,758,878,982	24
1990	44,081,427	1.39%	586,493	79,294	25.8	1.6	453	71.9%	31,696,103	0.83%	5,327,803,110	24
1985	41,148,963	1.53%	601,571	97,949	23.3	1.71	423	64.3%	26,474,831	0.85%	4,868,943,465	23
1980	38,141,107	1.23%	453,073	−148,341	20.9	2.73	392	56.6%	21,582,191	0.86%	4,447,606,236	23
1975	35,875,743	1.97%	666,709	−52,332	18.8	3.31	369	47.4%	16,997,155	0.88%	4,070,735,277	22
1970	32,542,197	2.13%	651,572	−27,999	17.7	4.46	335	40.3%	13,110,502	0.88%	3,694,683,794	24
1965	29,284,338	2.32%	633,792	−146,386	17.5	4.89	301	31.9%	9,351,713	0.88%	3,334,533,703	24
1960	26,115,379	3.37%	798,055	47,245	18.3	5.99	269	26.9%	7,022,058	0.87%	3,015,470,894	24
1955	22,125,103	2.29%	473,556	151,123	17.9	6.17	228	23.7%	5,251,885	0.81%	2,740,213,792	24

Source: Worldometer (www.Worldometers.info)

Elaboration of data by United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects: The 2024 Revision. (Medium-fertility variant).

South Korea Population Forecast

Year	Population	Yearly % Change	Yearly Change	Migrants (net)	Median Age	Fertility Rate	Density (P/Km²)	Urban Pop %	Urban Population	Country's Share of World Pop	World Population	South Korea Global Rank
2030	51,188,584	−0.19%	−95,689	47,022	48.5	0.81	526	84.5%	43,241,435	0.60%	8,569,124,911	32
2035	50,300,733	−0.35%	−177,570	31,740	51.2	0.88	517	87%	43,761,621	0.57%	8,885,210,181	36
2040	48,948,687	−0.54%	−270,409	19,948	53.3	0.93	503	89.9%	44,014,618	0.53%	9,177,190,203	37
2045	47,232,956	−0.71%	−343,146	17,890	55	0.98	486	93.1%	43,976,623	0.50%	9,439,639,668	43
2050	45,143,134	−0.9%	−417,964	15,924	56.7	1.03	464	96.6%	43,616,033	0.47%	9,664,378,587	47

Source: Worldometer (www.Worldometers.info)

Elaboration of data by United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects: The 2024 Revision. (Medium-fertility variant).

South Korea Demographics (2026)

Main Page: Demographics of South Korea

Life Expectancy

84.6 years

(life expectancy at birth, both sexes)

View by sex and historical chart

Infant Mortality Rate

1.9

(infant deaths per 1,000 live births)

View historical chart

Deaths under age 5

2.5

(per 1,000 live births)

View historical chart

Main Cities by Population in South Korea

(includes boroughs, districts, urban agglomerations, etc.)

Rank	Urban Area	Population Estimate (2025)
1	Seoul	22,490,482
2	Busan	3,263,221
3	Daegu	2,334,446
4	Daejeon	1,517,299
5	Gwangju	1,441,495
6	Ulsan	881,858
7	Cheongju-si	690,333
8	Changwon	665,772
9	Jeonju	637,082
10	Cheonan-si	428,378
11	Pohang-si	382,368
12	Gumi-si	296,323
13	Gimhae	261,543
14	Mokpo-si	238,374
15	Jinju-si	237,707
16	Chuncheon	236,384
17	Wonju	230,065
18	Gimpo	178,424
19	Gunsan-si	171,268
20	Iksan-si	164,566
21	Dongducheon	153,631
22	Yangsan	150,276
23	Suncheon-si	147,975
24	Pyeongtaek	145,127
25	Hwado	131,457
26	Gangneung	128,525
27	Chungju-si	103,243
28	Jinhae-gu	99,309
29	Geoje-si	98,680
30	Gwangju	98,184
31	웅상	87,200
32	Ayang	82,984
33	Jecheon-si	74,673
34	Sokcho	74,556
35	Jeju-si	74,313
36	Asan-si	72,223
37	Jangdeung-ri	69,489
38	Tongyeong-si	66,048
39	Daegot	65,448
40	Gyeongju-si	63,656
41	Andong-si	62,758
42	Hallim-myeon	62,593
43	Wolha-dong	62,256
44	Taein-dong	60,695
45	Hyangnam	59,702
46	Noha-ri	56,049
47	Paju	54,846
48	Hogye-ri	53,796
49	Sincheon-dong	52,998

More info

Notes

The South Korea Population (Live) counter shows a continuously updated estimate of the current population of South Korea delivered by Worldometer's RTS algorithm, which processes data collected from the United Nations Population Division.

The Population of South Korea (1950 - 2026) chart plots the total population count as of July 1 of each year, from 1950 to 2026.

The Yearly Population Growth Rate chart plots the annual percentage changes in population registered on July 1 of each year, from 1951 to 2026. This value can differ from the Yearly % Change shown in the historical table, which shows the last year equivalent percentage change assuming homogeneous change in the preceding five year period.

Definitions

Year: as of July 1 of the year indicated.

Population: Overall total population (both sexes and all ages) in the country as of July 1 of the year indicated, as estimated by the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects: The 2024 Revision. For forecasted years, the U.N. medium-fertility variant is used.

Yearly % Change: For 2026: percentage change in total population over the last year (from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026). For all other years: latest year annual percentage change equivalent assuming homogeneous change in the preceding five year period, calculated through reverse compounding.

Yearly Change: For 2026: absolute change in total population (increase or decrease in number of people) over the last year (from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026). For all other years: average annual numerical change over the preceding five year period.

Migrants (net): The average annual number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants over the preceding five year period (running from July 1 to June 30 of the initial and final years), or subsequent five year period (for 2016 data). A negative number means that there are more emigrants than immigrants.

Median Age: age that divides the population into two numerically equal groups: half of the people are older than the median age indicated and half are younger. This parameter provides an indication of age distribution.

Fertility Rate: (Total Fertility Rate, or TFR), it is expressed as children per woman. It is calculated as the average number of children an average woman will have during her reproductive period (15 to 49 years old) based on the current fertility rates of every age group in the country, and assuming she is not subject to mortality.

Density (P/Km²): (Population Density) Population per square Kilometer (Km²).

Urban Pop % : Urban population as a percentage of total population.

Urban Population: Population living in areas classified as urban according to the criteria used by each country.

Country's Share of World Pop: Total population in the country as a percentage of total World Population as of July 1 of the year indicated.

World Population: Total World Population as of July 1 of the year indicated.

Global Rank: Position held by South Korea in the list of all countries worldwide ranked by population (from the highest population to the lowest population) as of July 1 of the year indicated.

South Korea Population (LIVE)