Polity · 1948 CE – present
Republic of Korea
대한민국 · Taehan-min'guk · Han'guk
Also recorded as South Korea, Korea
- Peak recorded area
- 105,176 km²
- 1953 CE
- Rulers on record
- 16
- from 1948 CE
- Data series
- 467
- 1948 CE–2025 CE
Overview
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
3 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 63 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population261 obs · 1820 CE–2025 CE | 51.7Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 84.53years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 65.7Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -0.116% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 87.4years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 81.44years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 155 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 39.6Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd112 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 1.9Tcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita112 obs · 1820 CE–2022 CE | 41.3K2011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Agriculture % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 1.46% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Industry % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 34.33% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Inflation66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 2.12% annual2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 73 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP138 obs · 1953 CE–2025 CE | 2.3% of GDP2025 CE · CIA World Factbook 2024 |
| Arms Imports Tiv Million75 obs · 1950 CE–2024 CE | 1,031tiv_million2024 CE · SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV |
| Military Expenditure Constant Usd72 obs · 1953 CE–2024 CE | 48.5Kmillions_usd_20232024 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |
| CINC Score68 obs · 1949 CE–2016 CE | 0.0233CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption68 obs · 1949 CE–2016 CE | 474.4Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production68 obs · 1949 CE–2016 CE | 68.6Mtons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 85 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 14.92% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Coal Production125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 2.98TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 1.79TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 64.11% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 16.07%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.0282hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 28 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index236 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.729index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index236 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.631index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index236 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.485index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index236 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.876index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity265 obs · 1948 CE–2012 CE | 8index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 63 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index236 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.787index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Electricity Production54 obs · 1945 CE–1998 CE | 258BGWh1998 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars54 obs · 1946 CE–2000 CE | 8Mcount2000 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Line Km54 obs · 1945 CE–1998 CE | 4,035km1998 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Newspaper Circulation52 obs · 1948 CE–1999 CE | 24Mcirculation1999 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Radios52 obs · 1948 CE–1999 CE | 48.5Kcount1999 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
16 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Syngman RheeHead of State1948 CE – 1960 CE
- Yun Po-sunHead of State1960 CE – 1962 CE
- Park Chung-heeHead of State1963 CE – 1979 CE
- Choi Kyu-hahHead of State1979 CE – 1980 CE
- Chun Doo-hwanHead of State1980 CE – 1988 CE
- Roh Tae-wooHead of State1988 CE – 1993 CE
- Kim Young-samHead of State1993 CE – 1998 CE
- Kim Dae-jungHead of State1998 CE – 2003 CE
- Roh Moo-hyunHead of State2003 CE – 2008 CE
- Lee Myung-bakHead of State2008 CE – 2013 CE
- Park Geun-hyeHead of State2013 CE – 2017 CE
- Moon Jae-inHead of State2017 CE – 2022 CE
- Yoon Suk YeolHead of State2022 CE – 2025 CE
- Lee Jae MyungHead of Government2025 CE –
- Lee Jae MyungHead of State2025 CE –
- Lee Ju-hoHead of Government2025 CE
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President LEE Jae-myung (since 4 June 2025); head of government: Prime Minister KIM Min-seok (since 3 July 2025); cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation; election/appointment process: president directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a single 5-year term;
- Ethnic groups
- Korean
- Natural resources
- coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential
- Economy
- high-income, export- and technology-oriented East Asian economy; manufacturing led by semiconductor and automotive industries; slow growth amid declining construction investment, export risks, and recent political instability; aging workforce; increased restraint in fiscal policy while maintaining industry support initiatives
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Korean
- Currency
- South Korean won (KRW)
Memberships
- United States of America–South Korea Entente (1953)Historical alliance · member1953 CE –
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1991 CE –
- North Korea–South Korea Non-Aggression Pact (1991)Historical alliance · member1991 CE –
- G20G20Political union · founding member1999 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Central Intelligence Agency (2024). The World Factbook. Washington, DC.
Public Domain (US Government work)
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI (2024). Arms Transfers Database (Trend-Indicator Values).
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Korea is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.