Republic of Korea Population Pyramid 2021
Republic of Korea in 2021
The population of the Republic of Korea in 2021 was 51,848,397. A decade earlier, in 2011, the population was 49,127,644; it has grown by 5.5% since.
Half of the population was younger than 44.4 years; 11.8% were children under 15 and 16.7% were 65 or older. The pyramid is constrictive: cohorts of children are smaller than those of their parents, reflecting low fertility and an ageing population.
Data source: United Nations World Population Prospects, 2024 revision (medium variant) — last updated July 2024.
The fertility rate of the Republic of Korea was 0.72 births per woman in 2023, under the 2.1 needed to replace each generation.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
Life expectancy at birth was 83.4 years in 2023: 86.4 for women and 80.6 for men.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
1,618,971 immigrants live in Republic of Korea, 3.1% of the population.
| China | 756,684 |
| Viet Nam | 260,609 |
| Thailand | 199,861 |
| Uzbekistan | 59,361 |
| United States of America | 53,226 |
2,028,575 people born in Republic of Korea live in other countries.
| United States of America | 1,083,174 |
| Japan | 393,944 |
| Canada | 151,409 |
| Australia | 114,174 |
| China | 65,073 |
Source: United Nations International Migrant Stock 2024.
| Country | Population | Median age | Relative size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Korea | 51,848,398 | 44.4 | |
| Dem. People's Republic of Korea | 26,232,534 | 36.6 | |
| Taiwan | 23,558,333 | 43.4 | |
| China, Hong Kong SAR | 7,484,602 | 46.0 | |
| Mongolia | 3,339,674 | 27.4 |





