Global InformationEconomy of South Korea information
 | This article needs to be updated. (March 2024) |
 Seoul, the largest metropolis of South Korea | |
| Currency | South Korean won (KRW, ₩) |
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Fiscal year | 1 January – 31 December |
Trade organizations | APEC, WTO, RCEP, OECD, G-20 |
Country group |
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| Statistics | |
| Population |  51,628,117 (2022) |
| GDP |
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| GDP rank |
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GDP growth |
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GDP per capita |
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GDP per capita rank |
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GDP by sector |
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Inflation (CPI) | 0.5% (2020)[6] |
Population below poverty line | 14.4% (2016 est.)[5] |
Gini coefficient |  35.5 medium (2017)[7] |
Human Development Index |
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Labor force |
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Labor force by occupation |
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| Unemployment |
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Average gross salary | 4,147,925 ₩ / $3,211.14 monthly[12] (2022) |
Average net salary | 3,490,724 ₩ / $2,702.36 monthly[13][14] (2022) |
Main industries |
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| External | |
| Exports | $632.4 billion (2023)[15] |
Export goods |
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Main export partners |
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| Imports | $642.6 billion (2023)[15] |
Import goods |
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Main import partners |
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FDI stock |
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Current account | $68 billion (2020)[6] |
Gross external debt |  $542.4 billion (2020)[17] |
| Public finances | |
Government debt | 39.8% of GDP (2020)[18] |
Budget balance | -3.5% of GDP (2020)[18] |
| Revenues | $428.7 billion (2020)[18] |
| Expenses | $456.5 billion (2020)[18] |
| Economic aid | ODA, $2.4 Billion (donor) (2018) aid to North Korea excluded |
Credit rating |
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Foreign reserves |  $458.700 billion (July 2021 est.)[5] |
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars. | |
| History |
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| Business culture |
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| Industries |
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| Regional |
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| Related topics |
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The economy of South Korea is a highly developed mixed economy.[21][22][23] By nominal GDP, the economy was worth ₩2.24 quadrillion (US$1.72 trillion). It has the 4th largest economy in Asia and the 13th largest in the world. South Korea is notable for its rapid economic development from an underdeveloped nation to a developed, high-income country in a few generations. This economic growth has been described as the Miracle on the Han River,[24] which has allowed it to join the OECD and the G20. It is included in the group of Next Eleven countries as having the potential to play a dominant role in the global economy by the middle of the 21st century.[25]
South Korea's education system and the establishment of a motivated and educated populace were largely responsible for spurring the country's high technology boom and economic development.[26] South Korea began to adapt an export-oriented economic strategy to fuel its economy. In 2022, South Korea was the ninth largest exporter and ninth largest importer in the world. The Bank of Korea and the Korea Development Institute periodically release major economic indicators and economic trends of the economy of South Korea.[27][28]
Renowned financial organisations, such as the International Monetary Fund, notes the resilience of the South Korean economy against various economic crises. They cite the country's economic advantages as reasons for this resilience, including low state debt, and high fiscal reserves that can quickly be mobilised to address any expected financial emergencies.[29] Other financial organisations, like the World Bank, describe South Korea as one of the fastest-growing major economies of the next generation, along with BRICS and Indonesia.[30] South Korea was one of the few developed countries that was able to avoid a recession during the Great Recession.[31] Its economic growth rate reached 6.2% in 2010, a recovery from economic growth rates of 2.3% in 2008 and 0.2% in 2009, during the Great Recession. The South Korean economy again recovered with the record-surplus of US$70.7 billion mark of the current account at the end of 2013, up 47 percent growth from 2012. This growth contrasted with the uncertainties of the global economic turmoil, with the country's major economic output being the technology products exports.[32]
Despite the South Korean economy's high growth and structural stability, South Korea is experiencing damage to its credit rating in the stock market due to North Korea in times of military crises. The recurring conflict affects the financial markets of its economy.[33][34][35][36][37]
- ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023". International Monetary Fund. April 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund.
- ^ a b c "WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 2022 OCT Countering the Cost-of-Living Crisis". www.imf.org. International Monetary Fund. p. 43. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "EAST ASIA/SOUTHEAST ASIA :: KOREA, SOUTH". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ a b c "2021 Economic Policies". english.moef.go.kr. Ministry of Economy and Finance (South Korea). Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "Income inequality". data.oecd.org. OECD. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "Labor force, total – Korea, Rep". data.worldbank.org. World Bank & ILO. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Unemployment rate". data.oecd.org. OECD. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "Unemployment rate by age group". data.oecd.org. OECD. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "Home". www.oecd-ilibrary.org.
- ^ "Taxing Wages 2023: Indexation of Labour Taxation and Benefits in OECD Countries | READ online". oecd-ilibrary.org.
- ^ "Home".
- ^ a b c d "Trade Statistics". Korea Customs Service. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ a b "South Korea Exports and Imports OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity". oec.world/en. The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "2020 External Debt". english.moef.go.kr. Ministry of Economy and Finance (South Korea). Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d "2021 Budget Proposal". english.moef.go.kr. Ministry of Economy and Finance (South Korea). Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Sovereigns rating list". Standard & Poor's. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- ^ a b c Rogers, Simon; Sedghi, Ami (15 April 2011). "How Fitch, Moody's and S&P rate each country's credit rating". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ "South Korea: Introduction >> globalEDGE: Your source for Global Business Knowledge". Archived from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ "South Korea Market overview" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ Kerr, Anne; Wright, Edmund (1 January 2015). A Dictionary of World History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199685691 – via Google Books.
- ^ Kleiner, JüRgen (2001). Korea, A Century of Change. World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-02-4657-0.
- ^ Chapter Thirteen - Beyond the BRICs: a Look at The 'Next 11' (PDF). Goldman Sachs. p. 161. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ "High performance, high pressure in South Korea's education system". ICEF. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ "Economic Statistics System". Bank of Korea. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ "KDI Korea Development Institute > Publications". Korea Development Institute. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ "S Korea stands among world's highest-level fiscal reserve holders: IMF". Xinhua. 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on 14 November 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "Six Emerging Economies Will Account For Over Half Of Economic Growth By 2025, World Bank Says". The Huffington Post. 18 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ^ "South Korea Survived Recession With CEO Tactics". Newsweek. 10 May 2010. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016.
- ^ "Economy ended 2013 on a high". joins.com. 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ^ "Moody's Raises Korea's Credit Range". The Chosun Ilbo. 2 August 2010. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
- ^ "Financial markets unstable in S.Korea following Cheonan sinking". Hankyeoreh. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 4 September 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
- ^ "BTI 2016 South Korea Country Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Development of Competition Laws in Korea" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Korea's Competition Law and Policies in Perspective Symposium on Competition Law and Policy in Developing Countries". Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.