BASIC STATISTICS OF KOREA (2015 or latest available year)*
(OECD total values in parentheses)a

PEOPLE AND SOCIETY

Population (million)

50.6

(1 274)

Population density per km2

504.7

(35.1)

Share of population by type of region:

Population compound annual growth rate, latest 5 years

0.5

(0.6)

 Predominantly urban (%)

69.6

(48.7)

Income inequality (Gini coefficient)

0.31

(0.32)

 Intermediate (%)

13.1

(26.0)

Poverty rate (% of population with less than 50% med.income)

14.6

(11.3)

 Rural (%)

17.2

(25.3)

Life expectancy

82.2

(80.6)

ECONOMY AND EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS

Total GDP (billion KRW)

1 485 078

Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)

38.9

(29.2)

Total GDP (billion USD current PPPs)

1 749

(51 165)

Main exports (% of total merchandise exports)

 GDP compound annual real growth rate, latest 5 years

3.0

(1.9)

Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof

26.3

 GDP per capita (1 000 USD current PPPs)

34.5

(40.1)

Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof

13.1

Value added shares (%)

Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof

11.8

 Agriculture

2.1

(1.7)

Main imports (% of total merchandise imports)

 Industry including construction

34.9

(23.1)

Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes

23.7

 Services

63.0

(75.2)

Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof

17.8

Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)

45.9

(29.0)

Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof

10.6

GENERAL GOVERNMENT

as percentage of GDP

Expenditure

32.0

(44.4)

Education expenditure

5.2

(5.4)

Revenue

33.2

(42.4)

Health expenditure

3.9

(6.5)

Gross financial debt

43.7

(86.5)

Environment protection expenditure

0.8

(0.8)

Fiscal balance

1.3

-(2.0)

Environmental taxes: (% of GDP)

2.5

(1.6)

(% of total tax revenue)

10.3

(5.1)

LABOUR MARKET, SKILLS AND INNOVATION

Unemployment rate (% of civilian labour force)

3.5

(7.9)

Patent applications in environment-related technologies (% of all technologies, average of latest 3 years)b

11.0

(12.0)

Tertiary educational attainment of 25- to 64-year-olds (%)

44.6

(34.5)

 Environmental management

2.5

(4.5)

Gross expenditure on R&D (% of GDP)

4.3

(2.4)

 Water-related adaptation technologies

0.1

(0.4)

 Climate change mitigation technologies

9.7

(9.8)

ENVIRONMENT

Energy intensity: TPES per capita (toe/cap.)

5.5

(4.1)

Road vehicle stock (veh./100 inhabitants)

39.9

(58.9)

TPES per GDP (toe/1 000 USD, 2010 PPPs)

0.16

(0.11)

Water stress (abstraction as % of available resources)

(9.7)

Renewables (% of TPES)

1.5

(9.6)

Water abstraction per capita (m3/cap./year)

(819)

Carbon intensity (energy-related CO2):

Municipal waste per capita (kg/capita)

361

(516)

per capita (t/cap.)

11.2

(9.4)

Material productivity (USD, 2010 PPPs/DMC, kg)

2.2

(1.7)

per GDP (t/1 000 USD, 2010 PPPs)

0.33

(0.26)

Land area (1 000 km2)

97

(34 341)

GHG intensityc

 % of arable land and permanent crops

17.6

(12.1)

per capita (t/cap.)

13.8

(12.4)

 % of permanent meadows and pastures

0.6

(23.2)

per GDP (t/1 000 USD, 2010 PPPs)

0.42

(0.34)

 % of forest area

63.6

(31.2)

Mean population exposure to air pollution (PM2.5), μg/m3

28.8

(14.0)

 % of other land (built-up and other land)

18.2

(33.5)

← * Values earlier than 2010 are not taken into consideration.

← a. Where the OECD aggregate is not provided in the source database, a simple OECD average of the latest available data is calculated where data exist for a significant number of countries.

← b. Higher-value inventions that have sought patent protection in at least two jurisdictions. Average of latest three years.

← c. Excluding emissions/removals from land use, land-use change and forestry.

Source: Calculations based on data extracted from databases of the OECD, IEA, Eurostat.