Average annual surface temperature in South Korea
South Korea: Average annual surface temperature was 13.4 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
13.4
Change on year
down 5.5%
World rank
137th
of 193 countries
All-time high
14.18
in 2024
All-time low
9.66
in 1947
Years of data
86
1940–2025
Average annual surface temperature in South Korea, 1940–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 13.4 for average annual surface temperature in 2025.
That represents a change of down 5.5% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, average annual surface temperature in South Korea peaked at 14.18 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 9.66, in 1947.
That places South Korea 137th out of 193 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 86 years of available data.
Average annual surface temperature in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 10.36 | — |
| 1941 | 10.46 | +1.0% |
| 1942 | 11.03 | +5.5% |
| 1943 | 10.92 | -1.0% |
| 1944 | 10.85 | -0.6% |
| 1945 | 10.02 | -7.6% |
| 1946 | 11.45 | +14.3% |
| 1947 | 9.66 | -15.6% |
| 1948 | 11.65 | +20.5% |
| 1949 | 11.11 | -4.6% |
| 1950 | 11.26 | +1.3% |
| 1951 | 11.56 | +2.7% |
| 1952 | 11.54 | -0.1% |
| 1953 | 11.5 | -0.4% |
| 1954 | 11.76 | +2.3% |
| 1955 | 11.73 | -0.3% |
| 1956 | 10.43 | -11.1% |
| 1957 | 10.8 | +3.6% |
| 1958 | 11.75 | +8.8% |
| 1959 | 12.27 | +4.4% |
| 1960 | 12.14 | -1.1% |
| 1961 | 12.37 | +1.9% |
| 1962 | 11.58 | -6.4% |
| 1963 | 10.93 | -5.6% |
| 1964 | 12.16 | +11.3% |
| 1965 | 11.21 | -7.8% |
| 1966 | 11.47 | +2.3% |
| 1967 | 11.44 | -0.2% |
| 1968 | 11.47 | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 10.89 | -5.1% |
| 1970 | 11.17 | +2.6% |
| 1971 | 11.37 | +1.8% |
| 1972 | 11.65 | +2.5% |
| 1973 | 11.85 | +1.7% |
| 1974 | 10.83 | -8.7% |
| 1975 | 12.08 | +11.6% |
| 1976 | 11.18 | -7.5% |
| 1977 | 11.93 | +6.7% |
| 1978 | 12.34 | +3.4% |
| 1979 | 12.1 | -2.0% |
| 1980 | 10.71 | -11.5% |
| 1981 | 10.97 | +2.4% |
| 1982 | 11.97 | +9.1% |
| 1983 | 11.8 | -1.4% |
| 1984 | 11.21 | -4.9% |
| 1985 | 11.51 | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 10.96 | -4.8% |
| 1987 | 11.74 | +7.1% |
| 1988 | 11.68 | -0.5% |
| 1989 | 12.44 | +6.5% |
| 1990 | 12.68 | +1.9% |
| 1991 | 11.81 | -6.9% |
| 1992 | 12.07 | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 11.49 | -4.7% |
| 1994 | 12.95 | +12.7% |
| 1995 | 11.73 | -9.4% |
| 1996 | 11.62 | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 12.24 | +5.3% |
| 1998 | 13.11 | +7.1% |
| 1999 | 12.49 | -4.7% |
| 2000 | 12.11 | -3.0% |
| 2001 | 12.34 | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 12.25 | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 12.14 | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 12.94 | +6.6% |
| 2005 | 11.92 | -7.8% |
| 2006 | 12.55 | +5.3% |
| 2007 | 12.85 | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 12.6 | -1.9% |
| 2009 | 12.59 | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 12.2 | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 11.93 | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 11.86 | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 12.43 | +4.8% |
| 2014 | 12.71 | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 13.05 | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 13.25 | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 12.67 | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 12.58 | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 13.1 | +4.1% |
| 2020 | 12.85 | -1.9% |
| 2021 | 13.19 | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 12.8 | -3.0% |
| 2023 | 13.5 | +5.5% |
| 2024 | 14.18 | +5.0% |
| 2025 | 13.4 | -5.5% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 13.4 is above the median for high income countries, which is 12.86, 1.0× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 13.4 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 24.82, 54% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 10.75 | 9.66 | 11.65 | 10 |
| 1950s | 11.46 | 10.43 | 12.27 | 10 |
| 1960s | 11.57 | 10.89 | 12.37 | 10 |
| 1970s | 11.65 | 10.83 | 12.34 | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.5 | 10.71 | 12.44 | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.22 | 11.49 | 13.11 | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.43 | 11.92 | 12.94 | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.58 | 11.86 | 13.25 | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.32 | 12.8 | 14.18 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 31.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 880.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 12,007 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 6,875 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 2,038 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is average annual surface temperature in South Korea?
- Average annual surface temperature in South Korea was 13.4 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest average annual surface temperature recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 14.18 in 2024.
- What is the lowest average annual surface temperature recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.66 in 1947.
- How does South Korea rank for average annual surface temperature?
- South Korea ranks 137th out of 193 countries with data for 2025.
- Is average annual surface temperature rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Average annual surface temperature. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 86 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).