Food expenditure per person in South Korea

South Korea: Food expenditure per person was 2,071 current US$ in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
2,071 current US$
Change on year
up 14.3%
World rank
44th
of 104 countries
All-time high
2,071 current US$
in 2023
All-time low
1,501 current US$
in 2020
Years of data
7
2017–2023

Food expenditure per person in South Korea, 2017–2023

05001.0k1.5k2.0k2017202020232017: 1.8k current US$2018: 2.0k current US$2019: 1.5k current US$2020: 1.5k current US$2021: 2.0k current US$2022: 1.8k current US$2023: 2.1k current US$

Source: USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in current US$.

Analysis

The most recent figure for food expenditure per person in South Korea is 2,071 current US$, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 14.3% on the previous year and up 13.0% over ten years.

That places South Korea 44th out of 104 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

Food expenditure per person in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Food expenditure per person in South Korea, 2017 to 2023.
Year current US$ Change
2017 1,832 current US$
2018 1,951 current US$ +6.5%
2019 1,544 current US$ -20.9%
2020 1,501 current US$ -2.8%
2021 1,986 current US$ +32.3%
2022 1,812 current US$ -8.7%
2023 2,071 current US$ +14.3%

South Korea compared with similar countries

  • South Korea's 2,071 current US$ is below the median for high income countries, which is 2,790 current US$, 74% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • South Korea's 2,071 current US$ is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1,108 current US$, 1.9× the median. (15 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 1,776 current US$ 1,544 current US$ 1,951 current US$ 3
2020s 1,843 current US$ 1,501 current US$ 2,071 current US$ 4

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 41 Poland 2,207 current US$ compare
  2. 42 Dominican Republic 2,123 current US$ compare
  3. 43 Argentina 2,113 current US$ compare
  4. 45 Taiwan 2,060 current US$ compare
  5. 46 Bulgaria 2,018 current US$ compare
  6. 47 Kuwait 2,014 current US$ compare

See the full ranking of 104 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is food expenditure per person in South Korea?
Food expenditure per person in South Korea was 2,071 current US$ in 2023, according to USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest food expenditure per person recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 2,071 current US$ in 2023.
What is the lowest food expenditure per person recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 1,501 current US$ in 2020.
How does South Korea rank for food expenditure per person?
South Korea ranks 44th out of 104 countries with data for 2023.
Is food expenditure per person rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Food expenditure per person. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Food expenditure per person in South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/food-expenditure-per-person-per-year/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Food expenditure per person
Unit
current US$
Source
USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
104 places, 727 data points, 2017–2023
Last refreshed

Amount of money spend on food in a given year. This only includes food eaten at home, and does not include alcoholic beverages and tobacco.