Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in South Korea
South Korea: Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) was 14.1% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in South Korea, 1982–2022
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 14.1% for income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in 2022.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and down 16.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in South Korea peaked at 17.0% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 5.6%, in 1996.
South Korea ranks 61st of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 7.6% | — |
| 1991 | 8.4% | +9.4% |
| 1996 | 5.6% | -32.8% |
| 2000 | 6.7% | +19.4% |
| 2007 | 13.7% | +103.7% |
| 2008 | 14.4% | +5.3% |
| 2009 | 14.8% | +3.2% |
| 2010 | 16.8% | +13.2% |
| 2011 | 17.0% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 16.9% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 13.8% | -18.8% |
| 2014 | 14.8% | +7.3% |
| 2015 | 15.8% | +7.2% |
| 2016 | 15.9% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 16.4% | +3.2% |
| 2018 | 15.7% | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 13.4% | -14.6% |
| 2020 | 13.4% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 14.0% | +4.1% |
| 2022 | 14.1% | +0.9% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 14.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.8%, 1.2× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 14.1% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.1%, 88% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | +103.7% | 6.7% | 13.7% |
| 1996 | -32.8% | 8.4% | 5.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 7.6% | 7.6% | 7.6% | 1 |
| 1990s | 7.0% | 5.6% | 8.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 12.4% | 6.7% | 14.8% | 4 |
| 2010s | 15.7% | 13.4% | 17.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.8% | 13.4% | 14.1% | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9281 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2074 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.23 (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 (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in South Korea?
- Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in South Korea was 14.1% in 2022, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest income share of the richest 1% (before tax) recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 17.0% in 2011.
- What is the lowest income share of the richest 1% (before tax) recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.6% in 1996.
- How does South Korea rank for income share of the richest 1% (before tax)?
- South Korea ranks 61st out of 113 countries with data for 2022.
- Is income share of the richest 1% (before tax) rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Income share of the richest 1% (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of income received by the richest 1%. Income here is measured before taxes and benefits.