Military personnel in South Korea
South Korea: Military personnel was 555,000 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
555,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
9th
of 194 countries
All-time high
750,000
in 1991
All-time low
69,000
in 1949
Years of data
74
1949–2022
Military personnel in South Korea, 1949–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2022, military personnel in South Korea stood at 555,000.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military personnel in South Korea peaked at 750,000 in 1991 and was at its lowest, 69,000, in 1949.
That places South Korea 9th out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Military personnel in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 69,000 | — |
| 1950 | 109,000 | +58.0% |
| 1951 | 196,000 | +79.8% |
| 1952 | 335,000 | +70.9% |
| 1953 | 504,000 | +50.4% |
| 1954 | 630,000 | +25.0% |
| 1955 | 730,000 | +15.9% |
| 1956 | 650,000 | -11.0% |
| 1957 | 650,000 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 650,000 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 650,000 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 650,000 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 570,000 | -12.3% |
| 1962 | 570,000 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 627,000 | +10.0% |
| 1964 | 600,000 | -4.3% |
| 1965 | 604,000 | +0.7% |
| 1966 | 572,000 | -5.3% |
| 1967 | 612,000 | +7.0% |
| 1968 | 620,000 | +1.3% |
| 1969 | 620,000 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 645,000 | +4.0% |
| 1971 | 638,000 | -1.1% |
| 1972 | 635,000 | -0.5% |
| 1973 | 634,000 | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 634,000 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 630,000 | -0.6% |
| 1976 | 610,000 | -3.2% |
| 1977 | 600,000 | -1.6% |
| 1978 | 600,000 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 638,000 | +6.3% |
| 1980 | 600,000 | -6.0% |
| 1981 | 606,000 | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 601,000 | -0.8% |
| 1983 | 602,000 | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 602,000 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 600,000 | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 604,000 | +0.7% |
| 1987 | 604,000 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 626,000 | +3.6% |
| 1989 | 647,000 | +3.4% |
| 1990 | 650,000 | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 750,000 | +15.4% |
| 1992 | 750,000 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 750,000 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 750,000 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 750,000 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 670,000 | -10.7% |
| 1997 | 670,000 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 670,000 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 665,000 | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 683,000 | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 683,000 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 686,000 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 686,000 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 687,000 | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 688,000 | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 688,000 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 687,000 | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 687,000 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 687,000 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 687,000 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 655,000 | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 655,000 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 655,000 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 655,000 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 655,000 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 628,000 | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 630,000 | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 625,000 | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 625,000 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 599,000 | -4.2% |
| 2021 | 555,000 | -7.3% |
| 2022 | 555,000 | +0.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 555,000 is above the median for high income countries, which is 18,500, 30.0× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 555,000 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 9,500, 58.4× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military personnel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | +79.8% | 109,000 | 196,000 |
| 1952 | +70.9% | 196,000 | 335,000 |
| 1950 | +58.0% | 69,000 | 109,000 |
| 1953 | +50.4% | 335,000 | 504,000 |
| 1954 | +25.0% | 504,000 | 630,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 69,000 | 69,000 | 69,000 | 1 |
| 1950s | 510,400 | 109,000 | 730,000 | 10 |
| 1960s | 604,500 | 570,000 | 650,000 | 10 |
| 1970s | 626,400 | 600,000 | 645,000 | 10 |
| 1980s | 609,200 | 600,000 | 647,000 | 10 |
| 1990s | 707,500 | 650,000 | 750,000 | 10 |
| 2000s | 686,200 | 683,000 | 688,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 647,000 | 625,000 | 687,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 569,667 | 555,000 | 599,000 | 3 |
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 military personnel in South Korea?
- Military personnel in South Korea was 555,000 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military personnel recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 750,000 in 1991.
- What is the lowest military personnel recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 69,000 in 1949.
- How does South Korea rank for military personnel?
- South Korea ranks 9th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
- Is military personnel rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.3%. 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 Military personnel. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).