Police officers per 1,000 people in South Korea

South Korea: Police officers per 1,000 people was 3.06 in 2013. ▲ Rising

Latest (2013)
3.06
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
75th
of 103 countries
All-time high
3.06
in 2013
All-time low
2.27
in 1975
Years of data
24
1975–2013

Police officers per 1,000 people in South Korea, 1975–2013

01231975199420131975: 2.31976: 2.31977: 2.51982: 2.61984: 2.41986: 2.51990: 2.91994: 31995: 2.81997: 31998: 2.91999: 2.92000: 2.92003: 2.92004: 2.92005: 32006: 32007: 32008: 32009: 32010: 32011: 3.12012: 32013: 3.1

Source: Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2013, police officers per 1,000 people in South Korea stood at 3.06. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, police officers per 1,000 people in South Korea peaked at 3.06 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 2.27, in 1975.

South Korea ranks 75th of 103 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

Police officers per 1,000 people in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Police officers per 1,000 people in South Korea, 1975 to 2013.
Year Value Change
1975 2.27 —
1976 2.34 +3.1%
1977 2.54 +8.6%
1982 2.55 +0.6%
1984 2.44 -4.3%
1986 2.54 +4.1%
1990 2.87 +12.8%
1994 3.04 +5.9%
1995 2.79 -8.2%
1997 2.95 +5.8%
1998 2.89 -2.1%
1999 2.94 +1.9%
2000 2.92 -0.8%
2003 2.93 +0.4%
2004 2.92 -0.2%
2005 2.95 +1.0%
2006 2.98 +0.8%
2007 2.99 +0.2%
2008 2.99 +0.1%
2009 3.03 +1.5%
2010 3.04 +0.2%
2011 3.05 +0.5%
2012 3.05 -0.2%
2013 3.06 +0.4%

South Korea compared with similar countries

  • South Korea's 3.06 is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.14, 74% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
  • South Korea's 3.06 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.04, 1.0× the median. (10 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 2.38 2.27 2.54 3
1980s 2.51 2.44 2.55 3
1990s 2.91 2.79 3.04 6
2000s 2.96 2.92 3.03 8
2010s 3.05 3.04 3.06 4

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 72 Switzerland 3.19 compare
  2. 73 Nepal 3.17 compare
  3. 74 Zimbabwe 3.13 compare
  4. 76 Sweden 3.04 compare
  5. 77 Japan 3.02 compare
  6. 78 New Zealand 2.98 compare

See the full ranking of 103 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is police officers per 1,000 people in South Korea?
Police officers per 1,000 people in South Korea was 3.06 in 2013, according to Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest police officers per 1,000 people recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 3.06 in 2013.
What is the lowest police officers per 1,000 people recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 2.27 in 1975.
How does South Korea rank for police officers per 1,000 people?
South Korea ranks 75th out of 103 countries with data for 2013.
Is police officers per 1,000 people rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Police officers per 1,000 people. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Police officers per 1,000 people in South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 30 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/police-officers-per-1000-people/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Police officers per 1,000 people
Source
Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
103 places, 1,617 data points, 1973–2015
Last refreshed

Measures the number of police officers per 1,000 people.