Prosperity gap in South Korea
South Korea: Prosperity gap was 0.6595 in 2021. ▼ Falling
Prosperity gap in South Korea, 2006–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for prosperity gap in South Korea is 0.6595, measured in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of down 3.0% on the previous year and down 44.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prosperity gap in South Korea peaked at 1.2 in 2006 and was at its lowest, 0.6595, in 2021.
That places South Korea 110th out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Prosperity gap in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 1.2 | — |
| 2008 | 1.16 | -3.4% |
| 2010 | 1.2 | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 1.06 | -11.7% |
| 2014 | 1.01 | -4.0% |
| 2016 | 0.8627 | -15.0% |
| 2017 | 0.8366 | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 0.7699 | -8.0% |
| 2019 | 0.7202 | -6.5% |
| 2020 | 0.6799 | -5.6% |
| 2021 | 0.6595 | -3.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 0.6595 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.08, 61% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 0.6595 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.4, 27% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.18 | 1.16 | 1.2 | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.9226 | 0.7202 | 1.2 | 7 |
| 2020s | 0.6697 | 0.6595 | 0.6799 | 2 |
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 prosperity gap in South Korea?
- Prosperity gap in South Korea was 0.6595 in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest prosperity gap recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.2 in 2006.
- What is the lowest prosperity gap recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6595 in 2021.
- How does South Korea rank for prosperity gap?
- South Korea ranks 110th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is prosperity gap rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 44.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Prosperity gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average factor by which incomes need to be multiplied to bring everyone to the prosperity standard of $28 per person per day.