Income share of the richest 1%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank in South Korea
South Korea: Income share of the richest 1%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank was 11.9% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Income share of the richest 1%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank 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 11.9% for income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 21.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank in South Korea peaked at 15.5% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 5.2%, in 1996.
That places South Korea 65th out of 109 countries with data for 2022, putting it 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%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 7.3% | — |
| 1991 | 7.8% | +6.6% |
| 1996 | 5.2% | -33.3% |
| 2000 | 6.1% | +17.2% |
| 2007 | 12.1% | +99.2% |
| 2008 | 12.8% | +6.2% |
| 2009 | 13.5% | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 15.5% | +14.8% |
| 2011 | 15.4% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 15.1% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 12.2% | -19.4% |
| 2014 | 13.1% | +7.6% |
| 2015 | 13.9% | +6.1% |
| 2016 | 13.8% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 14.2% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 13.1% | -7.5% |
| 2019 | 11.1% | -15.5% |
| 2020 | 11.2% | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 11.8% | +5.4% |
| 2022 | 11.9% | +0.8% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 11.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.1%, 1.3× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 11.9% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.7%, 81% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Income share of the richest 1%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank 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 | +99.2% | 6.1% | 12.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 7.3% | 7.3% | 7.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 6.5% | 5.2% | 7.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 11.1% | 6.1% | 13.5% | 4 |
| 2010s | 13.7% | 11.1% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.6% | 11.2% | 11.9% | 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%: world inequality database vs. world bank in South Korea?
- Income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank in South Korea was 11.9% 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%: world inequality database vs. world bank recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 15.5% in 2010.
- What is the lowest income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.2% in 1996.
- How does South Korea rank for income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank?
- South Korea ranks 65th out of 109 countries with data for 2022.
- Is income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.3%. 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%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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% of the population. Income here is measured after taxes and benefits.