Share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year in South Korea
South Korea: Share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year was 27.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year in South Korea, 2000–2020
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year in South Korea is 27.5%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year in South Korea peaked at 27.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 24.2%, in 2001.
That places South Korea 159th out of 187 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 25.2% | — |
| 2001 | 24.2% | -4.0% |
| 2002 | 25.6% | +5.7% |
| 2003 | 25.5% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 25.8% | +1.4% |
| 2005 | 25.9% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 26.1% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 25.9% | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 25.7% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 26.2% | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 26.3% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 26.3% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 26.2% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 26.4% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 27.1% | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 26.7% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 27.0% | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 27.0% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 27.1% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 27.3% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 27.5% | +0.9% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 27.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 28.7%, 96% of the median. (60 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 27.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 63.0%, 44% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 25.6% | 24.2% | 26.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.7% | 26.2% | 27.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.5% | 27.5% | 27.5% | 1 |
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 share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year in South Korea?
- Share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year in South Korea was 27.5% in 2020, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 27.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.2% in 2001.
- How does South Korea rank for share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year?
- South Korea ranks 159th out of 187 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of adults who have not drunk alcohol in the last year. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Adults are defined as those aged 15 years and older. Shown is the share of adults who have not drunk any alcohol in the preceding 12 months.