Unemployment rate,Percent in South Korea
South Korea: Unemployment rate,Percent was 2.8% in 2026. ▼ Falling
Latest (2026)
2.8%
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
64th
of 71 countries
All-time high
4.4%
in 2000
All-time low
2.7%
in 2023
Years of data
27
2000–2026
Unemployment rate,Percent in South Korea, 2000–2026
Source: World Bank.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 2.8% for unemployment rate,percent in 2026.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and down 23.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rate,percent in South Korea peaked at 4.4% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 2023.
South Korea ranks 64th of 71 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Unemployment rate,Percent in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.4% | — |
| 2001 | 4.0% | -9.8% |
| 2002 | 3.2% | -18.1% |
| 2003 | 3.6% | +9.7% |
| 2004 | 3.6% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 3.7% | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 3.5% | -6.0% |
| 2007 | 3.2% | -7.4% |
| 2008 | 3.2% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 3.6% | +15.0% |
| 2010 | 3.7% | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 3.4% | -8.3% |
| 2012 | 3.2% | -4.9% |
| 2013 | 3.1% | -3.4% |
| 2014 | 3.5% | +12.8% |
| 2015 | 3.6% | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 3.7% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 3.7% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 3.9% | +4.7% |
| 2019 | 3.8% | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 4.0% | +6.2% |
| 2021 | 3.6% | -9.4% |
| 2022 | 2.9% | -20.3% |
| 2023 | 2.7% | -6.4% |
| 2024 | 2.8% | +2.8% |
| 2025 | 2.8% | +0.6% |
| 2026 | 2.8% | +0.8% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 2.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.0%, 56% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 2.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.3%, 86% of the median. (10 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.6% | 3.2% | 4.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.6% | 3.1% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.1% | 2.7% | 4.0% | 7 |
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 unemployment rate,percent in South Korea?
- Unemployment rate,percent in South Korea was 2.8% in 2026, according to the World Bank.
- What is the highest unemployment rate,percent recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 4.4% in 2000.
- What is the lowest unemployment rate,percent recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 2023.
- How does South Korea rank for unemployment rate,percent?
- South Korea ranks 64th out of 71 countries with data for 2026.
- Is unemployment rate,percent rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Unemployment rate,Percent,,,. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).