Share of population living in urban areas in South Korea
South Korea: Share of population living in urban areas was 90.1% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in South Korea, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in urban areas in South Korea stood at 90.1%.
That represents a change of up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in South Korea peaked at 90.2% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 71.1%, in 1950.
That places South Korea 32nd out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban areas in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 71.1% | — |
| 1955 | 73.6% | +3.6% |
| 1960 | 77.3% | +5.0% |
| 1965 | 79.9% | +3.4% |
| 1970 | 82.0% | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 83.8% | +2.2% |
| 1980 | 84.5% | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 85.3% | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 86.7% | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 87.7% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 88.6% | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 89.4% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 90.0% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 90.2% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 90.1% | -0.2% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 90.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 76.2%, 1.2× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 90.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 70.5%, 1.3× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 72.3% | 71.1% | 73.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 78.6% | 77.3% | 79.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 82.9% | 82.0% | 83.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 84.9% | 84.5% | 85.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 87.2% | 86.7% | 87.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 89.0% | 88.6% | 89.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 90.1% | 90.0% | 90.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 90.1% | 90.1% | 90.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 29 Jersey 90.8% compare
- 30 United Arab Emirates 90.3% compare
- 31 Western Sahara 90.1% compare
- 33 Djibouti 89.9% compare
- 34 Saint Martin (French part) 89.7% compare
- 35 Lebanon 89.6% compare
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 population living in urban areas in South Korea?
- Share of population living in urban areas in South Korea was 90.1% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban areas recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 90.2% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 71.1% in 1950.
- How does South Korea rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- South Korea ranks 32nd out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.