South Korea: Economy
Income Level (by per capita GNI) Source: The World Bank Possible values: High Income, Upper Middle Income, Lower Middle Income and Low Income |
High Income |
Level of Development
Source: United Nations Possible values: Developed, In Transition and Developing |
Developed |
Economic Trivia | South Korea is the most industrialized OECD country. |
Trade
Source: United Nations Comtrade Note: Top 3 trade partners are calculated by imports + exports. |
Top 3 Trade Partners (2019): China, United States, and Japan |
Top Industries Source: CIA World Factbook | Electronics; Telecommunications; Automobile Production; Chemicals |
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [1]
GDP, PPP (current international) | $2,243,095,240,954 (2020) |
GDP Growth Rate (annual %) | -0.852% (2020) |
GDP Per Capita, PPP (current international) | $43,319 (2020) |
GDP Country Rank 14/197 (2020)
Economic Indicators [1]
Inflation, consumer prices (annual %) | 0.537% (2020) |
External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) | Data unavailable |
Total tax rate (% of commercial profits) | 33.2% (2019) |
Real Interest Rate (5 year average %) | 1.469% (2020) |
Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) | 24.811% (2020) |
Current Account Balance (BoP, current US$) | $75,275,700,000 (2020) |
Labor and Employment [1]
Labor Force, Total | 28,348,936 (2020) |
Employment in Agriculture (% of total employment) | 4.767% (2020) |
Employment in Industry (% of total employment) | 25.009% (2020) |
Employment in Services (% of total employment) | 70.225% (2020) |
Unemployment Rate | 4.07% (2020) |
Trade [1]
Imports of goods and services (current US$) | $536,732,912,197 (2020) |
Exports of goods and services (current US$) | $596,945,196,582 (2020) |
Total Merchandise Trade (% of GDP) | 59.841% (2020) |
FDI, net inflows (BoP, current US$) | $9,634,300,000 (2019) |
Commercial Service Exports (current US$) | $89,354,300,000 (2020) |
Economic Snapshot [1]
Note: Percentile ranks are calculated using the latest available data for all countries within the last 5 years.
How to interpret the graph: The purpose of this graph is to take a snapshot of a country’s economy in comparison to other economies. For example, South Korea’s Exports rank is higher than (please wait...) of the countries in the dataset. For Exports, FDI and GDP measures, a higher rank (closer to 100%) indicates a stronger economy. Conversely, for Unemployment and Inflation, a lower rank (closer to 0%) indicates a stronger economy.