Demographics of South Korea

Demographics of South Korea
Population pyramid of South Korea in 2023
Population	51,430,018 (2023 est.)
Growth rate	0.24% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	4.5 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate	6.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Life expectancy	82.97 years
• male	79.88 years
• female	86.24 years (2022 est.)
Fertility rate	0.72 children born/woman (2023)[1]
Infant mortality rate	2.87 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	11.53%
15–64 years	70.09%
65 and over	18.38%
Sex ratio
Total	1.01 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.05 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.6 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Korean
Major ethnic	Koreans (homogenous)[2]
Language
Spoken	Korean

Demographic features of the population of South Korea include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The common language and especially race are viewed as important elements by South Koreans in terms of identity, more than citizenship.

In June 2012, South Korea's population reached 50 million,^[3] and by the end of 2016, South Korea's population peaked at about 51 million people.^[4] However, in recent years the total fertility rate (TFR) of South Korea has plummeted, leading some researchers to suggest that if current trends continue, the country's population will shrink to approximately 28 million people by the end of the 21st century.^[5] In 2018, fertility in South Korea became a topic of international debate after only 26,500 babies were born in October and an estimated 325,000 babies for the year, causing the country to achieve the lowest birth rate in the world.^[6][7][8] In a further indication of South Korea's dramatic decline in fertility, in 2020 the country recorded more deaths than births, resulting in a population decline for the first time since modern records began.^[9][10]

Analysts have attributed South Korea's population decline resulting from low birth rates to the country's high economic inequality; including the high cost of living, low wages for an OECD member country, lack of job opportunities, as well as rising housing costs.^[11] South Korea also has the highest suicide rate in the OECD and the wider developed world.^[12]

In South Korea, a variety of different Asian people had migrated to the Korean Peninsula in past centuries, however few have remained permanently. South Korea is a highly homogenous nation, but has in recent decades become home to a number of foreign residents (4.37%), whereas North Korea has not experienced this trend. However, many of them are ethnic Koreans with a foreign citizenship. Many residents from China, post-Soviet states, the United States and Japan are, in fact, repatriated ethnic Koreans (labelled "Overseas Koreans") who may meet criteria for expedited acquisition of South Korean citizenship.^[13] For example, migrants from China (PRC) make up 56.5% of foreign nationals, but approximately 70% of the Chinese citizens in Korea are Joseonjok (조선족), PRC citizens of Korean ethnicity.^[14] The total population of Korea is estimated to be 80 million, which includes the population of North Korea.^[15]