Korea, Dem. People's Rep.: Labor force, total

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s labor force, total rose 0.3% on 2024 (from 17.65 million to 17.7 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.9% and a typical year strayed about 0.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.2% in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.5% in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 79,938 a year. A straight line explains 79% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 17.96 million for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 30,874, against 128,925 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2025, Korea, Dem. People's Rep. had the 39th highest value of the 182 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Korea, Dem. People's Rep. in the 2025 ranking

• Malaysia — 35th of 182: 18.72 million
• Saudi Arabia — 36th of 182: 18.38 million
• Poland — 37th of 182: 18.17 million
• Madagascar — 39th of 182: 17.09 million
• Angola — 40th of 182: 16.32 million
• Mozambique — 41st of 182: 15.66 million

What this measures

Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 36 values

Labor force, total in nearby economies

• Australia — 15.13 million (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 237,763 (2025)
• Cambodia — 10.37 million (2025)
• China — 768.07 million (2025)
• Fiji — 390,290 (2025)
• French Polynesia — 120,628 (2025)
• Guam — 78,007 (2025)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 3.79 million (2025)
• Indonesia — 147.11 million (2025)
• Japan — 69.48 million (2025)
• Korea, Rep. — 29.87 million (2025)
• Lao PDR — 3.65 million (2025)

More social protection & labor data for Korea, Dem. People's Rep.

• Net migration — -2,787 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 81.89% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 75.24% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 78.49% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 87.34% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 91.18% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s labor force, total?

17.7 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 39.98% from 12.64 million in 1990 (0.97% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 17.7 million in 2025 and the lowest 12.64 million in 1990.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.TLF.TOTL.IN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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