Korea, Rep.: GDP per capita (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Korea, Rep.'s GDP per capita (current LCU) rose 2.12 million on 2024 (from 49.41 million to 51.53 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +1.36 million and a typical year strayed about 676,930 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations above 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 3.21 million in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 167,993 in 1998. 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 1.71 million a year. A straight line explains 96% 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 55.19 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 2.12 million, against 4.2 million 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, Rep. had the 5th highest value of the 186 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, Rep. in the 2025 ranking

• Viet Nam — 2nd of 186: 126.45 million
• Indonesia — 3rd of 186: 83.37 million
• Paraguay — 4th of 186: 53.02 million
• Uzbekistan — 6th of 186: 49.92 million
• Lao PDR — 7th of 186: 47.53 million
• Colombia — 8th of 186: 34.7 million

What this measures

Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. The core indicator has been divided by the general population to achieve a per capita estimate.This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

All 66 values

GDP per capita (current LCU) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 18,018 (2022)
• Australia — 100,632 (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 42,150 (2025)
• Cambodia — 11.53 million (2025)
• China — 99,665 (2025)
• Fiji — 15,270 (2025)
• French Polynesia — 2.48 million (2024)
• Guam — 41,833 (2022)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 444,302 (2025)
• Indonesia — 83.37 million (2025)
• Japan — 5.38 million (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Korea, Rep.

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$436.57 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$421.91 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$330.43 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 470.02 trillion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$332.28 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 411.92 trillion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 17.65% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$)

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, Rep.'s GDP per capita (current LCU)?

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

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 513,818% from 10,027 in 1960 (14.05% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 51.53 million in 2025 and the lowest 10,027 in 1960.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.GDP.PCAP.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); 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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