Korea, Rep.: Mineral rents (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Korea, Rep.'s mineral rents (% of GDP) fell 0.08 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.08% to 0.000483%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.02 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 5.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.14 percentage points in 1973 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.15 percentage points in 1975. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 17% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2021, Korea, Rep. had the 88th highest value of the 197 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 2021 ranking

• Kenya — 85th of 197: 0.00566%
• Malawi — 86th of 197: 0.00565%
• Algeria — 87th of 197: 0.00379%
• United Kingdom — 89th of 197: 0.0000575%
• Afghanistan — 90th of 197: 0%
• American Samoa — 91st of 197: 0%

What this measures

Mineral rents are the difference between the value of production for a stock of minerals at world prices and their total costs of production. Minerals included in the calculation are tin, gold, lead, zinc, iron, copper, nickel, silver, bauxite, and phosphate.

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

All 52 values

Mineral rents (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 0% (2021)
• Australia — 10.47% (2021)
• Brunei Darussalam — 0% (2021)
• Cambodia — 0% (2021)
• China — 0.51% (2021)
• Fiji — 1.13% (2021)
• French Polynesia — 0% (2021)
• Guam — 0% (2021)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 0% (2021)
• Indonesia — 1.91% (2021)
• Japan — 0.00721% (2021)
• Kiribati

More environment data for Korea, Rep.

• Population in largest city — 10.03 million (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 23.9% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 26.41 million (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 51.1% (2025)
• Rural population — 9.73 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 18.83% (2025)
• Urban population — 41.95 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 81.17% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 2.28 million (2024)

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 mineral rents (% of GDP)?

0.000483% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 0.04 percentage points from 0.04% in 1970. The highest value was 0.18% in 1974 and the lowest 0.000308% in 2018.

How does Korea, Rep. rank?

88th highest of 197 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in mineral rents (% of GDP) unusual for Korea, Rep.?

In 2021, Korea, Rep.'s mineral rents (% of GDP) fell 0.08 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.08% to 0.000483%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.02 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 5.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.GDP.MINR.RT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/changing-wealth-of-nations/data, note: World Bank staff estimates based on sources and methods described in the World Bank's The Changing Wealth of Nations., publisher: World Bank (WB); Staff estimates, Wo… 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.