# South Korea — national dossier South Korea — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 44 indicators, each… Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/KOR Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year) ## Overview - Official name: Republic of Korea - Capital: Seoul - Region: Eastern Asia, Asia - Population: 51 m - Area: 100,210 km² - Languages: Korean - Currency: South Korean won (KRW) A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Economy | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | GDP | $1.87 T | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | GDP per capita | $36,227 | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | GDP growth | 1.0% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Inflation | 2.1% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Trade openness | 86.4% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | ## Society | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Population | 52 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Life expectancy | 83.6 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Urban population | 81.2% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Fertility rate | 0.7 | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Literacy rate | 98.0% | 2008 | World Development Indicators | ## Governance | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 71.0 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Political stability | 76.8 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Government effectiveness | 80.2 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Regulatory quality | 70.8 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Rule of law | 76.2 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Control of corruption | 65.1 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | ## Health | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 8.7% | 2024 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | | Physicians | 2.61 | 2022 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | | Under-5 mortality | 2.8 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) | | Measles immunisation | 97.0% | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) | | Safe drinking water | 99.3% | 2024 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | ## Education | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 98.0% | 2008 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Education spending | 5.4% | 2022 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Primary enrolment | 100.9% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Secondary enrolment | 96.3% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Tertiary enrolment | 111.9% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | ## Technology | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 4.9% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Researchers (per million) | 9,472 | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Internet users | 97.9% | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) | | Mobile subscriptions | 173 | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) | | High-tech exports | 36.3% | 2024 | World Development Indicators | ## Geography | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Land area | 97,600 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | Forest area | 64.1% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | Agricultural land | 16.1% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 11.4 | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Renewable energy | 3.6% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | ## Resources | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2024 | World Development Indicators | ## Military | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 2.6% | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | | Defense spending | $48 B | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | | Armed forces | 569,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:KOR::) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/KOR.claims.json History: "A peninsula of ancient kingdoms, half a century of colonization and fratricidal war, and a startling rise from ruin to global cultural powerhouse." — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/KOR/chronicle.md (6 eras, 38 events). ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Citation template: Terralore, "South Korea — national dossier", terralore.co/country/KOR, retrieved .