South Korea
population: Monthly national estimate (2 Jul 2026) · indicators as of 2026-09-05 · 18 metros tracked
🗺️ Geography18 metros
South Korea metro footprint, shaded by composite tier.
Hover for rank, click to open the metro page. Boundaries derived from Overture Maps administrative divisions; metros without source coverage are omitted.
🏙️ 18 tracked metros
Show all 18 rows
| Metro | State | Tier | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8 | Seoul▲ Largest | Seoul | 26.0M | 111.8 | Global Capital |
| #74 | Busan-Ulsan | Busan | 8.1M | 35.3 | Major Metro |
| #162 | Daegu | Daegu | 3.5M | 18.2 | Regional Hub |
| #177 | Daejeon★ Capital | Chungcheongnam | 4.0M | 16.2 | Regional Hub |
| #311 | Pohang | Gyeongsangbuk | 501K | 8.6 | Established Metro |
| #325 | Gwangju | Gwangju | 1.5M | 8.1 | Established Metro |
| #363 | Cheongju | Chungcheongbuk | 1.6M | 7.1 | Established Metro |
| #366 | Jeonju | Jeollabuk | 1.8M | 7.0 | Established Metro |
| #485 | Jeju City | Jeju | 671K | 5.0 | Established Metro |
| #529 | Chuncheon | Gangwon | 285K | 4.5 | Emerging Metro |
| #597 | Mokpo | Jeollanam | 366K | 3.8 | Emerging Metro |
| #1132 | Gangneung | Gangwon | 217K | 1.3 | Emerging Metro |
| #1305 | Gimcheon | Gyeongsangbuk | 139K | 1.0 | Emerging Metro |
| #1435 | Gwangyang | Jeollanam | 726K | 0.9 | Local Metro |
| #2049 | Wonju | Gangwon | 397K | 0.4 | Local Metro |
| #2937 | Pyeongchang | Gangwon | 39K | 0.2 | Local Metro |
| #3646 | Sangju | Gyeongsangbuk | 95K | 0.0 | Local Metro |
| #3684 | Donghae | Gangwon | 88K | 0.0 | Local Metro |
🗂️ Administrative subdivisions
17 entries listed under South Korea across 3 types. Click any to see its metros and footprint.
Provinces (9)
Special Self-Governing Cities (1)
📋 At a glance
- Official languages
- Korean, Korean Sign Language
- Currency
- Korean mun
- Government
- Presidential system
- Legislature
- National Assembly
- Constitution
- 1948, 8 amendment events since
- Demonym
- South Korean
- Time zones
- Korea Standard Time, UTC+09:00
- Driving side
- Right
- Calling code
- +82
- Internet TLD
- .kr, .한국
- ISO 3166
- KR
- Established
- 1948
- Highest point
- Hallasan (1,947 m (6,388 ft))
- National anthem
- Aegukga
Facts via Wikidata.
📰 In the news4 stories
Stratechery · 22 Aug 2026
So what was Trump saying to South Korea on Sunday?Further reading from the day's section on Iran, Taiwan and Ukraine.
Semafor · 18 Aug 2026
"Allies on edge"The Pentagon told Semafor it had nothing to share on concrete steps after Trump said he would reduce joint exercises with South Korea.
The Washington Post · 18 Aug 2026
"Trump reduces military exercises with South Korea, citing good ties with Kim Jong Un"Trump said he would substantially reduce joint exercises with South Korea, citing his relationship with Kim Jong Un and Seoul's stance on Iran.
Business Insider · 24 Jun 2026
South Korea's Kospi plunges in AI-driven selloffThe index fell roughly 10% as markets reassessed AI valuations, alongside Alphabet's worst day in a year.
💹 Economy and developmentHigh income
Ranks are among sovereign countries with data; ★ marks a top-5% finish. Sources: World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data (UNDP, UN WPP, V-Dem, Global Carbon Budget, Ember, Energy Institute; CC BY 4.0). Each card credits its originating body. Renewable share is of electricity generation, not of primary energy. Each figure is the most recent year available.
🏛️ Leadership History17 leaders · click to expand
marks a leader associated with atrocities or defiance of law, systemic subversion of democratic institutions, or a criminal conviction. Convictions arising from political persecution, and annulled convictions, are excluded. denotes a monarch. These are editorial designations, applied per entry rather than derived automatically.
Lee Jae Myung✦ Current
2025–PresentPresident
Lee Jae-myung
2025–2025President
Yoon Suk-yeol
2022–2025President
Moon Jae-in
2017–2022President
⚠️ Park Geun-hye
2013–2017President
⚠️ Lee Myung-bak
2008–2013President
Roh Moo-hyun
2003–2008President
Kim Dae-jung
1998–2003President
Kim Young-sam
1993–1998President
⚠️ Roh Tae-woo
1988–1993President
⚠️ Chun Doo-hwan
1980–1988President
Choi Kyu-hah
1979–1980President
Show all 17 leaders
⚠️ Park Chung-hee
1963–1979President
⚠️ Park Chung-hee
1961–1963Chairman (Supreme Council for National Reconstruction)
Yun Po-sun
1960–1962President
Heo Jeong
1960–1960Acting President
Syngman Rhee
1948–1960President
| Name | Role | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Jae Myung✦ Current | President | 2025–Present |
| Lee Jae-myung | President | 2025–2025 |
| Yoon Suk-yeol | President | 2022–2025 |
| Moon Jae-in | President | 2017–2022 |
| ⚠️ Park Geun-hye | President | 2013–2017 |
| ⚠️ Lee Myung-bak | President | 2008–2013 |
| Roh Moo-hyun | President | 2003–2008 |
| Kim Dae-jung | President | 1998–2003 |
| Kim Young-sam | President | 1993–1998 |
| ⚠️ Roh Tae-woo | President | 1988–1993 |
| ⚠️ Chun Doo-hwan | President | 1980–1988 |
| Choi Kyu-hah | President | 1979–1980 |
| ⚠️ Park Chung-hee | President | 1963–1979 |
| ⚠️ Park Chung-hee | Chairman (Supreme Council for National Reconstruction) | 1961–1963 |
| Yun Po-sun | President | 1960–1962 |
| Heo Jeong | Acting President | 1960–1960 |
| Syngman Rhee | President | 1948–1960 |
📈 Power over timeThe Power Atlas →
The powerline is the headline share of world power, running from the state’s first ranked year (benchmark estimates with wide error bars before 1816). Latent power is material mass a state could mobilise (population, manpower, heavy industry). Recognised power is what the system actually treats it as (military spending, productive economy, reach, and status such as a Security Council seat or nuclear arsenal). When latent runs above recognised, a power is rising or under-rated; when recognised runs higher, it is punching above its weight or coasting on prestige. Material sub-indices run 1816 through 2016.
⚔️ Conflicts since 19454 interstate wars · click to expand
| Conflict | Years | Against | Combat deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korean DMZ Conflict | 1966–1969 | North Korea | 739+ |
| Vietnam War● | 1965–1973 | North Vietnam,FNL,Khmer Rouge,Khmer Issarak,Pathet Lao,China,North Korea,Soviet Union | 1,326,494–3,447,494 |
| First Sudanese Civil War● | 1955–1972 | SDF mutineers, bandits, and unaffiliated separatist militias,ALF (1965–1970),Anyanya (from 1963),Israel (from 1969),Ethiopia,Uganda (from about 1970),Democratic Republic of the Congo Congo-Léopoldville,Kenya,France,United KingdomEgypt Anglo-Egyptian Sudan,(1955–1956),Sudan Republic of the Sudan | — |
| Korean War [ 9 ]● | 1950–1953 | North Korea,China,Soviet Union | 2,568,927–4,096,927 |
Bold = principal belligerent. Source: Wikipedia, “List of interstate wars since 1945.”
👥 Population over time
Our World in Data population (CC BY): UN WPP 2024 from 1950, Gapminder v7 1800-1949, HYDE 3.3 earlier; today's borders. Figures above are as of 2023, the last year that is estimated rather than forecast. The dashed tail to 2026 is a UN WPP medium-variant projection. It is drawn because the line should reach the present, and drawn differently because it has not happened yet: no rank, peak or share on this page uses it. Before 1950 the series is reconstruction rather than contemporaneous statistics, which is worth knowing when a country’s peak sits back there. The current population shown elsewhere on this page comes from the workbook and is unchanged by this. Note that people and share of world can move in opposite directions. A country can grow steadily and still become a smaller part of humanity, which is what happened to almost every rich country after 1960.
👥 To 2100
The UN’s probabilistic projection for South Korea: the median with its 80% and 95% bands, the UN’s own high, low and zero-migration scenarios beside it. Not this site’s model; the site reads it and says what it implies.
Tap or drag across the chart to read any year: the estimate to 2023, then the UN median, its bands and the scenarios.
What drives it
Births, deaths and net migration on the UN medium path, with fertility, life expectancy and median age, every decade from 1950.
Show all 16 decades
Source: United Nations, DESA, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 IGO. Estimates to 2023; projections 2024 to 2100, medium variant and probabilistic intervals. The UN revises every two years; this is the WPP 2024 revision.
💰 Billionaires50 · $190.2B combined · click to expand
Show all 50 rows
| # | Name | Net worth | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | Jay Y. Lee(inherited) | $33.3B | Technology |
| 262 | Lee Boo-jin(inherited) | $12.2B | Technology |
| 293 | Lee Seo-hyun(inherited) | $11.6B | Technology |
| 302 | Hong Ra-hee(inherited) | $11.4B | Technology |
| 400 | Cho Jung-ho(inherited) | $9.2B | Finance & Investments |
| 442 | Seo Jung-jin | $8.6B | Healthcare |
| 548 | Mong-Koo Chung(inherited) | $7.4B | Automotive |
| 669 | Euisun Chung(inherited) | $6.2B | Automotive |
| 860 | Kwak Dong Shin(inherited) | $5.0B | Technology |
| 873 | Chey Tae-won(inherited) | $4.9B | Technology |
| 1058 | Byunghoon Kim | $4.1B | Fashion & Retail |
| 1105 | Park Hyeon-joo | $3.9B | Finance & Investments |
| 1222 | Koo Bon-neung(inherited) | $3.5B | Technology |
| 1257 | Kwon Hyuk-bin | $3.5B | Media & Entertainment |
| 1264 | Cho Hyun-joon(inherited) | $3.4B | Diversified |
| 1331 | Kim Beom-su | $3.2B | Technology |
| 1335 | Kim Jun-ki | $3.2B | Diversified |
| 1421 | Park Soon-jae | $3.0B | Healthcare |
| 1526 | Chung Yong-jin(inherited) | $2.8B | Fashion & Retail |
| 1568 | Chung Mong-joon(inherited) | $2.7B | Manufacturing |
| 1595 | Yoo Jung-hyun | $2.6B | Media & Entertainment |
| 1623 | Koo Kwang-mo(inherited) | $2.6B | Diversified |
| 1642 | Song Chi-hyung | $2.6B | Finance & Investments |
| 1735 | Park Dong-suk | $2.4B | Manufacturing |
| 1940 | Koo Bon-sik(inherited) | $2.2B | Technology |
| 2065 | Chey Ki-won(inherited) | $2.0B | Technology |
| 2366 | Kim Nam-goo(inherited) | $1.8B | Finance & Investments |
| 2434 | Hwang Chul-joo | $1.7B | Technology |
| 2496 | Kim Jung-youn(inherited) | $1.7B | Media & Entertainment |
| 2497 | Kim Jung-min(inherited) | $1.7B | Media & Entertainment |
| 2589 | Lee Hae-jin | $1.6B | Technology |
| 2633 | Suh Kyung-bae(inherited) | $1.5B | Fashion & Retail |
| 2653 | Lee Dong-chae | $1.5B | Manufacturing |
| 2668 | Kim Sang-beom(inherited) | $1.5B | Technology |
| 2711 | Shin Chang-jae(inherited) | $1.5B | Finance & Investments |
| 2726 | Lee Joon-ho | $1.5B | Media & Entertainment |
| 2850 | Chung Yong-ji | $1.4B | Healthcare |
| 2890 | Lee Chae-yoon | $1.3B | Technology |
| 2914 | Kim Hyoung-nyon | $1.3B | Finance & Investments |
| 2944 | Kim Taek-jin | $1.3B | Media & Entertainment |
| 2952 | Lee Jay-hyun(inherited) | $1.3B | Diversified |
| 3018 | Shin Dong-joo(inherited) | $1.2B | Fashion & Retail |
| 3045 | Lee Ho-jin(inherited) | $1.2B | Diversified |
| 3156 | Hong Seok-joh(inherited) | $1.2B | Fashion & Retail |
| 3218 | Cho Hyun-beom(inherited) | $1.1B | Automotive |
| 3224 | Lee Hwa-kyung(inherited) | $1.1B | Food & Beverage |
| 3262 | Sung Kyu-dong(inherited) | $1.1B | Technology |
| 3324 | Lee Su-jin | $1.1B | Technology |
| 3330 | Lee Joong-keun | $1.0B | Construction & Engineering |
| 3367 | Lee Seung-gun | $1.0B | Finance & Investments |
Source: Forbes real-time billionaires (via the rtb-api project). Net worth as of the latest monthly snapshot.
🏆 National Teams
South Korea on the international stage. Click a card for the full record.
National Teams Champions
Every major championship won by South Korea's national teams, newest first. 2 in total.
| Year | Date | Champion | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1960-10-23 | South Korea | AFC Asian Cup |
| 1956 | 1956-09-15 | South Korea | AFC Asian Cup |