Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Korea
South Korea: Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources was 40.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Korea, 1985–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 40.0% for share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 21.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Korea peaked at 53.9% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 27.2%, in 2018.
That places South Korea 100th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 41 years of available data.
Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 31.8% | — |
| 1986 | 45.1% | +41.8% |
| 1987 | 53.9% | +19.6% |
| 1988 | 45.2% | -16.2% |
| 1989 | 48.6% | +7.4% |
| 1990 | 48.6% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 45.4% | -6.5% |
| 1992 | 40.7% | -10.4% |
| 1993 | 38.5% | -5.4% |
| 1994 | 33.3% | -13.6% |
| 1995 | 34.4% | +3.4% |
| 1996 | 34.0% | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 32.4% | -4.6% |
| 1998 | 39.6% | +22.2% |
| 1999 | 40.9% | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 38.9% | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 37.0% | -5.0% |
| 2002 | 36.9% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 38.8% | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 36.8% | -5.1% |
| 2005 | 38.7% | +5.3% |
| 2006 | 37.9% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 34.6% | -8.6% |
| 2008 | 35.1% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 33.7% | -4.1% |
| 2010 | 31.2% | -7.5% |
| 2011 | 31.3% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 29.8% | -4.6% |
| 2013 | 27.7% | -7.0% |
| 2014 | 31.3% | +12.9% |
| 2015 | 32.9% | +4.9% |
| 2016 | 32.1% | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 29.6% | -7.7% |
| 2018 | 27.2% | -8.2% |
| 2019 | 30.5% | +12.1% |
| 2020 | 34.8% | +14.0% |
| 2021 | 33.9% | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 37.2% | +9.7% |
| 2023 | 38.8% | +4.3% |
| 2024 | 39.9% | +2.8% |
| 2025 | 40.0% | +0.2% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 40.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 40.0%, 1.0× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 40.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 25.0%, 1.6× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 44.9% | 31.8% | 53.9% | 5 |
| 1990s | 38.8% | 32.4% | 48.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 36.8% | 33.7% | 38.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 30.4% | 27.2% | 32.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.4% | 33.9% | 40.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More climate change data for South Korea
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.1 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.7164 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.8996 °C (2026)
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.2% (2100)
- Population, total, annual growth rate -0.1285 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate -0.1214 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.8117 units per person (2025)
- Precipitation anomalies, annual growth rate -78.08 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Korea?
- Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Korea was 40.0% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 53.9% in 1987.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.2% in 2018.
- How does South Korea rank for share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources?
- South Korea ranks 100th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region. Low-carbon sources correspond to renewables and nuclear power, that produce significantly less greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuels. Renewables include solar, wind, hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal, wave, and tidal.