Urban population in South Korea
South Korea: Urban population was 41.95 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in South Korea, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
South Korea recorded 41.95 million for urban population in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in South Korea peaked at 42.08 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 6.92 million, in 1960.
South Korea ranks 23rd of 215 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.17 million | 6.92 million | 12.21 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 16.69 million | 13.12 million | 20.61 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 26.07 million | 21.60 million | 30.76 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 34.76 million | 31.72 million | 37.00 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 39.02 million | 37.41 million | 40.40 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.47 million | 40.62 million | 42.08 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.99 million | 41.94 million | 42.08 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More climate change data for South Korea
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.2% (2100)
- Population growth -0.1% (2025)
- Population, total 51.68 million (2025)
- Urban population growth -0.1% (2025)
- Urban population 81.2% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 11.29 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 20.71 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 11.29 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 11.29 tonnes per person (2024)
- Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population 1.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in South Korea?
- Urban population in South Korea was 41.95 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 42.08 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.92 million in 1960.
- How does South Korea rank for urban population?
- South Korea ranks 23rd out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.