Urban population in South Korea
South Korea: Urban population was 41.95 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
41.95 million
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
23rd
of 218 countries
All-time high
42.08 million
in 2019
All-time low
6.92 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
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 218 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 6.92 million | — |
| 1961 | 7.33 million | +5.9% |
| 1962 | 7.75 million | +5.7% |
| 1963 | 8.19 million | +5.7% |
| 1964 | 8.66 million | +5.7% |
| 1965 | 9.18 million | +5.9% |
| 1966 | 9.74 million | +6.2% |
| 1967 | 10.41 million | +6.9% |
| 1968 | 11.27 million | +8.2% |
| 1969 | 12.21 million | +8.4% |
| 1970 | 13.12 million | +7.5% |
| 1971 | 13.93 million | +6.1% |
| 1972 | 14.67 million | +5.4% |
| 1973 | 15.40 million | +4.9% |
| 1974 | 16.14 million | +4.8% |
| 1975 | 16.92 million | +4.9% |
| 1976 | 17.77 million | +5.0% |
| 1977 | 18.68 million | +5.1% |
| 1978 | 19.63 million | +5.1% |
| 1979 | 20.61 million | +5.0% |
| 1980 | 21.60 million | +4.8% |
| 1981 | 22.59 million | +4.6% |
| 1982 | 23.58 million | +4.4% |
| 1983 | 24.56 million | +4.2% |
| 1984 | 25.52 million | +3.9% |
| 1985 | 26.44 million | +3.6% |
| 1986 | 27.44 million | +3.8% |
| 1987 | 28.54 million | +4.0% |
| 1988 | 29.67 million | +4.0% |
| 1989 | 30.76 million | +3.7% |
| 1990 | 31.72 million | +3.1% |
| 1991 | 32.54 million | +2.6% |
| 1992 | 33.33 million | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 34.08 million | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 34.76 million | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 35.35 million | +1.7% |
| 1996 | 35.85 million | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 36.30 million | +1.3% |
| 1998 | 36.65 million | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 37.00 million | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 37.41 million | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 37.84 million | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 38.25 million | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 38.65 million | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 39.00 million | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 39.22 million | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 39.51 million | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 39.78 million | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 40.14 million | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 40.40 million | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 40.62 million | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 40.93 million | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 41.12 million | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 41.26 million | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 41.48 million | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 41.65 million | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 41.77 million | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 41.85 million | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 41.98 million | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 42.08 million | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 42.08 million | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 42.02 million | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 41.94 million | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 41.97 million | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 42.01 million | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 41.95 million | -0.1% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 41.95 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.24 million, 18.7× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 41.95 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 685,900, 61.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
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
- 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 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 218 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.