South Korea: population and ages

In mid-1950 there were 19.8 million people, so the population is now 2.6 times as large.

The UN projects 250,000 births and 385,000 deaths in 2026, 136,000 more deaths than births.

Deaths have outnumbered births every year since 2019.

More people move in than leave: net migration in 2026 is projected at plus 62,600.

The median age is 46.2, which is 15.1 years above the world’s 31.1.

10% of the people are under 15 and 21% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

People aged 65 and over have outnumbered children under 15 since 2017.

Women have 0.8 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 6.1 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 84.6 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 22.2.

For mid-2050 the UN projects 45.1 million people, 13% fewer than now, with a median age of 56.7.

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 84.3 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 23.6 more years for women and 18.6 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 30.2 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 75.1.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 21.8 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 9.29 million to 52 million.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

In mid-2024, 1.81 million international migrants lived here, 3.5% of the population.

In mid-2024, 2.03 million people from here lived in other countries.