Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in South Korea
South Korea: Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita was 39.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in South Korea, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in South Korea stood at 39.3%.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and down 18.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in South Korea peaked at 98.2% in 1963 and was at its lowest, 39.0%, in 2022.
That places South Korea 145th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 97.9% | — |
| 1962 | 98.2% | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 98.2% | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 89.4% | -9.0% |
| 1965 | 92.3% | +3.2% |
| 1966 | 93.8% | +1.7% |
| 1967 | 95.9% | +2.2% |
| 1968 | 92.8% | -3.2% |
| 1969 | 93.3% | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 91.0% | -2.5% |
| 1971 | 92.2% | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 89.7% | -2.8% |
| 1973 | 91.5% | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 93.3% | +2.0% |
| 1975 | 91.8% | -1.5% |
| 1976 | 88.2% | -4.0% |
| 1977 | 85.0% | -3.6% |
| 1978 | 79.3% | -6.7% |
| 1979 | 70.2% | -11.5% |
| 1980 | 74.1% | +5.5% |
| 1981 | 72.3% | -2.4% |
| 1982 | 71.5% | -1.1% |
| 1983 | 66.4% | -7.1% |
| 1984 | 66.8% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 66.6% | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 65.0% | -2.3% |
| 1987 | 60.3% | -7.3% |
| 1988 | 58.9% | -2.3% |
| 1989 | 54.8% | -7.0% |
| 1990 | 58.4% | +6.6% |
| 1991 | 52.9% | -9.5% |
| 1992 | 53.1% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 52.8% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 54.5% | +3.2% |
| 1995 | 45.1% | -17.2% |
| 1996 | 47.9% | +6.1% |
| 1997 | 50.7% | +5.9% |
| 1998 | 51.3% | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 50.2% | -2.1% |
| 2000 | 49.7% | -1.0% |
| 2001 | 49.4% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 45.8% | -7.3% |
| 2003 | 48.4% | +5.6% |
| 2004 | 49.3% | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 47.1% | -4.6% |
| 2006 | 48.0% | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 49.1% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 45.7% | -6.9% |
| 2009 | 48.3% | +5.7% |
| 2010 | 47.0% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 47.0% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 44.8% | -4.6% |
| 2013 | 48.3% | +7.7% |
| 2014 | 41.5% | -14.2% |
| 2015 | 42.9% | +3.4% |
| 2016 | 43.7% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 46.0% | +5.4% |
| 2018 | 44.4% | -3.7% |
| 2019 | 42.7% | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 41.5% | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 39.3% | -5.3% |
| 2022 | 39.0% | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 39.3% | +0.9% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 39.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 38.1%, 1.0× the median. (63 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 39.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 76.1%, 52% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 94.7% | 89.4% | 98.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 87.2% | 70.2% | 93.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 65.7% | 54.8% | 74.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 51.7% | 45.1% | 58.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 48.1% | 45.7% | 49.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 44.8% | 41.5% | 48.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.8% | 39.0% | 41.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More agriculture & rural data for South Korea
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.2516 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0146 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 530.46 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.1591 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1883 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in South Korea?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in South Korea was 39.3% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 98.2% in 1963.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.0% in 2022.
- How does South Korea rank for share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita?
- South Korea ranks 145th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of domestic cereal supply allocated to direct human food, rather than animal feed or biofuels. GDP is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs across countries.