Rural population in South Korea
South Korea: Rural population was 9.73 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
9.73 million
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
55th
of 218 countries
All-time high
19.72 million
in 1967
All-time low
8.90 million
in 2007
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in South Korea, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
South Korea recorded 9.73 million for rural population in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and up 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in South Korea peaked at 19.72 million in 1967 and was at its lowest, 8.90 million, in 2007.
That places South Korea 55th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 18.09 million | — |
| 1961 | 18.44 million | +1.9% |
| 1962 | 18.76 million | +1.8% |
| 1963 | 19.07 million | +1.6% |
| 1964 | 19.32 million | +1.3% |
| 1965 | 19.53 million | +1.1% |
| 1966 | 19.69 million | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 19.72 million | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 19.57 million | -0.7% |
| 1969 | 19.33 million | -1.2% |
| 1970 | 19.12 million | -1.1% |
| 1971 | 18.96 million | -0.8% |
| 1972 | 18.83 million | -0.7% |
| 1973 | 18.71 million | -0.7% |
| 1974 | 18.56 million | -0.8% |
| 1975 | 18.36 million | -1.1% |
| 1976 | 18.08 million | -1.5% |
| 1977 | 17.73 million | -1.9% |
| 1978 | 17.34 million | -2.2% |
| 1979 | 16.93 million | -2.4% |
| 1980 | 16.52 million | -2.4% |
| 1981 | 16.13 million | -2.4% |
| 1982 | 15.75 million | -2.4% |
| 1983 | 15.35 million | -2.6% |
| 1984 | 14.89 million | -3.0% |
| 1985 | 14.37 million | -3.5% |
| 1986 | 13.77 million | -4.1% |
| 1987 | 13.08 million | -5.0% |
| 1988 | 12.36 million | -5.5% |
| 1989 | 11.69 million | -5.5% |
| 1990 | 11.15 million | -4.6% |
| 1991 | 10.75 million | -3.6% |
| 1992 | 10.41 million | -3.2% |
| 1993 | 10.12 million | -2.9% |
| 1994 | 9.88 million | -2.3% |
| 1995 | 9.74 million | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 9.67 million | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 9.65 million | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 9.64 million | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 9.62 million | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 9.60 million | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 9.53 million | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 9.40 million | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 9.24 million | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 9.09 million | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 8.97 million | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 8.93 million | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 8.90 million | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 8.91 million | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 8.91 million | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 8.94 million | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 9.01 million | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 9.08 million | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 9.16 million | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 9.27 million | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 9.37 million | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 9.45 million | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 9.52 million | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 9.60 million | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 9.69 million | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 9.76 million | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 9.75 million | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 9.73 million | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 9.74 million | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 9.75 million | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 9.73 million | -0.2% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 9.73 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 456,529, 21.3× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 9.73 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 377,513, 25.8× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 19.15 million | 18.09 million | 19.72 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 18.26 million | 16.93 million | 19.12 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 14.39 million | 11.69 million | 16.52 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.06 million | 9.62 million | 11.15 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.15 million | 8.90 million | 9.60 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.31 million | 8.94 million | 9.69 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.74 million | 9.73 million | 9.76 million | 6 |
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 rural population in South Korea?
- Rural population in South Korea was 9.73 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 19.72 million in 1967.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.90 million in 2007.
- How does South Korea rank for rural population?
- South Korea ranks 55th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural 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
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.