Singapore vs South Korea Demographics: Median age, Gender, Race, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Singapore vs South Korea

Table

Year	Median age
	Singapore	South Korea
1960	18.2	19.3
1961	18.1	19.2
1962	18	19.1
1963	18	19
1964	18.1	18.8
1965	18.2	18.6
1966	18.4	18.5
1967	18.6	18.6
1968	18.9	18.7
1969	19.3	18.8
1970	19.7	18.9
1971	20.1	19
1972	20.6	19.1
1973	21	19.3
1974	21.5	19.6
1975	22	19.9
1976	22.6	20.2
1977	23.1	20.7
1978	23.6	21.1
1979	24.2	21.6
1980	24.7	22.1
1981	25.3	22.5
1982	25.9	22.8
1983	26.4	23.3
1984	26.9	23.7
1985	27.3	24.2
1986	27.8	24.8
1987	28.3	25.3
1988	28.7	25.8
1989	29.1	26.3
1990	29.5	26.7
1991	29.8	27.2
1992	30.1	27.8
1993	30.4	28.3
1994	30.7	28.9
1995	31	29.4
1996	31.2	29.8
1997	31.4	30.2
1998	31.6	30.7
1999	31.9	31.2
2000	32.2	31.7
2001	32.5	32.3
2002	32.7	32.8
2003	33	33.4
2004	33.3	33.9
2005	33.5	34.5
2006	33.6	35.2
2007	33.6	35.8
2008	33.5	36.4
2009	33.6	37
2010	33.7	37.6
2011	33.9	38.2
2012	34	38.8
2013	34.1	39.5
2014	34.2	40.2
2015	34.4	40.8
2016	34.5	41.4
2017	34.8	41.9
2018	35	42.5
2019	35.2	43.1
2020	35.5	43.8
2021	35.8	44.4
2022	35.9	44.9
2023	36.2	45.5
2024	36.8	46.1
2025	37.2	46.6
2026	37.8	47.2
2027	38.3	47.8
2028	38.9	48.3
2029	39.5	48.9
2030	40.1	49.5
2031	40.6	50
2032	41.2	50.6
2033	41.8	51.1
2034	42.3	51.6
2035	42.9	52.2
2036	43.5	52.6
2037	44.1	53.1
2038	44.7	53.5
2039	45.3	53.9
2040	45.9	54.3
2041	46.5	54.7
2042	47.1	55
2043	47.7	55.4
2044	48.3	55.7
2045	49	56
2046	49.6	56.3
2047	50.2	56.7
2048	50.8	57
2049	51.3	57.4
2050	51.9	57.7

In 1960, the median age in Singapore was 18.2 years compared to 19.3 years in South Korea. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 36.8 years in Singapore and to 46.1 years in South Korea.

According to United Nations projections, the median age in Singapore is expected to increased to around 51.9 years by 2050 compared to 57.7 years in South Korea. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Singapore		South Korea
	Male	Female	Male	Female
0-4	2.04%	1.95%	1.27%	1.21%
5-9	1.98%	1.91%	1.88%	1.79%
10-14	1.96%	1.85%	2.27%	2.15%
15-19	3.09%	2.72%	2.3%	2.16%
20-24	5.06%	4.14%	2.87%	2.62%
25-29	5.69%	4.63%	3.62%	3.22%
30-34	5.36%	4.59%	3.72%	3.23%
35-39	4.42%	3.99%	3.35%	3.04%
40-44	3.77%	3.57%	3.98%	3.76%
45-49	3.31%	3.18%	3.8%	3.66%
50-54	3.1%	3.01%	4.32%	4.23%
55-59	2.84%	2.76%	4.07%	4.08%
60-64	2.75%	2.67%	4.03%	4.11%
65-69	2.35%	2.43%	3.27%	3.49%
70-74	1.76%	1.94%	2.1%	2.39%
75-79	1.11%	1.33%	1.48%	1.83%
80+	1.06%	1.67%	1.59%	3.13%

The chart above is a variation of a population pyramid and represents a comparison of age and gender structure. Singapore has low demographic potential with 47% of people in the 0-34 age group compared to 34.3% and low potential in South Korea.

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Singapore			South Korea
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	88.9%	84.4%	4.45%	80%	74.3%	5.63%
1961	89.6%	85%	4.6%	81.6%	75.8%	5.75%
1962	89.4%	84.7%	4.74%	83.4%	77.5%	5.89%
1963	88.5%	83.6%	4.87%	85.1%	79.1%	6.02%
1964	87%	81.9%	5.01%	86.5%	80.4%	6.08%
1965	85.1%	80%	5.14%	87.3%	81.2%	6.13%
1966	83.1%	77.8%	5.28%	87.7%	81.6%	6.15%
1967	80.8%	75.4%	5.41%	87.4%	81.2%	6.16%
1968	78.3%	72.7%	5.54%	86.5%	80.3%	6.18%
1969	75.5%	69.8%	5.66%	85.3%	79.1%	6.16%
1970	72.4%	66.6%	5.78%	83.5%	77.3%	6.16%
1971	69.3%	63.4%	5.88%	81.7%	75.5%	6.22%
1972	66.2%	60.2%	5.97%	80.1%	73.8%	6.27%
1973	63.2%	57.1%	6.08%	78%	71.7%	6.28%
1974	60.3%	54.1%	6.2%	75.6%	69.3%	6.28%
1975	57.4%	51.1%	6.33%	72.8%	66.6%	6.23%
1976	54.8%	48.3%	6.47%	69.8%	63.7%	6.19%
1977	52.3%	45.7%	6.61%	67.1%	61%	6.16%
1978	49.9%	43.1%	6.74%	64.7%	58.6%	6.14%
1979	47.6%	40.8%	6.83%	62.7%	56.5%	6.14%
1980	45.2%	38.4%	6.86%	60.9%	54.8%	6.16%
1981	42.8%	36%	6.79%	59.4%	53.1%	6.23%
1982	40.9%	34.2%	6.76%	58%	51.7%	6.34%
1983	39.9%	33.1%	6.84%	56.5%	50.1%	6.39%
1984	39.5%	32.5%	6.98%	54.6%	48.2%	6.41%
1985	39.4%	32.2%	7.18%	52.5%	46.1%	6.47%
1986	39.2%	31.8%	7.39%	50.5%	43.9%	6.58%
1987	38.6%	31.1%	7.55%	48.6%	41.9%	6.68%
1988	38%	30.3%	7.64%	47%	40.2%	6.8%
1989	37.5%	29.8%	7.68%	45.6%	38.6%	6.93%
1990	37%	29.3%	7.67%	44.3%	37.3%	7.05%
1991	36.7%	29%	7.67%	43.3%	36.1%	7.21%
1992	36.6%	28.8%	7.74%	42.6%	35.2%	7.4%
1993	36.4%	28.6%	7.83%	42%	34.4%	7.62%
1994	36.1%	28.2%	7.9%	41.4%	33.5%	7.86%
1995	35.6%	27.7%	7.92%	40.6%	32.5%	8.11%
1996	34.8%	26.9%	7.87%	39.9%	31.5%	8.35%
1997	34%	26.2%	7.84%	39.3%	30.6%	8.65%
1998	33.6%	25.7%	7.92%	38.9%	30%	8.99%
1999	33.5%	25.4%	8.13%	38.8%	29.5%	9.38%
2000	33.4%	25.1%	8.34%	39%	29.2%	9.86%
2001	33.2%	24.7%	8.46%	39.3%	28.9%	10.4%
2002	33.1%	24.6%	8.58%	39.4%	28.5%	10.9%
2003	33%	24.3%	8.76%	39.5%	28.1%	11.4%
2004	32.7%	23.6%	9.04%	39.5%	27.5%	12%
2005	32.1%	22.8%	9.3%	39.4%	26.8%	12.5%
2006	31.2%	21.7%	9.42%	39.1%	26%	13.1%
2007	29.9%	20.5%	9.33%	38.8%	25.1%	13.7%
2008	28.6%	19.4%	9.22%	38.4%	24.2%	14.2%
2009	27.9%	18.6%	9.27%	38%	23.4%	14.6%
2010	27.3%	18%	9.34%	37.7%	22.6%	15.1%
2011	26.9%	17.5%	9.5%	37.3%	21.7%	15.6%
2012	26.9%	17%	9.87%	36.8%	20.8%	16%
2013	27%	16.6%	10.4%	36.5%	20%	16.5%
2014	27.3%	16.4%	10.9%	36.5%	19.4%	17.1%
2015	27.7%	16.2%	11.5%	36.5%	18.8%	17.7%
2016	28.2%	16%	12.1%	36.5%	18.2%	18.2%
2017	28.8%	16%	12.8%	36.8%	17.8%	19%
2018	29.6%	16%	13.6%	37.3%	17.5%	19.8%
2019	30.2%	15.9%	14.3%	37.9%	17.1%	20.8%
2020	31.2%	16%	15.2%	38.8%	16.8%	22%
2021	32.3%	16.1%	16.2%	39.8%	16.5%	23.3%
2022	32.8%	15.9%	16.9%	40.6%	16.1%	24.6%
2023	33.1%	15.7%	17.4%	41.5%	15.5%	25.9%
2024	33.9%	15.7%	18.3%	42.5%	15.1%	27.5%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64.

Age dependency in Singapore increased from 32.7% to 33.9% between 2004 and 2024.

In South Korea, the ratio of dependent people increased from 39.5% to 42.5% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of young people and an increased proportion of people aged 65+.

Working age demographic

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Singapore	South Korea
1960	52.9%	55.6%
1961	52.7%	55.1%
1962	52.8%	54.5%
1963	53.1%	54%
1964	53.5%	53.6%
1965	54%	53.4%
1966	54.6%	53.3%
1967	55.3%	53.4%
1968	56.1%	53.6%
1969	57%	54%
1970	58%	54.5%
1971	59.1%	55%
1972	60.2%	55.5%
1973	61.3%	56.2%
1974	62.4%	56.9%
1975	63.5%	57.9%
1976	64.6%	58.9%
1977	65.7%	59.8%
1978	66.7%	60.7%
1979	67.8%	61.5%
1980	68.9%	62.1%
1981	70%	62.8%
1982	71%	63.3%
1983	71.5%	63.9%
1984	71.7%	64.7%
1985	71.7%	65.6%
1986	71.8%	66.4%
1987	72.2%	67.3%
1988	72.5%	68%
1989	72.8%	68.7%
1990	73%	69.3%
1991	73.1%	69.8%
1992	73.2%	70.1%
1993	73.3%	70.4%
1994	73.5%	70.7%
1995	73.8%	71.1%
1996	74.2%	71.5%
1997	74.6%	71.8%
1998	74.8%	72%
1999	74.9%	72%
2000	75%	71.9%
2001	75.1%	71.8%
2002	75.1%	71.7%
2003	75.2%	71.7%
2004	75.4%	71.7%
2005	75.7%	71.8%
2006	76.2%	71.9%
2007	77%	72%
2008	77.7%	72.2%
2009	78.2%	72.4%
2010	78.5%	72.6%
2011	78.8%	72.9%
2012	78.8%	73.1%
2013	78.7%	73.2%
2014	78.5%	73.3%
2015	78.3%	73.3%
2016	78%	73.3%
2017	77.6%	73.1%
2018	77.2%	72.8%
2019	76.8%	72.5%
2020	76.2%	72.1%
2021	75.6%	71.5%
2022	75.3%	71.1%
2023	75.1%	70.7%
2024	74.7%	70.2%
2025	74.1%	69.5%
2026	73.5%	68.7%
2027	72.9%	68.1%
2028	72.3%	67.6%
2029	71.7%	67%
2030	71.1%	66.5%
2031	70.6%	65.9%
2032	70.1%	65.3%
2033	69.6%	64.5%
2034	69.2%	63.7%
2035	68.8%	62.8%
2036	68.4%	61.8%
2037	67.9%	60.9%
2038	67.5%	60%
2039	67.2%	59.2%
2040	66.9%	58.4%
2041	66.6%	57.8%
2042	66.4%	57.2%
2043	66.2%	56.6%
2044	65.9%	56%
2045	65.7%	55.3%
2046	65.4%	54.6%
2047	65.1%	53.9%
2048	64.8%	53.3%
2049	64.5%	52.9%
2050	64.1%	52.5%

Between 2004 and 2024, the share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 changed from 75.4% to 74.7% in Singapore and from 71.7% to 70.2% in South Korea.

Share of young demographic (0-14 years old)

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Singapore	South Korea
1960	44.7%	41.3%
1961	44.8%	41.8%
1962	44.7%	42.3%
1963	44.4%	42.7%
1964	43.8%	43.1%
1965	43.2%	43.3%
1966	42.5%	43.5%
1967	41.7%	43.3%
1968	40.8%	43.1%
1969	39.8%	42.7%
1970	38.7%	42.1%
1971	37.5%	41.5%
1972	36.2%	41%
1973	35%	40.3%
1974	33.7%	39.5%
1975	32.5%	38.5%
1976	31.2%	37.5%
1977	30%	36.5%
1978	28.8%	35.6%
1979	27.6%	34.8%
1980	26.4%	34%
1981	25.2%	33.3%
1982	24.2%	32.7%
1983	23.7%	32%
1984	23.3%	31.2%
1985	23.1%	30.2%
1986	22.9%	29.2%
1987	22.4%	28.2%
1988	22%	27.3%
1989	21.7%	26.5%
1990	21.4%	25.8%
1991	21.2%	25.2%
1992	21.1%	24.7%
1993	21%	24.2%
1994	20.7%	23.7%
1995	20.4%	23.1%
1996	20%	22.5%
1997	19.5%	22%
1998	19.2%	21.6%
1999	19%	21.2%
2000	18.8%	21%
2001	18.6%	20.8%
2002	18.4%	20.5%
2003	18.2%	20.1%
2004	17.8%	19.7%
2005	17.2%	19.2%
2006	16.6%	18.7%
2007	15.8%	18.1%
2008	15.1%	17.5%
2009	14.6%	16.9%
2010	14.1%	16.4%
2011	13.7%	15.8%
2012	13.4%	15.2%
2013	13.1%	14.7%
2014	12.9%	14.2%
2015	12.7%	13.8%
2016	12.5%	13.4%
2017	12.4%	13%
2018	12.3%	12.7%
2019	12.2%	12.4%
2020	12.2%	12.1%
2021	12.2%	11.8%
2022	12%	11.4%
2023	11.8%	11%
2024	11.7%	10.6%
2025	11.7%	10.2%
2026	11.7%	9.82%
2027	11.8%	9.42%
2028	11.9%	9.06%
2029	12%	8.75%
2030	12%	8.43%
2031	12%	8.15%
2032	12.1%	7.94%
2033	12.1%	7.79%
2034	12.1%	7.7%
2035	12.1%	7.66%
2036	12.1%	7.65%
2037	12.1%	7.66%
2038	12%	7.68%
2039	11.8%	7.71%
2040	11.7%	7.73%
2041	11.5%	7.75%
2042	11.2%	7.76%
2043	11%	7.77%
2044	10.7%	7.78%
2045	10.4%	7.79%
2046	10.1%	7.8%
2047	9.87%	7.81%
2048	9.6%	7.82%
2049	9.35%	7.82%
2050	9.12%	7.83%

The share of young people aged below 15 is 11.7% in Singapore and 10.6% in South Korea. Birth rates in Singapore compared to South Korea .

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Singapore	South Korea
1960	2.35%	3.13%
1961	2.43%	3.17%
1962	2.5%	3.21%
1963	2.58%	3.25%
1964	2.68%	3.26%
1965	2.78%	3.27%
1966	2.88%	3.27%
1967	2.99%	3.29%
1968	3.11%	3.31%
1969	3.23%	3.32%
1970	3.35%	3.36%
1971	3.47%	3.42%
1972	3.59%	3.48%
1973	3.73%	3.53%
1974	3.87%	3.57%
1975	4.02%	3.61%
1976	4.18%	3.64%
1977	4.34%	3.69%
1978	4.49%	3.73%
1979	4.63%	3.77%
1980	4.72%	3.83%
1981	4.76%	3.91%
1982	4.8%	4.01%
1983	4.89%	4.09%
1984	5%	4.15%
1985	5.15%	4.24%
1986	5.31%	4.37%
1987	5.44%	4.49%
1988	5.54%	4.62%
1989	5.59%	4.76%
1990	5.6%	4.89%
1991	5.61%	5.03%
1992	5.67%	5.19%
1993	5.74%	5.37%
1994	5.8%	5.56%
1995	5.84%	5.76%
1996	5.84%	5.97%
1997	5.85%	6.21%
1998	5.93%	6.47%
1999	6.09%	6.76%
2000	6.25%	7.09%
2001	6.35%	7.44%
2002	6.44%	7.82%
2003	6.59%	8.2%
2004	6.81%	8.6%
2005	7.04%	9%
2006	7.18%	9.42%
2007	7.18%	9.86%
2008	7.17%	10.2%
2009	7.25%	10.6%
2010	7.34%	11%
2011	7.48%	11.4%
2012	7.78%	11.7%
2013	8.17%	12.1%
2014	8.58%	12.5%
2015	9%	13%
2016	9.45%	13.4%
2017	9.96%	13.9%
2018	10.5%	14.5%
2019	11%	15.1%
2020	11.6%	15.8%
2021	12.3%	16.7%
2022	12.7%	17.5%
2023	13.1%	18.3%
2024	13.7%	19.3%
2025	14.2%	20.3%
2026	14.8%	21.4%
2027	15.3%	22.5%
2028	15.8%	23.4%
2029	16.4%	24.2%
2030	16.9%	25.1%
2031	17.4%	25.9%
2032	17.8%	26.8%
2033	18.2%	27.7%
2034	18.6%	28.6%
2035	19.1%	29.6%
2036	19.5%	30.5%
2037	20%	31.4%
2038	20.5%	32.3%
2039	21%	33.1%
2040	21.4%	33.8%
2041	21.9%	34.4%
2042	22.4%	35%
2043	22.9%	35.6%
2044	23.3%	36.2%
2045	23.9%	36.9%
2046	24.4%	37.6%
2047	25%	38.3%
2048	25.6%	38.9%
2049	26.1%	39.3%
2050	26.8%	39.7%

The share of older people aged 65 and over is 13.7% in Singapore and 19.3% in South Korea. Life expectancy in Singapore compared to South Korea .