South Korea Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
South Korea vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	South Korea	World
1960	19.3	22.5
1961	19.2	22.5
1962	19.1	22.4
1963	19	22.2
1964	18.8	22
1965	18.6	21.8
1966	18.5	21.7
1967	18.6	21.6
1968	18.7	21.5
1969	18.8	21.5
1970	18.9	21.4
1971	19	21.4
1972	19.1	21.5
1973	19.3	21.5
1974	19.6	21.6
1975	19.9	21.7
1976	20.2	21.9
1977	20.7	22
1978	21.1	22.2
1979	21.6	22.3
1980	22.1	22.5
1981	22.5	22.6
1982	22.8	22.7
1983	23.3	22.9
1984	23.7	23
1985	24.2	23.2
1986	24.8	23.3
1987	25.3	23.4
1988	25.8	23.6
1989	26.3	23.8
1990	26.7	23.9
1991	27.2	24.1
1992	27.8	24.3
1993	28.3	24.5
1994	28.9	24.7
1995	29.4	25
1996	29.8	25.2
1997	30.2	25.4
1998	30.7	25.7
1999	31.2	25.9
2000	31.7	26.1
2001	32.3	26.3
2002	32.8	26.5
2003	33.4	26.7
2004	33.9	27
2005	34.5	27.2
2006	35.2	27.4
2007	35.8	27.6
2008	36.4	27.8
2009	37	28
2010	37.6	28.2
2011	38.2	28.4
2012	38.8	28.6
2013	39.5	28.9
2014	40.2	29.1
2015	40.8	29.3
2016	41.4	29.5
2017	41.9	29.8
2018	42.5	30
2019	43.1	30.3
2020	43.8	30.6
2021	44.4	30.8
2022	44.9	31
2023	45.5	31.3
2024	46.1	31.6
2025	46.6	31.9
2026	47.2	32.1
2027	47.8	32.3
2028	48.3	32.6
2029	48.9	32.8
2030	49.5	33
2031	50	33.2
2032	50.6	33.4
2033	51.1	33.6
2034	51.6	33.8
2035	52.2	34
2036	52.6	34.2
2037	53.1	34.4
2038	53.5	34.6
2039	53.9	34.8
2040	54.3	35
2041	54.7	35.2
2042	55	35.4
2043	55.4	35.6
2044	55.7	35.8
2045	56	36
2046	56.3	36.2
2047	56.7	36.4
2048	57	36.6
2049	57.4	36.8
2050	57.7	37.1

In 1960, the median age in South Korea was 19.3 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 46.1 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 108th for median age 64 years ago (old to young), South Korea ranks 10th currently.

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

South Korea demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	South Korea
	Male	Female
0-4	1.27%	1.21%
5-9	1.88%	1.79%
10-14	2.27%	2.15%
15-19	2.3%	2.16%
20-24	2.87%	2.62%
25-29	3.62%	3.22%
30-34	3.72%	3.23%
35-39	3.35%	3.04%
40-44	3.98%	3.76%
45-49	3.8%	3.66%
50-54	4.32%	4.23%
55-59	4.07%	4.08%
60-64	4.03%	4.11%
65-69	3.27%	3.49%
70-74	2.1%	2.39%
75-79	1.48%	1.83%
80+	1.59%	3.13%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. South Korea has low demographic potential with 34.3% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 188/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	South Korea			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	80%	74.3%	5.63%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	81.6%	75.8%	5.75%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	83.4%	77.5%	5.89%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	85.1%	79.1%	6.02%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	86.5%	80.4%	6.08%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	87.3%	81.2%	6.13%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	87.7%	81.6%	6.15%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	87.4%	81.2%	6.16%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	86.5%	80.3%	6.18%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	85.3%	79.1%	6.16%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	83.5%	77.3%	6.16%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	81.7%	75.5%	6.22%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	80.1%	73.8%	6.27%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	78%	71.7%	6.28%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	75.6%	69.3%	6.28%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	72.8%	66.6%	6.23%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	69.8%	63.7%	6.19%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	67.1%	61%	6.16%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	64.7%	58.6%	6.14%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	62.7%	56.5%	6.14%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	60.9%	54.8%	6.16%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	59.4%	53.1%	6.23%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	58%	51.7%	6.34%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	56.5%	50.1%	6.39%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	54.6%	48.2%	6.41%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	52.5%	46.1%	6.47%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	50.5%	43.9%	6.58%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	48.6%	41.9%	6.68%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	47%	40.2%	6.8%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	45.6%	38.6%	6.93%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	44.3%	37.3%	7.05%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	43.3%	36.1%	7.21%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	42.6%	35.2%	7.4%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	42%	34.4%	7.62%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	41.4%	33.5%	7.86%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	40.6%	32.5%	8.11%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	39.9%	31.5%	8.35%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	39.3%	30.6%	8.65%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	38.9%	30%	8.99%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	38.8%	29.5%	9.38%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	39%	29.2%	9.86%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	39.3%	28.9%	10.4%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	39.4%	28.5%	10.9%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	39.5%	28.1%	11.4%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	39.5%	27.5%	12%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	39.4%	26.8%	12.5%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	39.1%	26%	13.1%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	38.8%	25.1%	13.7%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	38.4%	24.2%	14.2%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	38%	23.4%	14.6%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	37.7%	22.6%	15.1%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	37.3%	21.7%	15.6%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	36.8%	20.8%	16%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	36.5%	20%	16.5%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	36.5%	19.4%	17.1%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	36.5%	18.8%	17.7%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	36.5%	18.2%	18.2%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	36.8%	17.8%	19%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	37.3%	17.5%	19.8%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	37.9%	17.1%	20.8%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	38.8%	16.8%	22%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	39.8%	16.5%	23.3%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	40.6%	16.1%	24.6%	54%	39%	15%
2023	41.5%	15.5%	25.9%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	42.5%	15.1%	27.5%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

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 South Korea increased from 39.5% to 42.5% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

South Korea working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	South Korea	World
1960	55.6%	57.6%
1961	55.1%	57.5%
1962	54.5%	57.4%
1963	54%	57.2%
1964	53.6%	57%
1965	53.4%	56.9%
1966	53.3%	56.8%
1967	53.4%	56.9%
1968	53.6%	56.9%
1969	54%	56.9%
1970	54.5%	57%
1971	55%	57.1%
1972	55.5%	57.2%
1973	56.2%	57.3%
1974	56.9%	57.3%
1975	57.9%	57.4%
1976	58.9%	57.5%
1977	59.8%	57.7%
1978	60.7%	58%
1979	61.5%	58.4%
1980	62.1%	58.7%
1981	62.8%	59%
1982	63.3%	59.3%
1983	63.9%	59.6%
1984	64.7%	59.9%
1985	65.6%	60.1%
1986	66.4%	60.4%
1987	67.3%	60.5%
1988	68%	60.7%
1989	68.7%	60.8%
1990	69.3%	60.9%
1991	69.8%	61%
1992	70.1%	61.1%
1993	70.4%	61.2%
1994	70.7%	61.3%
1995	71.1%	61.5%
1996	71.5%	61.7%
1997	71.8%	61.9%
1998	72%	62.2%
1999	72%	62.5%
2000	71.9%	62.8%
2001	71.8%	63.1%
2002	71.7%	63.4%
2003	71.7%	63.7%
2004	71.7%	64%
2005	71.8%	64.3%
2006	71.9%	64.5%
2007	72%	64.7%
2008	72.2%	64.9%
2009	72.4%	65%
2010	72.6%	65.1%
2011	72.9%	65.2%
2012	73.1%	65.2%
2013	73.2%	65.2%
2014	73.3%	65.2%
2015	73.3%	65.1%
2016	73.3%	65.1%
2017	73.1%	65%
2018	72.8%	64.9%
2019	72.5%	64.9%
2020	72.1%	64.8%
2021	71.5%	64.9%
2022	71.1%	64.9%
2023	70.7%	65%
2024	70.2%	65.1%
2025	69.5%	65.2%
2026	68.7%	65.3%
2027	68.1%	65.4%
2028	67.6%	65.4%
2029	67%	65.4%
2030	66.5%	65.4%
2031	65.9%	65.4%
2032	65.3%	65.4%
2033	64.5%	65.4%
2034	63.7%	65.3%
2035	62.8%	65.2%
2036	61.8%	65%
2037	60.9%	64.9%
2038	60%	64.7%
2039	59.2%	64.6%
2040	58.4%	64.5%
2041	57.8%	64.4%
2042	57.2%	64.3%
2043	56.6%	64.2%
2044	56%	64.1%
2045	55.3%	63.9%
2046	54.6%	63.8%
2047	53.9%	63.7%
2048	53.3%	63.6%
2049	52.9%	63.4%
2050	52.5%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in South Korea changed from 71.7% to 70.2% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	South Korea	World
1960	41.3%	37.4%
1961	41.8%	37.5%
1962	42.3%	37.6%
1963	42.7%	37.8%
1964	43.1%	38%
1965	43.3%	38%
1966	43.5%	38%
1967	43.3%	38%
1968	43.1%	37.9%
1969	42.7%	37.8%
1970	42.1%	37.7%
1971	41.5%	37.6%
1972	41%	37.5%
1973	40.3%	37.3%
1974	39.5%	37.2%
1975	38.5%	37.1%
1976	37.5%	36.9%
1977	36.5%	36.7%
1978	35.6%	36.3%
1979	34.8%	35.9%
1980	34%	35.5%
1981	33.3%	35.2%
1982	32.7%	34.9%
1983	32%	34.6%
1984	31.2%	34.3%
1985	30.2%	34%
1986	29.2%	33.8%
1987	28.2%	33.6%
1988	27.3%	33.4%
1989	26.5%	33.2%
1990	25.8%	33%
1991	25.2%	32.9%
1992	24.7%	32.7%
1993	24.2%	32.5%
1994	23.7%	32.3%
1995	23.1%	32.1%
1996	22.5%	31.8%
1997	22%	31.5%
1998	21.6%	31.1%
1999	21.2%	30.8%
2000	21%	30.4%
2001	20.8%	30%
2002	20.5%	29.6%
2003	20.1%	29.2%
2004	19.7%	28.8%
2005	19.2%	28.5%
2006	18.7%	28.1%
2007	18.1%	27.9%
2008	17.5%	27.6%
2009	16.9%	27.5%
2010	16.4%	27.3%
2011	15.8%	27.1%
2012	15.2%	27%
2013	14.7%	26.9%
2014	14.2%	26.8%
2015	13.8%	26.6%
2016	13.4%	26.5%
2017	13%	26.4%
2018	12.7%	26.2%
2019	12.4%	26%
2020	12.1%	25.8%
2021	11.8%	25.6%
2022	11.4%	25.3%
2023	11%	25%
2024	10.6%	24.7%
2025	10.2%	24.4%
2026	9.82%	24.1%
2027	9.42%	23.8%
2028	9.06%	23.4%
2029	8.75%	23.1%
2030	8.43%	22.8%
2031	8.15%	22.6%
2032	7.94%	22.3%
2033	7.79%	22.1%
2034	7.7%	21.9%
2035	7.66%	21.7%
2036	7.65%	21.6%
2037	7.66%	21.5%
2038	7.68%	21.4%
2039	7.71%	21.3%
2040	7.73%	21.2%
2041	7.75%	21.1%
2042	7.76%	21%
2043	7.77%	21%
2044	7.78%	20.9%
2045	7.79%	20.8%
2046	7.8%	20.7%
2047	7.81%	20.7%
2048	7.82%	20.6%
2049	7.82%	20.5%
2050	7.83%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in South Korea decreased from 19.7% to 10.6% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	South Korea	World
1960	3.13%	4.97%
1961	3.17%	4.99%
1962	3.21%	5.01%
1963	3.25%	5.02%
1964	3.26%	5.04%
1965	3.27%	5.08%
1966	3.27%	5.12%
1967	3.29%	5.16%
1968	3.31%	5.2%
1969	3.32%	5.24%
1970	3.36%	5.28%
1971	3.42%	5.32%
1972	3.48%	5.37%
1973	3.53%	5.42%
1974	3.57%	5.47%
1975	3.61%	5.53%
1976	3.64%	5.59%
1977	3.69%	5.65%
1978	3.73%	5.71%
1979	3.77%	5.77%
1980	3.83%	5.81%
1981	3.91%	5.81%
1982	4.01%	5.8%
1983	4.09%	5.79%
1984	4.15%	5.8%
1985	4.24%	5.82%
1986	4.37%	5.86%
1987	4.49%	5.91%
1988	4.62%	5.95%
1989	4.76%	6.01%
1990	4.89%	6.07%
1991	5.03%	6.14%
1992	5.19%	6.21%
1993	5.37%	6.29%
1994	5.56%	6.37%
1995	5.76%	6.45%
1996	5.97%	6.53%
1997	6.21%	6.61%
1998	6.47%	6.68%
1999	6.76%	6.76%
2000	7.09%	6.84%
2001	7.44%	6.92%
2002	7.82%	7.01%
2003	8.2%	7.1%
2004	8.6%	7.18%
2005	9%	7.26%
2006	9.42%	7.34%
2007	9.86%	7.41%
2008	10.2%	7.47%
2009	10.6%	7.52%
2010	11%	7.58%
2011	11.4%	7.66%
2012	11.7%	7.78%
2013	12.1%	7.92%
2014	12.5%	8.08%
2015	13%	8.26%
2016	13.4%	8.45%
2017	13.9%	8.65%
2018	14.5%	8.88%
2019	15.1%	9.1%
2020	15.8%	9.33%
2021	16.7%	9.53%
2022	17.5%	9.74%
2023	18.3%	9.98%
2024	19.3%	10.2%
2025	20.3%	10.4%
2026	21.4%	10.6%
2027	22.5%	10.8%
2028	23.4%	11.1%
2029	24.2%	11.5%
2030	25.1%	11.7%
2031	25.9%	12%
2032	26.8%	12.3%
2033	27.7%	12.6%
2034	28.6%	12.8%
2035	29.6%	13.1%
2036	30.5%	13.4%
2037	31.4%	13.7%
2038	32.3%	13.9%
2039	33.1%	14.1%
2040	33.8%	14.3%
2041	34.4%	14.5%
2042	35%	14.7%
2043	35.6%	14.9%
2044	36.2%	15%
2045	36.9%	15.2%
2046	37.6%	15.4%
2047	38.3%	15.7%
2048	38.9%	15.9%
2049	39.3%	16.1%
2050	39.7%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in South Korea increased from 8.6% to 19.3% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.