Demographics of South Korea

Demographic features of South Korea's population include population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The common language and especially culture are widely considered more important elements by South Koreans in terms of identity than citizenship.

In 2012, South Korea's population surpassed 50 million citizens for the first time in history, and by the end of 2021, the country's population had peaked at approximately 51.77 million people. However, in recent years the total fertility rate (TFR) of South Korea has plummeted, leading some researchers to suggest that if current trends continue, the country's population will shrink to approximately 28 million people by the end of the 21st century. In 2018, fertility in South Korea became a topic of international debate after only 26,500 babies were born in October and an estimated 325,000 babies for the year, causing the country to achieve the lowest birth rate in the world. In a further indication of South Korea's dramatic decline in fertility, in 2020 the country recorded more deaths than births, resulting in a population decline for the first time since modern records began. In 2024, South Korea had a total fertility rate of 0.75, the lowest in the world.

South Korea's population decline has been a direct result of record-low birth rates, which have been, according to many experts and researchers, a consequence of the country's high economic inequality, relatively high costs of living, low wages for an OECD member country, lack of job opportunities for young adults, and rising housing costs. Additionally, South Korea is also the country with the highest suicide rate among OECD member states and the wider developed world.

In South Korea, a variety of different Asian people had migrated to the Korean Peninsula in past centuries; however, few have remained permanently. South Korea is a highly homogenous nation, but has in recent decades become home to a number of foreign residents (4.37%), whereas North Korea has not experienced this trend. However, many of them are ethnic Koreans with foreign citizenship. Many residents from China, post-Soviet states, the United States, and Japan are, in fact, repatriated ethnic Koreans (labeled "Overseas Koreans") who may meet criteria for expedited acquisition of South Korean citizenship. For example, migrants from the People's Republic of China (PRC) make up 56.5% of foreign nationals; however, approximately 70% of the Chinese citizens in Korea are Joseonjok (조선족), PRC citizens of Korean ethnicity.