Korea - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Korea was 51,836,240 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 51,836,240 in 2020 and a minimum value of 25,012,370 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 25,012,370
1961 25,765,670
1962 26,513,030
1963 27,261,750
1964 27,984,160
1965 28,704,670
1966 29,435,570
1967 30,130,980
1968 30,838,300
1969 31,544,270
1970 32,240,830
1971 32,882,700
1972 33,505,410
1973 34,103,150
1974 34,692,260
1975 35,280,720
1976 35,848,520
1977 36,411,800
1978 36,969,180
1979 37,534,240
1980 38,123,780
1981 38,723,250
1982 39,326,350
1983 39,910,400
1984 40,405,960
1985 40,805,740
1986 41,213,670
1987 41,621,690
1988 42,031,250
1989 42,449,040
1990 42,869,280
1991 43,295,700
1992 43,747,960
1993 44,194,630
1994 44,641,540
1995 45,092,990
1996 45,524,680
1997 45,953,580
1998 46,286,500
1999 46,616,680
2000 47,008,110
2001 47,370,160
2002 47,644,740
2003 47,892,330
2004 48,082,520
2005 48,184,560
2006 48,438,290
2007 48,683,640
2008 49,054,710
2009 49,307,840
2010 49,554,110
2011 49,936,640
2012 50,199,850
2013 50,428,890
2014 50,746,660
2015 51,014,950
2016 51,217,800
2017 51,361,910
2018 51,585,060
2019 51,764,820
2020 51,836,240

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population