Population and Demographics

Most South Koreans live in urban areas, due to rapid migration from the countryside during the country's rapid economic expansion in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The capital city of Seoul is the country's largest city and chief industrial centre. It had 10.3 million inhabitants in 2006, making Seoul one of the most populated single cities in the world. Other major cities include:

• Busan (3.65 million)
• Incheon (2.63 million)
• Daegu (2.53 million)
• Daejeon (1.46 million)
• Gwangju (1.41 million)
• Ulsan (1.10 million)

The population has also been shaped by international migration. Following the division of the Korean peninsula after World War II, about 4 million people from North Korea crossed the border to South Korea. This trend of net entry reversed over the next 40 years due to emigration, especially to the United States and Canada. However, South Korea's burgeoning economy and improved political climate in the early and mid-1990s slowed the high emigration rates typical of the previous decade. Many of those who left the country chose to return.

Although small, the percentage of non-Koreans in South Korea has risen rapidly in the early 21st century. As of April 2005, the total number of known foreign labourers in South Korea stood at 378,000, over half of whom were in the country without authorisation. This foreign workforce mainly comes from South Asian and Southeast Asian nations. There are also many workers from the former Soviet Union countries as well as some from Nigeria. In addition to these workers, there are about 11,000 ex-pat English teachers and around 31,000 US military personnel.

As of 2005, approximately 25 million South Koreans expressed no religious preference. Of the remainder, 13.7 million are Christians, 10.7 million are Buddhist and small numbers belong to various minor religions including Jeungsando and Wonbuddhism. The largest Christian church in South Korea, Yoido Full Gospel Church, is located in Seoul and has approximately 780,000 members.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 49,044,790
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 4,714,103/female 4,262,873)
  • 15-64 years: 72.1% (male 18,004,719/female 17,346,594)
  • 65 years and over: 9.6% (male 1,921,803/female 2,794,698)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 35.8 years
  • Male: 34.8 years
  • Female: 36.8 years
• Population Growth Rate: 0.394%
• Birth Rate: 9.93 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 5.99 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.106 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 1.038 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.688 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 6.05 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 5.64 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 77.23 years
  • Male: 73.81 years
  • Female: 80.93 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 1.28 children born/woman
• HIV/AIDS:
  • Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1%
  • People living with HIV/AIDS: 8,300
• Ethnic Groups:Homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)
• Religions:
  • Christian 26.3% (Protestant 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%)
  • Buddhist 23.2%
  • Other or unknown 1.3%
  • None 49.3%
• Languages:
  • Korean
  • English widely taught in junior high and high school
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 97.9%
  • Male: 99.2%
  • Female: 96.6%