South Korea Urban Population 1960-2024

Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.
  • South Korea urban population for 2023 was 42,123,031, a 0.11% increase from 2022.
  • South Korea urban population for 2022 was 42,075,423, a 0.17% decline from 2021.
  • South Korea urban population for 2021 was 42,147,652, a 0.13% decline from 2020.
  • South Korea urban population for 2020 was 42,201,956, a 0.12% increase from 2019.
Data Source: World Bank

MLA Citation:
Similar Country Ranking
Country Name Urban Population
United States 278,977,409
Japan 114,608,860
Germany 65,697,635
United Kingdom 57,852,807
France 55,747,567
Argentina 43,138,225
Italy 42,292,160
South Korea 42,123,031
Spain 39,449,423
Canada 32,824,829
Saudi Arabia 31,386,498
Australia 23,073,508
Poland 22,091,485
Chile 17,276,395
Netherlands 16,659,928
Belgium 11,608,485
Sweden 9,349,997
Israel 9,059,486
Greece 8,358,768
UAE 8,353,814
Czech Republic 8,106,553
Hong Kong 7,536,100
Portugal 7,147,342
Hungary 6,987,564
Switzerland 6,566,767
Singapore 5,917,648
Austria 5,436,508
Denmark 5,262,755
Finland 4,789,791
Norway 4,636,183
New Zealand 4,543,314
Kuwait 4,310,108
Oman 4,105,635
Ireland 3,392,447
Uruguay 3,278,345
Panama 3,105,857
Puerto Rico 3,001,617
Slovak Republic 2,931,905
Qatar 2,698,843
Croatia 2,257,012
Lithuania 1,972,821
Bahrain 1,335,012
Latvia 1,292,217
Slovenia 1,189,591
Estonia 953,736
Cyprus 844,129
Trinidad and Tobago 820,255
Macao 704,149
Luxembourg 615,639
Malta 525,227
Iceland 370,149
Brunei 358,168
Bahamas 345,056
New Caledonia 194,843
French Polynesia 192,390
Guam 164,592
Curacao 131,631
Virgin Islands (U.S.) 100,958
Barbados 88,617
Seychelles 70,450
Andorra 70,296
Cayman Islands 69,310
Bermuda 63,489
Channel Islands 54,636
Greenland 50,007
Aruba 47,032
Northern Mariana Islands 45,850
Isle of Man 45,305
Turks and Caicos Islands 43,412
Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 41,163
Monaco 36,297
San Marino 32,914
Gibraltar 32,688
Antigua and Barbuda 22,945
Faroe Islands 22,899
British Virgin Islands 15,690
Palau 14,881
St. Kitts and Nevis 14,850
Liechtenstein 5,786
South Korea Urban Population - Historical Data
Year Population % of Total Change
2023 42,123,031 81.46 0.11%
2022 42,075,423 81.43 -0.17%
2021 42,147,652 81.41 -0.13%
2020 42,201,956 81.41 0.12%
2019 42,152,095 81.43 0.31%
2018 42,020,672 81.46 0.38%
2017 41,861,498 81.50 0.21%
2016 41,774,264 81.56 0.31%
2015 41,645,542 81.63 0.44%
2014 41,463,573 81.71 0.54%
2013 41,240,244 81.78 0.37%
2012 41,089,082 81.85 0.44%
2011 40,909,592 81.92 0.75%
2010 40,602,657 81.94 0.62%
2009 40,351,067 81.84 0.64%
2008 40,093,884 81.73 0.88%
2007 39,740,941 81.63 0.63%
2006 39,490,771 81.53 0.75%
2005 39,195,731 81.35 0.63%
2004 38,947,802 81.00 0.83%
2003 38,626,122 80.65 0.96%
2002 38,258,247 80.30 1.03%
2001 37,867,709 79.94 1.17%
2000 37,428,328 79.62 1.13%
1999 37,006,183 79.38 1.01%
1998 36,633,453 79.15 1.03%
1997 36,259,672 78.91 1.25%
1996 35,810,625 78.66 1.49%
1995 35,280,305 78.24 2.02%
1994 34,575,766 77.45 2.05%
1993 33,872,973 76.65 2.10%
1992 33,169,705 75.82 2.16%
1991 32,459,655 74.97 2.51%
1990 31,656,393 73.84 3.31%
1989 30,626,132 72.15 3.46%
1988 29,585,374 70.39 3.61%
1987 28,537,079 68.56 3.77%
1986 27,480,866 66.68 3.74%
1985 26,473,134 64.88 3.44%
1984 25,577,374 63.30 3.81%
1983 24,621,925 61.69 4.16%
1982 23,619,800 60.06 4.34%
1981 22,617,087 58.41 4.49%
1980 21,623,805 56.72 4.67%
1979 20,636,698 54.98 4.75%
1978 19,679,806 53.23 4.88%
1977 18,743,336 51.48 5.03%
1976 17,823,527 49.72 5.05%
1975 16,946,391 48.03 4.76%
1974 16,159,311 46.58 4.87%
1973 15,391,092 45.13 5.01%
1972 14,639,182 43.69 5.21%
1971 13,896,560 42.26 5.73%
1970 13,123,306 40.70 7.09%
1969 12,225,296 38.76 7.32%
1968 11,362,681 36.85 7.54%
1967 10,537,106 34.97 7.09%
1966 9,815,880 33.35 5.55%
1965 9,286,249 32.35 5.62%
1964 8,779,189 31.37 5.74%
1963 8,289,479 30.41 5.95%
1962 7,811,004 29.46 6.07%
1961 7,351,204 28.53 5.89%
1960 6,930,929 27.71 %