Armed forces personnel of total labor force in South Korea
South Korea: Armed forces personnel of total labor force was 2.01 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel of total labor force in South Korea, 1990–2020
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 2.01 for armed forces personnel of total labor force in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is down 6.5% on the previous year and down 24.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel of total labor force in South Korea peaked at 3.85 in 1991 and was at its lowest, 2.01, in 2020.
That places South Korea 28th out of 171 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel of total labor force in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3.44 | — |
| 1991 | 3.85 | +11.9% |
| 1992 | 3.77 | -2.2% |
| 1993 | 3.71 | -1.7% |
| 1994 | 3.6 | -2.8% |
| 1995 | 3.01 | -16.5% |
| 1996 | 3.07 | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 3.04 | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 3.09 | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 3.06 | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 3.05 | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 3 | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 2.96 | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 2.95 | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 2.92 | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 2.89 | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 2.86 | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 2.83 | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 2.81 | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 2.67 | -4.9% |
| 2010 | 2.64 | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 2.59 | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 2.54 | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 2.5 | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 2.33 | -6.5% |
| 2015 | 2.3 | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 2.28 | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 2.26 | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 2.15 | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 2.15 | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 2.01 | -6.5% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 2.01 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.9217, 2.2× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 2.01 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.04, 1.9× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.37 | 3.01 | 3.85 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.89 | 2.67 | 3.05 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.37 | 2.15 | 2.64 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.01 | 2.01 | 2.01 | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More work & labour data for South Korea
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 16,840 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 63.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 29,824 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.96 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.78 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 97,052 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 65,686 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 62.02 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.9719 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.1065 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel of total labor force in South Korea?
- Armed forces personnel of total labor force in South Korea was 2.01 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel of total labor force recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 3.85 in 1991.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel of total labor force recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.01 in 2020.
- How does South Korea rank for armed forces personnel of total labor force?
- South Korea ranks 28th out of 171 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel of total labor force rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Armed forces personnel of total labor force. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).