Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force in Korea

Korea: Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force was 16,164 Persons in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
16,164 Persons
Change on year
down 0.1%
Rank
1st
of 3 groups
All-time high
16,773 Persons
in 2020
All-time low
14,032 Persons
in 2002
Years of data
26
2000–2025

Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force in Korea, 2000–2025

05.0k10.0k15.0k2000201220252000: 14.0k Persons2001: 14.1k Persons2002: 14.0k Persons2003: 14.4k Persons2004: 14.2k Persons2005: 14.4k Persons2006: 14.6k Persons2007: 14.8k Persons2008: 15.2k Persons2009: 15.7k Persons2010: 15.9k Persons2011: 16.0k Persons2012: 16.1k Persons2013: 16.2k Persons2014: 16.0k Persons2015: 16.1k Persons2016: 16.2k Persons2017: 16.2k Persons2018: 16.3k Persons2019: 16.3k Persons2020: 16.8k Persons2021: 16.8k Persons2022: 16.3k Persons2023: 16.2k Persons2024: 16.2k Persons2025: 16.2k Persons

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons.

Analysis

The most recent figure for population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Korea is 16,164 Persons, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Korea peaked at 16,773 Persons in 2020 and was at its lowest, 14,032 Persons, in 2002.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 14,555 Persons 14,032 Persons 15,719 Persons 10
2010s 16,116 Persons 15,868 Persons 16,318 Persons 10
2020s 16,403 Persons 16,164 Persons 16,773 Persons 6

Countries ranked near Korea

  1. 1 OECD 444,834 Persons compare
  2. 2 United States of America 100,465 Persons compare
  3. 3 Mexico 41,805 Persons compare
  4. 4 Japan 39,622 Persons compare

See the full ranking of 46 places →

More work & labour data for Korea

All data for Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Korea?
Population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Korea was 16,164 Persons in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force recorded in Korea?
The highest recorded value was 16,773 Persons in 2020.
What is the lowest population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force recorded in Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 14,032 Persons in 2002.
How does Korea rank for population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force?
Korea ranks 1st out of 3 groups with data for 2025.
Is population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force rising or falling in Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Korea data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force in Korea. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/population-outside-the-labour-force-persons-outside-the-labour-force/korea/

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About this data

Indicator
Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 1,266 data points, 1955–2025
Last refreshed

The infra-annual dataflow on the outside the labour force population is a subset of the infra-annual labour statistics database, which contains predominantly monthly and quarterly statistics on the outside the labour force population by age groups (15+, 15-24, 25-54, 55-64, 15-64 and 15-74 where available) and sex and associated statistical methodological information and associated statistical methodological information, for the OECD member countries and for selected other economies. The persons outside the labour force comprise all persons of working age who, during the specified reference period, were not in the labour force (that is, were not employed or unemployed). The infra-annual labour statistics compiled for all OECD member countries, are drawn from Labour Force Surveys based on definition provided by the 19th Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2013. The uniform application of these definitions across all OECD member countries results in estimates that are internationally comparable.