Share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities in South Korea
South Korea: Share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities was 39.68 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities in South Korea, 2015–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2025, share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities in South Korea stood at 39.68. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities in South Korea peaked at 42.12 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 39.68, in 2025.
South Korea ranks 15th of 44 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 42.05 | — |
| 2016 | 42.12 | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 41.68 | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 41.32 | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 40.63 | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 40.18 | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 39.99 | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 40.25 | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 40.11 | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 39.82 | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 39.68 | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 41.56 | 40.63 | 42.12 | 5 |
| 2020s | 40.01 | 39.68 | 40.25 | 6 |
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)
- 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)
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 64.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities in South Korea?
- Share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities in South Korea was 39.68 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 42.12 in 2016.
- What is the lowest share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.68 in 2025.
- How does South Korea rank for share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities?
- South Korea ranks 15th out of 44 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Share of persons outside the labour force due to care responsibilities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. 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). For more information, refer to the Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination Indicators (GEND) database description.