Life expectancy in South Korea
South Korea: Life expectancy was 83.6 years in 2021. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in South Korea, 1970–2021
Source: OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 83.6 years for life expectancy in 2021. That is the highest value across all 52 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in South Korea peaked at 83.6 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 62.3 years, in 1970.
South Korea ranks 3rd of 49 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 64.02 years | 62.3 years | 65.6 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 68.64 years | 66.1 years | 71.2 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 73.64 years | 71.7 years | 75.5 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 78.02 years | 76 years | 80 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.81 years | 80.2 years | 83.3 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.55 years | 83.5 years | 83.6 years | 2 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More health data for South Korea
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 2,072 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 69 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 0 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 0 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 343,093 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 314,477 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 328,684 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 299,106 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 295,765 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 267,725 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in South Korea?
- Life expectancy in South Korea was 83.6 years in 2021, according to OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 83.6 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 62.3 years in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for life expectancy?
- South Korea ranks 3rd out of 49 countries with data for 2021.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The period life expectancy at birth, in a given year.