Life expectancy at birth in South Korea
South Korea: Life expectancy at birth was 83.8 in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
83.8
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
3rd
of 184 countries
All-time high
83.8
in 2021
All-time low
75.86
in 2000
Years of data
22
2000–2021
Life expectancy at birth in South Korea, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 83.8 for life expectancy at birth in 2021. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in South Korea peaked at 83.8 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 75.86, in 2000.
South Korea ranks 3rd of 184 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 75.86 | — |
| 2001 | 76.57 | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 76.94 | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 77.44 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 77.93 | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 78.37 | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 78.97 | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 79.38 | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 79.91 | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 80.36 | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 80.54 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 80.95 | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 81.13 | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 81.69 | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 82.16 | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 82.4 | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 82.73 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 83.09 | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 83.15 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 83.69 | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 83.8 | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 83.8 | +0.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 83.8 is above the median for high income countries, which is 79.31, 1.1× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 83.8 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 70.19, 1.2× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 78.17 | 75.86 | 80.36 | 10 |
| 2010s | 82.15 | 80.54 | 83.69 | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.8 | 83.8 | 83.8 | 2 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More health data for South Korea
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.43 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.1935 % change on previous year (2090)
- 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)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.66 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0118 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -2.76 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth in South Korea?
- Life expectancy at birth in South Korea was 83.8 in 2021, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 83.8 in 2021.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 75.86 in 2000.
- How does South Korea rank for life expectancy at birth?
- South Korea ranks 3rd out of 184 countries with data for 2021.
- Is life expectancy at birth rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, published as part of Life expectancy at birth (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO).