What is life expectancy in South Korea?

Life expectancy in South Korea was 84.33 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest life expectancy recorded in South Korea?

The highest recorded value was 84.33 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in South Korea?

The lowest recorded value was 22.23 years in 1950.

How does South Korea rank for life expectancy?

South Korea ranks 5th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in South Korea?

Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South Korea data come from?

The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Life expectancy in South Korea

Name: Life expectancy in South Korea
Creator: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

South Korea: Life expectancy was 84.33 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

84.33 years

Change on year

up 1.9%

World rank

5th

of 236 countries

All-time high

84.33 years

in 2023

All-time low

22.23 years

in 1950

Years of data

1908–2023

Life expectancy in South Korea, 1908–2023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for life expectancy in South Korea is 84.33 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 82 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in South Korea peaked at 84.33 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 22.23 years, in 1950.

South Korea ranks 5th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 82 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1900s	23.51 years	23.51 years	23.51 years	1
1910s	25.98 years	24.98 years	26.98 years	2
1920s	31.57 years	29.53 years	33.6 years	2
1930s	39.98 years	37.39 years	42.57 years	2
1940s	44.89 years	44.89 years	44.89 years	1
1950s	42.69 years	22.23 years	52.94 years	10
1960s	56.79 years	53.76 years	61.43 years	10
1970s	64.14 years	62.18 years	66.11 years	10
1980s	68.15 years	64.85 years	70.68 years	10
1990s	73.28 years	70.99 years	75.62 years	10
2000s	78.33 years	76.24 years	80.55 years	10
2010s	82.32 years	80.72 years	83.68 years	10
2020s	83.65 years	82.73 years	84.33 years	4

Countries ranked near South Korea

2 San Marino 85.71 years compare
3 Hong Kong 85.51 years compare
4 Japan 84.71 years compare
6 Saint Barthelemy 84.29 years compare
7 French Polynesia 84.07 years compare
8 Andorra 84.04 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

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)

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in South Korea?: Life expectancy in South Korea was 84.33 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in South Korea?: The highest recorded value was 84.33 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in South Korea?: The lowest recorded value was 22.23 years in 1950.
How does South Korea rank for life expectancy?: South Korea ranks 5th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in South Korea?: Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Korea data come from?: The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major 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 — 82 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy
Unit: years
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.