The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea: The share and number of people living in extreme poverty was 0.1% in 2021. ◆ Volatile
The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Republic of Korea, 2006–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, the share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Republic of Korea stood at 0.1%. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
The figure is down 80.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, the share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Republic of Korea peaked at 0.5% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2020.
That places Republic of Korea 101st out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Republic of Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 0.5% | — |
| 2008 | 0.5% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.5% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.5% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | -40.0% |
| 2016 | 0.2% | -33.3% |
| 2017 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.1% | -50.0% |
| 2021 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Republic of Korea
- 98 Uruguay 0.2% compare
- 99 Republic of Moldova 0.1% compare
- 100 Jordan 0.1% compare
- 101 Taiwan, China 0.1% compare
- 103 Netherlands 0.1% compare
- 104 Belgium 0.1% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Republic of Korea
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 6 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 0.72 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,615 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 0.0454 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 26.87 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 26.9% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is the share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Republic of Korea?
- The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Republic of Korea was 0.1% in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest the share and number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5% in 2006.
- What is the lowest the share and number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2020.
- How does Republic of Korea rank for the share and number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Republic of Korea ranks 101st out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is the share and number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Republic of Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 80.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Republic of Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of The share and number of people living in extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $3 per day.