Population: 50 million in 20131
GDP: $1.30 trillion in 20132
GDP per capita: $25,977 nominal3 ($33,140 PPP4) in 2013
GDP growth rate: 3.0% in 20135
GDP by Industry 20126
| Industry sector | Value added ($ billions) 2012 | Percent of total |
| Other activities | 387 | 38.5% |
| Manufacturing | 314 | 31.3% |
| Wholesale, retail trade, restaurants and hotels | 120 | 11.9% |
| Transport, storage and communication | 71 | 7.1% |
| Construction | 59 | 5.9% |
| Mining and utilities | 27 | 2.7% |
| Agriculture, hunting, forestry, fishing | 27 | 2.7% |
| Total value added | 1,005 | 100% |
Unemployment rate: 3.1% in 20137
Employment by Industry 20138
| Employment sector | Employees (thousands) 2013 | Percent of total |
| Manufacturing | 4,184 | 16.7% |
| Wholesale trade, retail trade and repair of motor vehicles | 3,660 | 14.6% |
| Accommodation and food service | 1,971 | 7.9% |
| Construction | 1,754 | 7.0% |
| Education | 1,748 | 7.0% |
| Human health and social work | 1,554 | 6.2% |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 1,520 | 6.1% |
| Transportation and storage | 1,413 | 5.6% |
| Other service | 1,312 | 5.2% |
| Administrative and support service | 1,173 | 4.7% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 1,022 | 4.1% |
| Public administration and defence | 966 | 3.9% |
| Finance and insurance | 864 | 3.4% |
| Information and communication | 692 | 2.8% |
| Real estate | 485 | 1.9% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 392 | 1.6% |
| Activities of households as employers | 172 | 0.7% |
| Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | 90 | 0.4% |
| Water supply, sewerage and waste management | 73 | 0.3% |
| Mining and quarrying | 16 | 0.1% |
| Extraterritorial organizations and bodies | 7 | 0.0% |
| Total employment | 25,066 | 100% |
Top 10 Corporations by Revenue 2013* 9
| Rank | Corporation | Revenue ($ billions) 2013 | Profit ($ billions) 2013 | Assets ($ billions) 12/31/13 | Industry |
| 1 | Samsung Electronics | 209 | 27.3 | 196 | Electronics |
| 2 | SK Holdings | 102 | 0.3 | 85 | Diversified |
| 3 | Hyundai Motor | 80 | 7.7 | 122 | Automobiles |
| 4 | POSCO | 57 | 1.3 | 77 | Steel |
| 5 | LG Electronics | 53 | 0.2 | 33 | Electronics |
| 6 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | 49 | 0.1 | 49 | Shipbuilding |
| 7 | Korea Electric Power | 49 | 0.1 | 142 | Energy |
| 8 | Kia Motors | 44 | 3.5 | 33 | Automobiles |
| 9 | GS Caltex | 42 | 0.3 | 20 | Energy |
| 10 | Hanwha | 35 | 0.2 | 104 | Diversified |
* Corporate data calculated using the exchange rate 1093 KRW = 1 USD
Household Wealth: $3.67 trillion (282% of GDP) in 201410
Household Wealth per Adult: $95,664 in 201410
Gini Coefficient: .311 in 201111
Central Government
Central Government Revenue: $296 billion (23% of GDP) in 201312
Central Government Expenditure: $287 billion (22% ofGDP) in 201312
Central Government Budget Balance: +$9 billion (+1% of GDP) in 201312
Central Government Public Debt: $521 billion (40% of GDP) in Dec 2014* 13
Central Government 10 Year Bond Interest Rate: 2.36% on Jan 19, 201514
* Public debt calculated with the exchange rate 1093 KRW = 1 USD
Government Funds
Korea Investment Corporation: $57 billion (4% of GDP) in 201415
Tax Structure
Personal Income Tax Rates and Thresholds in 2013* 16
Corporate Tax Rate: 24.2% in 2014 17
* Thresholds calculated with the exchange rate 1093 KRW = 1 USD
Monetary Base (M1): $504 billion (39% of GDP) in Sept 2014* 18
Benchmark Interest Rate: 1.75% in Mar 201519
Total Reserves: $346 billion (27% of GDP) in 201320
Exchange Rate: 1093 Korean Wons = 1 U.S. Dollar on Jan 11, 2015 21
Inflation: 1.3% in 201322
* Monetary base calculated with the exchange rate 1093 KRW = 1 USD
Top 8 Financial Institutions by Assets 201323
| Rank | Financial Institution | Assets ($ billions) Dec 2013* |
| 1 | Woori Finance Holdings | 312 |
| 2 | Shinhan Financial Group | 285 |
| 3 | Hana Financial Group | 270 |
| 4 | KB Financial Group | 267 |
| 5 | Industrial Bank of Korea | 194 |
| 6 | Korea Development Bank | 153 |
| 7 | BS Financial Group | 43 |
| 8 | DGB Financial Group | 34 |
* Assets calculated with the exchange rate 1093 KRW = 1 USD
Exports: $557 billion (43% of GDP) in 201324
Imports: $517 billion (40% of GDP) in 201324
Trade Balance: +$40 billion (+3% of GDP) in 201324
Foreign Direct Investment Inflow: $12.2 billion (1% of GDP) in 201325
Foreign Direct Investment Outflow: $29.2 billion (2% of GDP) in 201325
Foreign Aid Inflow: N/A
Foreign Aid Outflow: $1.8 billion (0.1% of GDP) in 201326
1. Source: World Bank Indicators (Population) Go back
2. Source: World Bank Indicators (GDP) Go back
3. Source: World Bank Indicators (GDP per capita) Go back
4. Source: World Bank Indicators (GDP per capita PPP) Go back
5. Source: World Bank Indicators (GDP growth rate) Go back
6. Source: United Nations Statistics Division (GDP by industry) Go back
7. Source: World Bank Indicators (Unemployment rate) Go back
8. Source: International Labor Organization, Downloads (Employment by economic activity) Go back
9. Source: Annual reports (Corporate data) Go back
10. Source: Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook (Household wealth) Go back
11. Source: CIA World Factbook (Gini coefficient) Go back
12. Source: CIA World Factbook (Government budget) Go back
13. Source: Korea National Assembly Budget Office (Public debt) Go back
14. Source: Investing.com (Government bond yield) Go back
15. Source: ESADE Sovereign Wealth Funds (Public funds) Go back
16. Source: OECD Stat Extracts, Public Sector, Tax Database (Individual tax rates) Go back
17. Source: Tax Foundation (Corporate tax rate) Go back
18. Source: Bank of Korea, Press Release, Monetary and Liquidity Aggregates (Money supply) Go back
19. Source: Bank of Korea, Monetary Policy Decisions (Benchmark interest rate) Go back
20. Source: World Bank Indicators (Total reserves) Go back
21. Source: Yahoo Finance (Exchange rate) Go back
22. Source: World Bank Indicators (Inflation rate) Go back
23. Source: Relbanks.com (Financial institutions by assets) Go back
24. Source: CIA World Factbook (Trade data) Go back
25. Source: OECD FDI in Figures (FDI data) Go back
26. Source: OECD Aid Statistics (Aid data) Go back