Poverty & Inequality in South Korea 101 indicators covering poverty & inequality for South Korea. IndicatorLatest Year10-yr change Rank Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 6 surveys 2025 up 20.0% 52nd Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person 2025 up 18.4% 94th Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP 2025 down 1.4% 132nd Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 0.72 live births per woman 2023 down 40.3% 234th Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,615 kg per hectare 2023 up 2.1% 18th Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP 2023 down 20.6% 163rd Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 0.0454 % change on previous year 2023 down 99.2% 97th Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 26.87 2023 up 21.5% 55th Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 26.9% 2023 up 21.5% 55th Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP 2023 down 5.5% 174th Tax revenues vs income inequality, annual growth rate -9.65 % change on previous year 2023 down 283.3% 167th Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 % change on previous year 2025 — 1st Gender Inequality Index 0.038 2023 down 47.9% 158th Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 18.6% 2023 up 29.1% 104th Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.0683 2023 down 7.5% 233rd Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex 0.0683 2023 down 7.5% 233rd Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.0778 2023 down 13.5% 231st Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) 0.1% 2021 down 80.0% 103rd Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) 0.1% 2021 down 66.7% 91st Poverty headcount ratio at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) 0.2% 2021 down 77.8% 106th Poverty headcount ratio at $8.30 a day (2021 PPP) 0.5% 2021 down 82.1% 112th Prosperity gap 0.7 average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day 2021 down 41.7% 110th Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.1642 2023 down 2.8% 143rd Poverty gap at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) 0.1% 2021 down 75.0% 100th Poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line 14.2% 2021 down 2.1% 91st Poverty gap at $8.30 a day (2021 PPP) 0.2% 2021 down 81.8% 112th Population living in slums 4.5% 2022 down 51.6% 114th Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index 0.857 2023 up 4.9% 18th Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index vs. Human Development Index 0.857 2023 up 4.9% 18th Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index vs. GDP per capita 0.857 2023 up 4.9% 18th Proportion of population below international poverty line 0.1% 2021 down 80.0% 109th Three metrics of inequality 50.32 2022 up 5.7% 77th Gini coefficient (before tax) 0.5032 2022 up 5.7% 77th Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) per capita in US$ 966.55 2023 up 45.3% 11th Income share held by second 20% 12.4% 2021 down 3.9% 49th Income share held by third 20% 16.9% 2021 down 2.3% 41st Income share held by fourth 20% 23.1% 2021 unchanged 14th Income share held by highest 20% 40.3% 2021 up 2.0% 78th Income share held by highest 10% 25.0% 2021 up 3.3% 78th Income share held by lowest 10% 2.9% 2021 up 11.5% 53rd Income share held by lowest 20% 7.4% 2021 up 1.4% 54th Gini index 32.9 2021 up 2.8% 78th Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income 12.6% 2021 up 2.4% 50th Total shortfall from extreme poverty 34.39 million international-$ in 2021 prices 2021 down 77.7% 73rd Poverty gap index at $3 a day 0.1% 2021 down 78.6% 95th Gini coefficient: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank 0.4321 2022 down 1.5% 78th Income inequality: Gini coefficient before and after tax 0.4321 2022 down 1.5% 78th Use of interpolation and extrapolation on original Gini coefficient data 37,093 2017 up 35.2% 25th Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) 37.8% 2022 up 1.1% 76th Income share of the richest 1% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) 14.1% 2022 down 16.8% 61st Proportion of total government spending on essential services, social 21.9% 2010 up 29.5% 70th Share of population living in extreme poverty vs. GDP per capita 0.1% 2021 down 80.0% 101st Income inequality vs. GDP per capita 0.3291 2021 up 2.8% 74th Total population living in extreme poverty by world region 51,770 people 2021 down 79.1% 79th Share of population living with less than $3 and $4.20 per day 0.1% 2021 down 80.0% 101st How does extreme monetary poverty compare to multidimensional poverty? 0.1% 2021 down 80.0% 101st Share in extreme poverty vs. poverty gap index 0.1% 2021 down 80.0% 101st Distribution of population between different poverty lines 51.36 million people 2021 up 7.7% 16th Share of population living in extreme poverty vs. mean income or consumption per day 0.1% 2021 down 80.0% 101st Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines 0.1% 2021 down 80.0% 101st Page 1 of 2 Next →