Human Development Index in South Korea
South Korea: Human Development Index was 0.937 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Human Development Index in South Korea, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, human development index in South Korea stood at 0.937. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human development index in South Korea peaked at 0.937 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.738, in 1990.
South Korea ranks 20th of 192 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.7827 | 0.738 | 0.821 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8597 | 0.83 | 0.881 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9114 | 0.894 | 0.927 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9315 | 0.928 | 0.937 | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 17 Liechtenstein 0.938 compare
- 17 New Zealand 0.938 compare
- 17 United States 0.938 compare
- 21 Slovenia 0.931 compare
- 22 Austria 0.93 compare
- 23 Japan 0.925 compare
More reference data data for South Korea
- Number of child deaths per woman 0.004 under-five deaths per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. Human Development Index 0.72 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 0.72 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 0.72 live births per woman (2023)
- Rule of Law - Governance estimate 1.12 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Rule of Law - Governance score 76.2 0-100 (2024)
- Voice and Accountability - Governance score 70.99 0-100 (2024)
- Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate 0.8078 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Political Stability - Governance estimate 0.6393 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Political Stability - Governance score 76.82 0-100 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human development index in South Korea?
- Human development index in South Korea was 0.937 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human development index recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.937 in 2023.
- What is the lowest human development index recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.738 in 1990.
- How does South Korea rank for human development index?
- South Korea ranks 20th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is human development index 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 UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Human Development Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, a good education, and a decent standard of living. Higher values indicate higher human development.