What is median age in South Korea?

Median age in South Korea was 44.49 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest median age recorded in South Korea?

The highest recorded value was 44.49 years in 2023.

What is the lowest median age recorded in South Korea?

The lowest recorded value was 17.45 years in 1952.

How does South Korea rank for median age?

South Korea ranks 21st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is median age rising or falling in South Korea?

Over the last ten years it is up 15.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South Korea data come from?

The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Median age in South Korea

Name: Median age in South Korea
Creator: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

South Korea: Median age was 44.49 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

44.49 years

Change on year

up 1.2%

World rank

21st

of 236 countries

All-time high

44.49 years

in 2023

All-time low

17.45 years

in 1952

Years of data

1950–2023

Median age in South Korea, 1950–2023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

South Korea recorded 44.49 years for median age in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 15.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, median age in South Korea peaked at 44.49 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 17.45 years, in 1952.

That places South Korea 21st out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	17.85 years	17.45 years	18.31 years	10
1960s	17.8 years	17.47 years	18.32 years	10
1970s	18.84 years	17.7 years	20.45 years	10
1980s	23.05 years	20.92 years	25.29 years	10
1990s	28.05 years	25.81 years	30.17 years	10
2000s	33.28 years	30.65 years	36.01 years	10
2010s	39.46 years	36.59 years	42.18 years	10
2020s	43.64 years	42.76 years	44.49 years	4

Countries ranked near South Korea

18 Spain 44.9 years compare
19 Croatia 44.76 years compare
20 United States Virgin Islands 44.67 years compare
22 Bulgaria 44.31 years compare
23 Liechtenstein 44.2 years compare
24 Guernsey 43.98 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

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)
Human Development Index 0.937 (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)

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is median age in South Korea?: Median age in South Korea was 44.49 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest median age recorded in South Korea?: The highest recorded value was 44.49 years in 2023.
What is the lowest median age recorded in South Korea?: The lowest recorded value was 17.45 years in 1952.
How does South Korea rank for median age?: South Korea ranks 21st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is median age rising or falling in South Korea?: Over the last ten years it is up 15.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Korea data come from?: The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Median age
Unit: years
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

The age that divides the population into two halves of equal size — half are younger and half are older.