Indicators of economy in South Korea

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Overall, the gross domestic product in South Korea in 2020 decreased moderatly from 1.651 trillion US dollars to 1.644 trillion US dollars. Certainly, there have been shifts in some sectors of the economy, but a drop of 0.43 percent is still comparatively good this year. Numerous countries suffered more substantial losses. The tourism sector alone slumped by around 54 percent. The unemployment rate rose from 3.8 to 3.9 percent. The consumer inflation rate has risen from 0.4 percent previously to 0.5 percent now.

In 2021, there was already a recovery and the gross domestic product increased to 1.811 trillion US dollars (=109.7% of 2019).

Income and purchasing power

The average monthly income in South Korea is 2,926 US Dollar per capita. In the USA, the figure is 5,911 US Dollar. However, the prices of consumer goods are also around 22.3 percent lower than in the USA. If you compare income and price levels, the result is a more expensive life in South Korea than in the United States. The bottom line is that the costs do not offset the lower income, and you get about 36.3 percent less.

However, it is also important to remember that this is a purely statistical model. Both the labor output and the type and quality of the goods received always correspond to the national average on both sides of the equation - so they do not necessarily have to match. Here you can also find an international comparison of cost of living and purchasing power.

Unemployment rates in percentages 1991 - 2022

Economic performance 2021

In the Global Innovation Index, South Korea ranked 6th in 2022 with 57.8 points. The index is calculated annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and most recently included 132 countries. The top country was Switzerland with 64.6 points. Out of the 2,000 largest listed companies in the world, 65 originate from South Korea. This is determined annually in the Forbes Global 2000 list. The 10 largest companies in the country in 2022 were:

Rank 14: Samsung Group (Seoul)
Rank 147: Hyundai Motor (Seoul)
Rank 170: SK Hynix (Icheon)
Rank 257: KB Financial Group (Seoul)
Rank 279: Shinhan Financial Group (Seoul)
Rank 283: KIA (Seoul)
Rank 285: Posco (Seoul)
Rank 333: LG Chem (Seoul)
Rank 399: SK (Seoul)
Rank 483: Hana Financial Group (Seoul)

Development of gross domestic product in billions of USD 1960 - 2021

Imports and Exports 2022

Development of imports and exports in billions of USD 1976 - 2022