South Korea GDP 1960-2024 (2024)

FAQs

What was the GDP of South Korea in 1960? ›

4 The Republic of Korea has achieved the high-income level in a half-century, with per capita income of $27,578 purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2010. In 1960, it was still a lower-middle income country, with a per capita GDP of only $1,078 PPP.

The central bank said earlier this month GDP growth for 2024 could be in line with or above its earlier forecast of 2.1%. The South Korean economy grew 1.4% in 2023.

In the 1960s, the South Korean authoritarian anti-communist system, which had been established immediately after the liberation of Korea in 1945, was transformed into an anti-communist developmental dictatorship.

South Korea's economy heavily relies on foreign trade

South Korea is not only an export-driven country, but it also imports goods from China, the USA, and Japan. In fact, 70% of South Korea's GDP is based on world trade, which includes exports and imports, which are forecasted to increase in the upcoming years.

In the early 1960s, South Korea's rate of growth exceeded North Korea's rate of growth in most industrial areas. The most significant factor in rapid industrialisation was the adoption of an outward-looking strategy in the early 1960s.

The country boasts the 13th largest GDP in the world at more than $1.67 trillion in 2022. The economy is dominated by its services and industrial sectors, while agriculture makes up a very small portion of the economy.

GDP in South Korea averaged 539.90 USD Billion from 1960 until 2022, reaching an all time high of 1818.43 USD Billion in 2021 and a record low of 2.42 USD Billion in 1961. This page provides - South Korea GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

South Korea gdp for 2022 was $1,665.25B, a 8.05% decline from 2021. South Korea gdp for 2021 was $1,810.96B, a 10.13% increase from 2020. South Korea gdp for 2020 was $1,644.31B, a 0.43% decline from 2019. South Korea gdp for 2019 was $1,651.42B, a 4.26% decline from 2018.

Among primary exports, marine products, such as fish and dried laver (a kind of seaweed eaten in some Asian countries), were most dynamic followed by raw silk and tungsten ores. These products accounted for more than half of the increase in primary exports during 1960-69.

What was happening in Korea in 1960? ›

In 1960, Rhee stood for a fourth term, and the obviously fraudulent victory of his unpopular vice presidential candidate led to a violent student-led uprising in April that resulted in his exile to Hawai`i. Following this “April Revolution,” South Korea had a brief experiment with a more democratic government.

The student movement for democracy erupted in the spring of 1960 (April 19 Revolution) and brought down the authoritarian Rhee Syngman regime. But Park Chung Hee, a military general and former officer of the Japanese Imperial Army, seized power in a military coup on 16 May 1961.

The Republic of Korea has achieved remarkable success in recent decades in combining rapid economic growth with significant poverty reduction, with real gross domestic product (GDP) growing on average by 5.7% annually between 1980 and 2023.

On a year-on-year basis, GDP was expected to have expanded 2.4% last quarter, according to the median forecast of 25 economists, faster than the 2.2% growth in the preceding quarter. If realized, that would be the fastest growth rate since Q3 2022.

A major geoeconomic event occurred in 2018 when South Korea's real GDP per capita surpassed that of Japan. By 2026, the International Monetary Fund projects that South Korea will be 12 per cent ahead of Japan.

Unemployment, underemployment and poverty were widespread with over 40% of the nation's population suffering from absolute poverty. If ever there was an economic basket case, Korea of the 1950s was it.