Transport, ICT, travel and tourism, insurance & finance, electronics, machinery, automotive, refined petroleum oil, chemicals, metals and textiles are major industries of South Korea. In 2017, Agriculture industry contributed 2.2% to GDP of South Korea. Manufacturing had a share of 39.3% while services industry had a share of 58.3% of GDP in 2017.
In 2018, Services industry exports was valued at USD 99.1 billion for South Korea. Electronics export accounted for USD 191 billion, machinery for USD 107 billion, vehicles for USD 83 billion, chemicals for USD 94.7 billion, metals for USD 51.4 billion, minerals for USD 48.1 billion, stones for USD 5.80 billion, textiles for USD 16.1 billion and agriculture for USD 13.2 billion in 2018.
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name Korea is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages. It shares land borders with North Korea to the north, and oversea borders with China to the west and Japan to the east. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It comprises an estimated 51 million residents distributed over 38,375 square miles. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 10 million. South Korea is a presidential republic consisting of 17 administrative divisions and is a developed country with the second highest standard of living in Asia, having an HDI of 0.909. It is Asia's fourth largest economy and the world's 15th (nominal) or 12th, purchasing power parity, largest economy. The economy is export-driven, with production focusing on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics. South Korea is a member of the United Nations, Uniting for Consensus, G20, WTO, and OECD, and a founding member of APEC and the East Asia Summit.
South Korea is estimated to have population of 52.085 million in the year 2020 and expected to reach 52.937 million by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 0.40%.
South Korea’s real gross domestic product (GDP) was KRW 1,629,938.884 billion in 2019 and due to COVID-19 outbreak it is estimated to shrink by 2.1% to be around KRW 1,595,710.168 billion in 2020.
South Korea’s unemployment rate was 3.783% of total labor force in 2019. Due to slowdown in global economic activity due to COVID-19 pandemic the unemployment is expected to increase by 15.93% and reach 4.5% in 2020. Unemployment is further estimated to remain same in 2021 at 4.5% of total labor force in South Korea.
South Korea’s per capita GDP was estimated at USD 31,936.73 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP is estimated to be at USD 42,984.82 for the year 2019.
In 2019, South Korea government’s revenue was estimated to be KRW 4,54,969.89 billion whereas the expenditure is estimated to be KRW 4,16,347.87 billion. This is expected to result in South Korea government’s net lending / borrowing positive at KRW 38,622.02 billion in 2019 indicating that enough financial resources were made available by the government to boost economic growth.
The current account balance for South Korea was estimated to be at USD 76.028 billion for the year 2019 and is expected to further increase at a CAGR of 4.72% and reach USD 95.789 billion by 2024. This positive current account balance indicates that South Korea is a net lender to the whole world and will remain so till 2024.
In World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking South Korea was ranked 5 out of 190 countries in 2019. South Korea’s ease of doing business ranking remained unchanged from 5th position in 2018.
*If Applicable.