South Korea GNI per Capita
South Korea's gross national income (GNI) per person was $36,963 in 2025, up $107 from 2024. The record high was $37,927 in 2021. It was $67 in 1953: a rise of about 556 times in current dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
1953–2025 (US$)
Data table
| Year | GNI per Capita, US$ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 36,963 |
| 2024 | 36,857 |
| 2023 | 36,158 |
| 2022 | 35,284 |
| 2021 | 37,927 |
| 2020 | 33,929 |
| 2019 | 34,094 |
| 2018 | 35,494 |
| 2017 | 33,431 |
| 2016 | 30,946 |
| 2015 | 30,247 |
| 2014 | 30,798 |
| 2013 | 28,621 |
| 2012 | 26,865 |
| 2011 | 26,334 |
| 2010 | 24,110 |
| 2009 | 19,916 |
| 2008 | 22,247 |
| 2007 | 25,019 |
| 2006 | 22,529 |
| 2005 | 20,026 |
| 2004 | 17,103 |
| 2003 | 15,157 |
| 2002 | 13,592 |
| 2001 | 11,905 |
| 2000 | 12,632 |
| 1999 | 10,939 |
| 1998 | 8,492 |
| 1997 | 12,758 |
| 1996 | 13,812 |
| 1995 | 12,960 |
| 1994 | 10,706 |
| 1993 | 9,167 |
| 1992 | 8,374 |
| 1991 | 7,862 |
| 1990 | 6,804 |
| 1989 | 5,973 |
| 1988 | 4,858 |
| 1987 | 3,615 |
| 1986 | 2,850 |
| 1985 | 2,487 |
| 1984 | 2,434 |
| 1983 | 2,222 |
| 1982 | 2,013 |
| 1981 | 1,892 |
| 1980 | 1,729 |
| 1979 | 1,749 |
| 1978 | 1,488 |
| 1977 | 1,070 |
| 1976 | 844 |
| 1975 | 622 |
| 1974 | 575 |
| 1973 | 413 |
| 1972 | 329 |
| 1971 | 295 |
| 1970 | 260 |
| 1969 | 223 |
| 1968 | 180 |
| 1967 | 151 |
| 1966 | 132 |
| 1965 | 110 |
| 1964 | 108 |
| 1963 | 104 |
| 1962 | 91 |
| 1961 | 85 |
| 1960 | 80 |
| 1959 | 82 |
| 1958 | 81 |
| 1957 | 74 |
| 1956 | 66 |
| 1955 | 65 |
| 1954 | 70 |
| 1953 | 67 |
Context
Gross national income (GNI) per person is the total income earned by a country's residents in a year, including income from abroad, divided by its population. The figures here are in current US dollars, converted at each year's average exchange rate. They are not adjusted for inflation, and they move with the value of the won (원) as well as with the economy.
In 1953, the year the Korean War armistice was signed, the figure was $67. It passed $100 in 1963, $1,000 in 1977, $10,000 in 1994, $20,000 in 2005 and $30,000 in 2014.
The climb was not unbroken. In the Asian financial crisis the won fell sharply and income per person dropped from $12,758 in 1997 to $8,492 in 1998. It fell again in the global financial crisis, from $22,247 in 2008 to $19,916 in 2009.
The record so far is $37,927, set in 2021. A weaker won pulled the dollar figure down to $35,284 in 2022, and it has stayed between $36,000 and $37,000 in each year since.