Review how Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s urban population and urbanization rate have changed across recent years and longer historical periods.
Korea, Dem. People’s Rep.’s urbanization rate stood at 63.9% in 2024, up by 1.5 percentage points over five years. The number of people living in urban areas was 17,055,891 in 2025, while annual urban population growth reached 0.8% in 2025.
Based on comparable data for 2024, Korea, Dem. People’s Rep. recorded the 110th-highest urban population share among 217 economies. Its five-year urban population growth ranked 139th of 217 economies with sufficient data.
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. Urban Population and Growth by Year
Data source: World Bank, World Development Indicators — Urban population (SP.URB.TOTL); Urban population, % of total population (SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS); Urban population growth, annual % (SP.URB.GROW); Population, total (population).
License: CC BY-4.0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
About the Indicators
Urban population. The number of people living in areas classified as urban under each country’s own national statistical definition, which varies from country to country.
Urban population, % of total population. The share of a country’s population living in urban areas, based on national definitions of what counts as urban.
Urban population growth, annual %. The annual growth rate of the urban population, reflecting both natural increase and migration from rural to urban areas.