Employed foreign citizens in South Korea

South Korea: Employed foreign citizens was 1,010 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1,010
Change on year
up 9.4%
World rank
8th
of 27 countries
All-time high
1,010
in 2024
All-time low
667.9
in 2013
Years of data
10
2012–2024

Employed foreign citizens in South Korea, 2012–2024

02505007501.0k2012201820242012: 697.92013: 667.92014: 738.32015: 809.22017: 834.22018: 884.32021: 855.32022: 8432023: 922.92024: 1.0k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

South Korea recorded 1,010 for employed foreign citizens in 2024. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.

That represents a change of up 9.4% on the previous year and up 36.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, employed foreign citizens in South Korea peaked at 1,010 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 667.9, in 2013.

That places South Korea 8th out of 27 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.

Employed foreign citizens in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Employed foreign citizens in South Korea, 2012 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2012 697.9
2013 667.9 -4.3%
2014 738.3 +10.5%
2015 809.2 +9.6%
2017 834.2 +3.1%
2018 884.3 +6.0%
2021 855.3 -3.3%
2022 843 -1.4%
2023 922.9 +9.5%
2024 1,010 +9.4%

South Korea compared with similar countries

  • South Korea's 1,010 is above the median for high income countries, which is 327.71, 3.1× the median. (17 countries reporting)
  • South Korea's 1,010 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 81.85, 12.3× the median. (7 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 771.97 667.9 884.3 6
2020s 907.8 843 1,010 4

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 5 France 2,176 compare
  2. 6 Switzerland 1,308 compare
  3. 7 Chile 1,018 compare
  4. 9 Belgium 601.46 compare
  5. 10 Bangladesh 520.49 compare
  6. 11 Denmark 363.75 compare

See the full ranking of 27 places →

More gender data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is employed foreign citizens in South Korea?
Employed foreign citizens in South Korea was 1,010 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest employed foreign citizens recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 1,010 in 2024.
What is the lowest employed foreign citizens recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 667.9 in 2013.
How does South Korea rank for employed foreign citizens?
South Korea ranks 8th out of 27 countries with data for 2024.
Is employed foreign citizens rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 36.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Employed foreign citizens. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Employed foreign citizens in South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 21 September 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/employed-foreign-citizens/korea-rep/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/employed-foreign-citizens/korea-rep/">Employed foreign citizens in South Korea</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Employed foreign citizens
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
27 places, 258 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

For more information, refer to the International Labour Migration Statistics (ILMS) database description.