Statizoid

Key features of women's political empowerment in South Korea

South Korea: Key features of women's political empowerment was 0.878 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.878
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
37th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.88
in 2012
All-time low
0.042
in 1789
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Key features of women's political empowerment in South Korea, 1789–2025

00.20.40.60.8178919072025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

South Korea recorded 0.878 for key features of women's political empowerment in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of women's political empowerment in South Korea peaked at 0.88 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.042, in 1789.

South Korea ranks 37th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Key features of women's political empowerment in South Korea, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.042 —
1790 0.042 +0.0%
1791 0.042 +0.0%
1792 0.042 +0.0%
1793 0.042 +0.0%
1794 0.042 +0.0%
1795 0.042 +0.0%
1796 0.042 +0.0%
1797 0.042 +0.0%
1798 0.042 +0.0%
1799 0.042 +0.0%
1800 0.042 +0.0%
1801 0.042 +0.0%
1802 0.042 +0.0%
1803 0.042 +0.0%
1804 0.042 +0.0%
1805 0.042 +0.0%
1806 0.042 +0.0%
1807 0.042 +0.0%
1808 0.042 +0.0%
1809 0.042 +0.0%
1810 0.042 +0.0%
1811 0.042 +0.0%
1812 0.042 +0.0%
1813 0.042 +0.0%
1814 0.042 +0.0%
1815 0.042 +0.0%
1816 0.042 +0.0%
1817 0.042 +0.0%
1818 0.042 +0.0%
1819 0.042 +0.0%
1820 0.042 +0.0%
1821 0.042 +0.0%
1822 0.042 +0.0%
1823 0.042 +0.0%
1824 0.042 +0.0%
1825 0.042 +0.0%
1826 0.042 +0.0%
1827 0.042 +0.0%
1828 0.042 +0.0%
1829 0.042 +0.0%
1830 0.042 +0.0%
1831 0.042 +0.0%
1832 0.042 +0.0%
1833 0.042 +0.0%
1834 0.042 +0.0%
1835 0.042 +0.0%
1836 0.042 +0.0%
1837 0.042 +0.0%
1838 0.042 +0.0%
1839 0.042 +0.0%
1840 0.042 +0.0%
1841 0.042 +0.0%
1842 0.042 +0.0%
1843 0.042 +0.0%
1844 0.042 +0.0%
1845 0.042 +0.0%
1846 0.042 +0.0%
1847 0.042 +0.0%
1848 0.042 +0.0%
1849 0.042 +0.0%
1850 0.042 +0.0%
1851 0.042 +0.0%
1852 0.042 +0.0%
1853 0.042 +0.0%
1854 0.042 +0.0%
1855 0.042 +0.0%
1856 0.042 +0.0%
1857 0.042 +0.0%
1858 0.042 +0.0%
1859 0.042 +0.0%
1860 0.042 +0.0%
1861 0.042 +0.0%
1862 0.042 +0.0%
1863 0.042 +0.0%
1864 0.042 +0.0%
1865 0.042 +0.0%
1866 0.042 +0.0%
1867 0.042 +0.0%
1868 0.042 +0.0%
1869 0.042 +0.0%
1870 0.042 +0.0%
1871 0.042 +0.0%
1872 0.042 +0.0%
1873 0.042 +0.0%
1874 0.042 +0.0%
1875 0.042 +0.0%
1876 0.042 +0.0%
1877 0.042 +0.0%
1878 0.042 +0.0%
1879 0.042 +0.0%
1880 0.042 +0.0%
1881 0.042 +0.0%
1882 0.042 +0.0%
1883 0.042 +0.0%
1884 0.042 +0.0%
1885 0.042 +0.0%
1886 0.042 +0.0%
1887 0.042 +0.0%
1888 0.042 +0.0%
1889 0.042 +0.0%
1890 0.042 +0.0%
1891 0.042 +0.0%
1892 0.042 +0.0%
1893 0.042 +0.0%
1894 0.063 +50.0%
1895 0.077 +22.2%
1896 0.076 -1.3%
1897 0.119 +56.6%
1898 0.119 +0.0%
1899 0.119 +0.0%
1900 0.117 -1.7%
1901 0.117 +0.0%
1902 0.117 +0.0%
1903 0.117 +0.0%
1904 0.116 -0.9%
1905 0.116 +0.0%
1906 0.116 +0.0%
1907 0.115 -0.9%
1908 0.115 +0.0%
1909 0.115 +0.0%
1910 0.128 +11.3%
1911 0.151 +18.0%
1912 0.151 +0.0%
1913 0.151 +0.0%
1914 0.151 +0.0%
1915 0.151 +0.0%
1916 0.151 +0.0%
1917 0.151 +0.0%
1918 0.151 +0.0%
1919 0.154 +2.0%
1920 0.154 +0.0%
1921 0.154 +0.0%
1922 0.154 +0.0%
1923 0.156 +1.3%
1924 0.156 +0.0%
1925 0.156 +0.0%
1926 0.156 +0.0%
1927 0.156 +0.0%
1928 0.156 +0.0%
1929 0.156 +0.0%
1930 0.156 +0.0%
1931 0.156 +0.0%
1932 0.156 +0.0%
1933 0.156 +0.0%
1934 0.156 +0.0%
1935 0.156 +0.0%
1936 0.156 +0.0%
1937 0.15 -3.8%
1938 0.141 -6.0%
1939 0.141 +0.0%
1940 0.141 +0.0%
1941 0.128 -9.2%
1942 0.128 +0.0%
1943 0.128 +0.0%
1944 0.128 +0.0%
1945 0.277 +116.4%
1946 0.415 +49.8%
1947 0.415 +0.0%
1948 0.414 -0.2%
1949 0.424 +2.4%
1950 0.412 -2.8%
1951 0.412 +0.0%
1952 0.412 +0.0%
1953 0.439 +6.6%
1954 0.451 +2.7%
1955 0.456 +1.1%
1956 0.456 +0.0%
1957 0.456 +0.0%
1958 0.474 +3.9%
1959 0.474 +0.0%
1960 0.49 +3.4%
1961 0.488 -0.4%
1962 0.473 -3.1%
1963 0.477 +0.8%
1964 0.477 +0.0%
1965 0.477 +0.0%
1966 0.477 +0.0%
1967 0.481 +0.8%
1968 0.481 +0.0%
1969 0.481 +0.0%
1970 0.483 +0.4%
1971 0.488 +1.0%
1972 0.485 -0.6%
1973 0.506 +4.3%
1974 0.506 +0.0%
1975 0.506 +0.0%
1976 0.506 +0.0%
1977 0.506 +0.0%
1978 0.493 -2.6%
1979 0.493 +0.0%
1980 0.506 +2.6%
1981 0.514 +1.6%
1982 0.541 +5.3%
1983 0.541 +0.0%
1984 0.541 +0.0%
1985 0.543 +0.4%
1986 0.543 +0.0%
1987 0.558 +2.8%
1988 0.664 +19.0%
1989 0.671 +1.1%
1990 0.674 +0.4%
1991 0.674 +0.0%
1992 0.674 +0.0%
1993 0.71 +5.3%
1994 0.721 +1.5%
1995 0.721 +0.0%
1996 0.728 +1.0%
1997 0.728 +0.0%
1998 0.811 +11.4%
1999 0.81 -0.1%
2000 0.865 +6.8%
2001 0.865 +0.0%
2002 0.875 +1.2%
2003 0.873 -0.2%
2004 0.873 +0.0%
2005 0.87 -0.3%
2006 0.87 +0.0%
2007 0.875 +0.6%
2008 0.869 -0.7%
2009 0.869 +0.0%
2010 0.877 +0.9%
2011 0.873 -0.5%
2012 0.88 +0.8%
2013 0.872 -0.9%
2014 0.877 +0.6%
2015 0.855 -2.5%
2016 0.855 +0.0%
2017 0.879 +2.8%
2018 0.878 -0.1%
2019 0.864 -1.6%
2020 0.866 +0.2%
2021 0.851 -1.7%
2022 0.874 +2.7%
2023 0.866 -0.9%
2024 0.863 -0.3%
2025 0.878 +1.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.042 0.042 0.042 1
1790s 0.042 0.042 0.042 10
1800s 0.042 0.042 0.042 10
1810s 0.042 0.042 0.042 10
1820s 0.042 0.042 0.042 10
1830s 0.042 0.042 0.042 10
1840s 0.042 0.042 0.042 10
1850s 0.042 0.042 0.042 10
1860s 0.042 0.042 0.042 10
1870s 0.042 0.042 0.042 10
1880s 0.042 0.042 0.042 10
1890s 0.0741 0.042 0.119 10
1900s 0.1161 0.115 0.117 10
1910s 0.149 0.128 0.154 10
1920s 0.1554 0.154 0.156 10
1930s 0.1524 0.141 0.156 10
1940s 0.2598 0.128 0.424 10
1950s 0.4442 0.412 0.474 10
1960s 0.4802 0.473 0.49 10
1970s 0.4972 0.483 0.506 10
1980s 0.5622 0.506 0.671 10
1990s 0.7251 0.674 0.811 10
2000s 0.8704 0.865 0.875 10
2010s 0.871 0.855 0.88 10
2020s 0.8663 0.851 0.878 6

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 34 Ukraine 0.888 compare
  2. 35 Iceland 0.883 compare
  3. 36 Benin 0.882 compare
  4. 37 Poland 0.878 compare
  5. 37 Slovakia 0.878 compare
  6. 40 Suriname 0.877 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More gender data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is key features of women's political empowerment in South Korea?
Key features of women's political empowerment in South Korea was 0.878 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of women's political empowerment recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 0.88 in 2012.
What is the lowest key features of women's political empowerment recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 0.042 in 1789.
How does South Korea rank for key features of women's political empowerment?
South Korea ranks 37th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of women's political empowerment rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of women's political empowerment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Key features of women's political empowerment in South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/key-features-of-womens-political-empowerment/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Key features of women's political empowerment
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 26,029 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which women enjoy civil liberties, can participate in civil society, and are represented in politics.