Probability that a man will outlive a woman in South Korea
South Korea: Probability that a man will outlive a woman was 33.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
33.5%
Change on year
up 3.4%
World rank
219th
of 236 countries
All-time high
43.6%
in 1954
All-time low
31.4%
in 1981
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Probability that a man will outlive a woman in South Korea, 1950–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024); Bergeron-Boucher et al. (2022) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 33.5% for probability that a man will outlive a woman in 2023.
That represents a change of up 3.4% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, probability that a man will outlive a woman in South Korea peaked at 43.6% in 1954 and was at its lowest, 31.4%, in 1981.
South Korea ranks 219th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Probability that a man will outlive a woman in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 36.0% | — |
| 1951 | 35.0% | -2.6% |
| 1952 | 38.7% | +10.4% |
| 1953 | 41.0% | +6.0% |
| 1954 | 43.6% | +6.4% |
| 1955 | 43.3% | -0.7% |
| 1956 | 43.1% | -0.5% |
| 1957 | 43.1% | -0.1% |
| 1958 | 42.4% | -1.7% |
| 1959 | 42.1% | -0.7% |
| 1960 | 41.9% | -0.3% |
| 1961 | 41.8% | -0.4% |
| 1962 | 41.8% | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 41.4% | -1.0% |
| 1964 | 40.7% | -1.7% |
| 1965 | 39.9% | -2.0% |
| 1966 | 39.6% | -0.8% |
| 1967 | 37.2% | -6.0% |
| 1968 | 36.8% | -1.1% |
| 1969 | 36.7% | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 36.6% | -0.2% |
| 1971 | 36.3% | -0.9% |
| 1972 | 35.8% | -1.4% |
| 1973 | 35.5% | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 35.0% | -1.2% |
| 1975 | 34.6% | -1.1% |
| 1976 | 34.3% | -1.1% |
| 1977 | 33.5% | -2.2% |
| 1978 | 32.5% | -2.8% |
| 1979 | 31.8% | -2.2% |
| 1980 | 32.9% | +3.5% |
| 1981 | 31.4% | -4.7% |
| 1982 | 31.9% | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 32.3% | +1.3% |
| 1984 | 32.2% | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 31.7% | -1.6% |
| 1986 | 31.5% | -0.6% |
| 1987 | 31.8% | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 31.4% | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 31.7% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 32.2% | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 32.2% | -0.0% |
| 1992 | 32.3% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 32.1% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 32.1% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 32.3% | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 32.3% | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 32.1% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 32.0% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 32.4% | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 32.3% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 32.2% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 32.6% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 33.2% | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 33.0% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 33.3% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 33.1% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 33.3% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 32.7% | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 32.8% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 32.6% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 32.5% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 32.6% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 32.6% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 32.5% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 32.9% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 33.0% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 33.1% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 33.1% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 33.2% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 32.5% | -2.0% |
| 2021 | 32.7% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 32.4% | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 33.5% | +3.4% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 33.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 38.1%, 88% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 33.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 40.0%, 84% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 40.8% | 35.0% | 43.6% | 10 |
| 1960s | 39.8% | 36.7% | 41.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 34.6% | 31.8% | 36.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 31.9% | 31.4% | 32.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 32.2% | 32.0% | 32.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 32.9% | 32.2% | 33.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.8% | 32.5% | 33.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.8% | 32.4% | 33.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More gender data for South Korea
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 4,318 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -3.79 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 46,871 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 46,871 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 0.0957 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 119,025 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 125,732 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 116,471 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 122,813 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 119,098 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is probability that a man will outlive a woman in South Korea?
- Probability that a man will outlive a woman in South Korea was 33.5% in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024); Bergeron-Boucher et al. (2022) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest probability that a man will outlive a woman recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 43.6% in 1954.
- What is the lowest probability that a man will outlive a woman recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.4% in 1981.
- How does South Korea rank for probability that a man will outlive a woman?
- South Korea ranks 219th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is probability that a man will outlive a woman rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024); Bergeron-Boucher et al. (2022) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Probability that a man will outlive a woman. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Probability that a male will live longer than a female if both are randomly selected from the population at birth.