Korea's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was tallied to be close to $40,000 this year.
According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and others on the 19th, Korea's per capita GDP this year is estimated at $39,164. That is an increase of $2,750 (7.6%) from a year earlier and the largest rise in five years since 2021 ($3,882, 11.5%).
Driven by an export increase during a semiconductor boom, it is expected to reach the highest level since 1996 (12.3%). If this is applied to "Recent economic trends (Green Book)" nominal GDP for 2025 (2,676.6748 trillion won), this year's nominal GDP is estimated at 3,000.59058 trillion won.
Applying the average won-dollar exchange rate of 1,487.19 won (as of 3:30 p.m. on the 16th) to convert into U.S. dollars, and dividing by the total population (51,609,121) in the Statistics Korea future population projections, yields per capita GDP. If the average won-dollar exchange rate this year falls by about 30 won to below 1,456.1 won, there is a chance it could top $40,000 for the first time this year.
Korea's per capita GDP rose to $35,359 in 2018, but fell for two straight years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, dropping to $33,652 in 2020. In 2021, it increased to $37,534 on resumed economic activity after the COVID-19 pandemic, large-scale stimulus, and base effects, but declined to $34,875 the following year amid inflation and interest rate hikes.
After that, the growth rate had been gradually slowing, but it rebounded sharply this year on strong exports driven by the semiconductor boom.