Number of people with and without electricity access in South Korea
South Korea: Number of people with and without electricity access was 51.75 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
51.75 million people
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
25th
of 214 countries
All-time high
51.84 million people
in 2020
All-time low
42.82 million people
in 1990
Years of data
35
1990–2024
Number of people with and without electricity access in South Korea, 1990–2024
Source: Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2024, number of people with and without electricity access in South Korea stood at 51.75 million people.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people with and without electricity access in South Korea peaked at 51.84 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 42.82 million people, in 1990.
South Korea ranks 25th of 214 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Number of people with and without electricity access in South Korea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 42.82 million people | — |
| 1991 | 43.26 million people | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 43.72 million people | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 44.18 million people | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 44.64 million people | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 45.09 million people | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 45.52 million people | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 45.95 million people | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 46.29 million people | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 46.62 million people | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 47.01 million people | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 47.37 million people | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 47.64 million people | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 47.89 million people | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 48.08 million people | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 48.18 million people | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 48.44 million people | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 48.68 million people | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 49.05 million people | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 49.31 million people | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 49.55 million people | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 49.94 million people | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 50.20 million people | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 50.43 million people | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 50.75 million people | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 51.01 million people | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 51.22 million people | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 51.36 million people | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 51.59 million people | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 51.76 million people | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 51.84 million people | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 51.77 million people | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 51.67 million people | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 51.71 million people | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 51.75 million people | +0.1% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 51.75 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.05 million people, 17.0× the median. (84 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 51.75 million people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.41 million people, 21.5× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 44.81 million people | 42.82 million people | 46.62 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 48.17 million people | 47.01 million people | 49.31 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 50.78 million people | 49.55 million people | 51.76 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.75 million people | 51.67 million people | 51.84 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More energy & mining data for South Korea
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -1.55 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0.0001 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fuel imports 22.2% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people with and without electricity access in South Korea?
- Number of people with and without electricity access in South Korea was 51.75 million people in 2024, according to Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people with and without electricity access recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 51.84 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people with and without electricity access recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.82 million people in 1990.
- How does South Korea rank for number of people with and without electricity access?
- South Korea ranks 25th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of people with and without electricity access rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people with and without electricity access. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Access to electricity means having an electricity source that can provide very basic lighting, and charge a phone or power a radio for 4 hours per day.