Share of electricity generation from solar in South Korea
South Korea: Share of electricity generation from solar was 6.1% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Share of electricity generation from solar in South Korea, 1985–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 6.1% for share of electricity generation from solar in 2025. That is the highest value across all 41 years on record.
That represents a change of up 15.7% on the previous year and up 683.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from solar in South Korea peaked at 6.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1985.
That places South Korea 80th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of electricity generation from solar in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.0% | — |
| 1986 | 0.0% | — |
| 1987 | 0.0% | — |
| 1988 | 0.0% | — |
| 1989 | 0.0% | — |
| 1990 | 0.0% | — |
| 1991 | 0.0% | -10.0% |
| 1992 | 0.0% | +79.8% |
| 1993 | 0.0% | -9.6% |
| 1994 | 0.0% | -11.7% |
| 1995 | 0.0% | -9.9% |
| 1996 | 0.0% | +35.2% |
| 1997 | 0.0% | -8.4% |
| 1998 | 0.0% | +38.6% |
| 1999 | 0.0% | +3.4% |
| 2000 | 0.0% | +97.4% |
| 2001 | 0.0% | -6.3% |
| 2002 | 0.0% | -6.7% |
| 2003 | 0.0% | -4.5% |
| 2004 | 0.0% | -5.5% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | -5.5% |
| 2006 | 0.0% | +189.9% |
| 2007 | 0.0% | +121.0% |
| 2008 | 0.1% | +284.5% |
| 2009 | 0.1% | +99.1% |
| 2010 | 0.2% | +23.5% |
| 2011 | 0.2% | +14.1% |
| 2012 | 0.2% | +19.8% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | +46.2% |
| 2014 | 0.5% | +60.1% |
| 2015 | 0.8% | +55.1% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | +27.4% |
| 2017 | 1.3% | +36.5% |
| 2018 | 1.7% | +27.7% |
| 2019 | 2.4% | +41.0% |
| 2020 | 3.4% | +38.6% |
| 2021 | 4.1% | +21.4% |
| 2022 | 4.9% | +21.4% |
| 2023 | 5.4% | +9.1% |
| 2024 | 5.2% | -2.8% |
| 2025 | 6.1% | +15.7% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 6.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 6.1%, 1.0× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 6.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.4%, 1.1× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of electricity generation from solar in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | +284.5% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.2% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.8% | 3.4% | 6.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 77 Guadeloupe 6.6% compare
- 78 Burkina Faso 6.5% compare
- 79 French Guiana 6.1% compare
- 81 Czechia 5.8% compare
- 82 Morocco 5.8% compare
- 83 Montenegro 5.7% compare
More energy & mining data for South Korea
- 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)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 25.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of electricity generation from solar in South Korea?
- Share of electricity generation from solar in South Korea was 6.1% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of electricity generation from solar recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 6.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from solar recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1985.
- How does South Korea rank for share of electricity generation from solar?
- South Korea ranks 80th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of electricity generation from solar rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 683.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of electricity generation from solar. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region.