Country · Asia
South Korea
Republic of Korea
South Korea is a country in Eastern Asia. Its capital city is Seoul. About 51.6 million people live there, in an area of 100 210 square kilometres.
Picture credit: Joon Kyu Park (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · 라성민 (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is South Korea?
South Korea lies in Eastern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 4 119 km from the equator.
It shares a border with 1 country: North Korea.
How big is South Korea?
South Korea covers 100 210 square kilometres.
That is about 2.4 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 107th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 515 people on every square kilometre.
Who lives in South Korea?
About 51.6 million people live in South Korea.
That is the 27th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Korean.
They pay with the South Korean won (₩).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 74 years.
The land of South Korea
The land in South Korea sits on average 282 metres above sea level.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes South Korea different?
A dish the country is known for: Kimchi and bulgogi.
Websites from here often end in .kr.
South Korea and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 7 live in South Korea.
It takes up about 0.08 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia it is the 30th largest of 46 countries, and the 13th most populated.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
South Korea and its neighbours
North Korea, its largest neighbour, is about 1.2 times bigger.
More people live in South Korea than in North Korea — 51.6 million against 25.5 million.
Where this country lands in the record lists
Questions children ask
What is the capital of South Korea?
The capital of South Korea is Seoul. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in South Korea?
About 51.6 million people live in South Korea, which makes it the 27th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border South Korea?
South Korea borders North Korea — 1 neighbour in total.
How big is South Korea?
South Korea covers 100 210 square kilometres, making it the 107th largest country in the world. That is about 2.4 times the size of Switzerland.
Which continent is South Korea in?
South Korea is in Asia, in the part called Eastern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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