Republic of Korea called the Republic of Seoul. It was estimated that the population of the metropolitan area centered on Seoul, such as Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon, exceeded half of the total population. The population of Seoul was found to have decreased, but the population of the metropolitan area increased by 180,000 as more populations increased in Gyeonggi-do.

As of November 2019, the National Statistical Office released the results of the census of population housing based on the registration census method. The registration census method using administrative data, that is, a sample survey, is less accurate than the method of visiting a family house and home, but thanks to this survey, it is possible to guess the current state of Korea's population and housing every year.

In this survey, the total population of Korea was 51.78 million, an increase of only 150,000 from 2018. The growth rate is 0.3%. Compared to the increase of 207,000 people and 0.4% in 2018 from 2017, the increase has decreased. This is the total population, including the foreign population, and the National Statistical Office expects it to decline altogether from 2029. Even taking into account the steadily increasing inflow of foreigners, it is predicted that the natural decline of the Korean population, which has been realized from this year, will increase further.

The most striking thing is the continued increase in the proportion of the population in the metropolitan area. The total population of Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon totaled 25.89 million, an increase of 180,000 or 0.7% from 25.71 million in 2018.

The total population increased by 150,000, while the population in the metropolitan area increased by 180,000. So, the share of the total population was just 50.0% this time. It means that the concentration of the population in the metropolitan area has not been resolved and continues.


In 2000, 20 years ago, the proportion of the population in the metropolitan area was 46.3%, which was slightly lower than today. Then it rose to 48.2 in 2005 and 49.1% in 2010. Although this trend has subsided somewhat, it has not stopped. In 2015, it rose to 49.5%, and if you look at the annual survey released every year thereafter, it reached 50% in 2019, following 49.5% in 2016, 49.6% in 2017, and 49.8% in 2018.

Gyeonggi-do is the place with the largest population growth when divided by province. It is estimated that 25.7% of the population of Korea lives at 13.3 million, an increase of 198,000 from last year. Sejong City followed by an increase of 26,000 and Incheon by 16,000.

The populations of Seoul and Busan, which are the first and second cities in Korea, have declined. The population was dispersed to surrounding areas such as Gyeonggi Province and Gyeongnam. Compared to 2018, Seoul decreased by 34,000 and Busan by 23,000.

The city with the highest population growth rate is Sejong City, a symbol of decentralization policy. Sejong City showed a whopping 8.2% increase, showing a high growth rate like a new city. In this way, the population of six metropolitan local governments, including Sejong, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, Jeju, Chungbuk, and Chungnam, increased, but the remaining 11 metropolitan localities decreased. In particular, in Daejeon, which is immediately adjacent to Sejong City, it decreased by 0.8%, showing the highest decrease rate.


In terms of furniture, there are 20.89 million households in Korea as of November 2019. An increase of 392,000 households from 2018, the increase rate is 1.9%. The reason why the rate of household growth is higher than that of the population growth rate (0.3%) is due to the number of single-person households increasing.

Single-person households accounted for 30.2% of the total, exceeding 30% for the first time. Of the total households, 49.3% or 1,029 million households live in the metropolitan area. Looking at the proportion of single-person households by region, Daejeon was the highest at 33.7%, and Gyeonggi was the lowest at 26.3%. Seoul also has a very high proportion of single-person households at 33.4%, an increase of 1.3%p from 2018.

What kind of people live in single-person households? There are materials that can be looked at by age. Those over 70 accounted for 18.4%, followed by 18.2% in their 20s and 16.8% in their 30s. Most of the single-person households over the age of 70 were single-female households. In the younger generation, there are more single male households than females, but from their 60s, it reversed significantly, indicating that female households over the age of 70 account for 76.6% of the total.

Korea's population exceeded 51 million, but the number of Koreans excluding foreigners exceeded 50 million for the first time in this survey. It's not exactly 50 million people, but in this survey, which is a rounded estimate, 50 million people were just shot.

The gender ratio of the Korean population is also an interesting statistic. There were 24.93 million men and 25.64 million women, accounting for 130,000 more women than men. The gender ratio was 99.5, slightly lower than 100.7 20 years ago.
That means relatively fewer men and more women.

Sex ratio refers to the number of men per 100 women, and looking at this sex ratio by generation, you can predict a little bit about what will happen in the future. Those in their twenties were the highest at 112.2 (there were many men), followed by 107.7 in their teens and 106.2 in their 30s, and those over 70 had the lowest with 68.6. (Many women) Compared to 2018, there was no significant change, but the gender ratio in their 30s increased by 0.7 points.

Since I saw Koreans, I will also look at foreigners. There are 1.78 million foreigners living in Korea, accounting for 3.4% of the total population. It is 130,000 people, an increase of 7.7% from 2018. 61% of them live in the metropolitan area, but the proportion decreased by 0.8%p, indicating that it was more dispersed.

Among them, Korean-Chinese, who are called Chinese compatriots, accounted for 537,000, the largest of which was 30.2%. Chinese foreigners followed with 220,000 people, accounting for 12.4%, and Vietnam also accounted for 11.1% with 197,000 people. The number of foreigners with Thai nationality increased by 31,000, the largest increase, followed by Vietnam with an increase of 28,000.