Human Rights Index vs. GDP per capita in South Korea
South Korea: Human Rights Index vs. GDP per capita was 0.912 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Human Rights Index vs. GDP per capita in South Korea, 1946–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, human rights index vs. gdp per capita in South Korea stood at 0.912.
The figure is up 9.9% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human rights index vs. gdp per capita in South Korea peaked at 0.931 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.366, in 1951.
South Korea ranks 27th of 174 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 80 years of available data.
Human Rights Index vs. GDP per capita in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 0.459 | — |
| 1947 | 0.442 | -3.7% |
| 1948 | 0.458 | +3.6% |
| 1949 | 0.46 | +0.4% |
| 1950 | 0.38 | -17.4% |
| 1951 | 0.366 | -3.7% |
| 1952 | 0.366 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.41 | +12.0% |
| 1954 | 0.481 | +17.3% |
| 1955 | 0.481 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.479 | -0.4% |
| 1957 | 0.479 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.491 | +2.5% |
| 1959 | 0.491 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.657 | +33.8% |
| 1961 | 0.446 | -32.1% |
| 1962 | 0.434 | -2.7% |
| 1963 | 0.45 | +3.7% |
| 1964 | 0.466 | +3.6% |
| 1965 | 0.449 | -3.6% |
| 1966 | 0.449 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.449 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.449 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.449 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.447 | -0.4% |
| 1971 | 0.447 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.393 | -12.1% |
| 1973 | 0.385 | -2.0% |
| 1974 | 0.384 | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 0.384 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.384 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.384 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.384 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.384 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.459 | +19.5% |
| 1981 | 0.408 | -11.1% |
| 1982 | 0.448 | +9.8% |
| 1983 | 0.461 | +2.9% |
| 1984 | 0.477 | +3.5% |
| 1985 | 0.508 | +6.5% |
| 1986 | 0.523 | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 0.643 | +22.9% |
| 1988 | 0.797 | +24.0% |
| 1989 | 0.841 | +5.5% |
| 1990 | 0.852 | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 0.852 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.854 | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 0.896 | +4.9% |
| 1994 | 0.896 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.896 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.896 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.899 | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 0.921 | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 0.925 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 0.93 | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 0.93 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.93 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.93 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.93 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.93 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.93 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.929 | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 0.894 | -3.8% |
| 2009 | 0.893 | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 0.891 | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 0.891 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.891 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.881 | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 0.877 | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 0.881 | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 0.881 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.931 | +5.7% |
| 2018 | 0.93 | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 0.921 | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 0.924 | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 0.929 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 0.905 | -2.6% |
| 2023 | 0.878 | -3.0% |
| 2024 | 0.83 | -5.5% |
| 2025 | 0.912 | +9.9% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 0.912 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.906, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 0.912 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.728, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Human Rights Index vs. GDP per capita 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | +33.8% | 0.491 | 0.657 |
| 1961 | -32.1% | 0.657 | 0.446 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 0.4547 | 0.442 | 0.46 | 4 |
| 1950s | 0.4424 | 0.366 | 0.491 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.4698 | 0.434 | 0.657 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.3976 | 0.384 | 0.447 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5565 | 0.408 | 0.841 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8887 | 0.852 | 0.925 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9226 | 0.893 | 0.93 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8975 | 0.877 | 0.931 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8963 | 0.83 | 0.929 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More economy & growth data for South Korea
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 7.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0085 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 307.17 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate 2.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0062 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 224.29 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 4.58 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0047 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per capita 168.75 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, SDR, annual growth rate -0.4147 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human rights index vs. gdp per capita in South Korea?
- Human rights index vs. gdp per capita in South Korea was 0.912 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human rights index vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.931 in 2017.
- What is the lowest human rights index vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.366 in 1951.
- How does South Korea rank for human rights index vs. gdp per capita?
- South Korea ranks 27th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is human rights index vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Human Rights Index vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 80 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which people are free from government torture, political killings, and forced labor, they have property rights, and enjoy the freedoms of movement, religion, expression, and association.