Total factor productivity in South Korea
South Korea: Total factor productivity was 0.9769 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
0.9769
Change on year
down 2.1%
World rank
84th
of 120 countries
All-time high
1
in 2021
All-time low
0.3917
in 1957
Years of data
67
1957–2023
Total factor productivity in South Korea, 1957–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 0.9769 for total factor productivity in 2023.
That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total factor productivity in South Korea peaked at 1 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.3917, in 1957.
That places South Korea 84th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 67 years of available data.
Total factor productivity in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 0.3917 | — |
| 1958 | 0.4044 | +3.2% |
| 1959 | 0.4142 | +2.4% |
| 1960 | 0.4206 | +1.5% |
| 1961 | 0.424 | +0.8% |
| 1962 | 0.4191 | -1.2% |
| 1963 | 0.4255 | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 0.4527 | +6.4% |
| 1965 | 0.4478 | -1.1% |
| 1966 | 0.47 | +5.0% |
| 1967 | 0.4612 | -1.9% |
| 1968 | 0.4635 | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 0.4882 | +5.3% |
| 1970 | 0.5101 | +4.5% |
| 1971 | 0.5294 | +3.8% |
| 1972 | 0.5329 | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 0.5677 | +6.5% |
| 1974 | 0.5773 | +1.7% |
| 1975 | 0.5822 | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 0.5979 | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 0.6081 | +1.7% |
| 1978 | 0.5978 | -1.7% |
| 1979 | 0.59 | -1.3% |
| 1980 | 0.5462 | -7.4% |
| 1981 | 0.5482 | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 0.555 | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 0.5901 | +6.3% |
| 1984 | 0.6194 | +5.0% |
| 1985 | 0.6243 | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 0.6411 | +2.7% |
| 1987 | 0.6644 | +3.6% |
| 1988 | 0.6931 | +4.3% |
| 1989 | 0.6962 | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 0.711 | +2.1% |
| 1991 | 0.728 | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 0.7266 | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 0.7294 | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 0.7416 | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 0.754 | +1.7% |
| 1996 | 0.7622 | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 0.7742 | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 0.7558 | -2.4% |
| 1999 | 0.8046 | +6.5% |
| 2000 | 0.8189 | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 0.8209 | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 0.8474 | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 0.8519 | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 0.8645 | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 0.8791 | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 0.8901 | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 0.9133 | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 0.9284 | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 0.9249 | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 0.9567 | +3.4% |
| 2011 | 0.961 | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 0.9564 | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 0.9612 | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 0.9653 | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 0.9627 | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 0.9688 | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.9809 | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 0.9931 | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.9948 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 0.9874 | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 1 | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 0.9974 | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 0.9769 | -2.1% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 0.9769 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.994, 98% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 0.9769 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.9955, 98% of the median. (15 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.4034 | 0.3917 | 0.4142 | 3 |
| 1960s | 0.4472 | 0.4191 | 0.4882 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.5693 | 0.5101 | 0.6081 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6178 | 0.5462 | 0.6962 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7487 | 0.711 | 0.8046 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8739 | 0.8189 | 0.9284 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9701 | 0.9564 | 0.9948 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9904 | 0.9769 | 1 | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More economy & growth data for South Korea
- Real gdp growth, annual growth rate -49.75 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total factor productivity in South Korea?
- Total factor productivity in South Korea was 0.9769 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total factor productivity recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 2021.
- What is the lowest total factor productivity recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3917 in 1957.
- How does South Korea rank for total factor productivity?
- South Korea ranks 84th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is total factor productivity rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Total factor productivity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 67 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).