Compensation of employees in South Korea
South Korea: Compensation of employees was 8.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Compensation of employees in South Korea, 1972–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 8.8% for compensation of employees in 2023.
The figure is up 10.8% on the previous year and down 13.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compensation of employees in South Korea peaked at 18.8% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 7.9%, in 2022.
That places South Korea 146th out of 155 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 52 years of available data.
Compensation of employees in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 16.9% | — |
| 1973 | 18.2% | +7.6% |
| 1974 | 15.4% | -15.8% |
| 1975 | 15.4% | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 16.6% | +7.7% |
| 1977 | 18.8% | +13.3% |
| 1978 | 17.6% | -6.3% |
| 1979 | 16.4% | -7.0% |
| 1980 | 17.7% | +7.7% |
| 1981 | 17.6% | -0.5% |
| 1982 | 16.3% | -7.3% |
| 1983 | 17.4% | +6.7% |
| 1984 | 16.3% | -6.1% |
| 1985 | 15.5% | -5.3% |
| 1986 | 15.1% | -2.3% |
| 1987 | 14.6% | -3.5% |
| 1988 | 14.5% | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 13.8% | -5.0% |
| 1990 | 14.2% | +2.8% |
| 1991 | 14.2% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 14.4% | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 14.5% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 13.8% | -5.1% |
| 1995 | 15.1% | +9.4% |
| 1996 | 14.4% | -4.5% |
| 1997 | 14.3% | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 12.2% | -14.5% |
| 1999 | 11.5% | -6.1% |
| 2000 | 11.1% | -2.9% |
| 2001 | 10.7% | -3.5% |
| 2002 | 11.4% | +6.2% |
| 2003 | 10.5% | -8.3% |
| 2004 | 11.7% | +11.6% |
| 2005 | 11.5% | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 11.1% | -3.0% |
| 2007 | 11.1% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 10.8% | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 10.1% | -6.9% |
| 2010 | 10.3% | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 10.1% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 9.8% | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 10.1% | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 10.3% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 10.3% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 10.5% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 10.3% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 10.2% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 9.6% | -5.9% |
| 2020 | 9.3% | -3.1% |
| 2021 | 8.8% | -5.4% |
| 2022 | 7.9% | -10.1% |
| 2023 | 8.8% | +10.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 16.9% | 15.4% | 18.8% | 8 |
| 1980s | 15.9% | 13.8% | 17.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 13.8% | 11.5% | 15.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.0% | 10.1% | 11.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.2% | 9.6% | 10.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.7% | 7.9% | 9.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More public sector data for South Korea
- Arms imports 1.01 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 19.5 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0005 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 362.84 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 1.01 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 919.23 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0254 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate -0.4824 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 47.57 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 2,234 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compensation of employees in South Korea?
- Compensation of employees in South Korea was 8.8% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest compensation of employees recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 18.8% in 1977.
- What is the lowest compensation of employees recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.9% in 2022.
- How does South Korea rank for compensation of employees?
- South Korea ranks 146th out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is compensation of employees rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Compensation of employees (% of expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.