Taxes on international trade in Korea
Korea: Taxes on international trade was 1.0% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Taxes on international trade in Korea, 1972–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of revenue.
Analysis
In 2024, taxes on international trade in Korea stood at 1.0%. That is the lowest value across all 53 years on record.
The figure is down 4.8% on the previous year and down 52.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, taxes on international trade in Korea peaked at 19.0% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2024.
That places Korea 114th out of 154 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Taxes on international trade in Korea, year by year
| Year | % of revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 10.2% | — |
| 1973 | 12.1% | +18.8% |
| 1974 | 12.4% | +1.9% |
| 1975 | 13.0% | +5.1% |
| 1976 | 14.9% | +14.2% |
| 1977 | 16.2% | +8.8% |
| 1978 | 19.0% | +17.4% |
| 1979 | 17.0% | -10.5% |
| 1980 | 15.0% | -11.4% |
| 1981 | 13.9% | -7.4% |
| 1982 | 13.3% | -4.3% |
| 1983 | 15.8% | +18.1% |
| 1984 | 15.4% | -2.5% |
| 1985 | 14.2% | -7.6% |
| 1986 | 14.9% | +5.3% |
| 1987 | 17.3% | +15.9% |
| 1988 | 14.0% | -18.9% |
| 1989 | 10.9% | -22.6% |
| 1990 | 11.8% | +8.2% |
| 1991 | 9.2% | -22.1% |
| 1992 | 7.3% | -20.4% |
| 1993 | 5.8% | -20.7% |
| 1994 | 5.8% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 6.5% | +13.1% |
| 1996 | 6.4% | -2.1% |
| 1997 | 6.4% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 4.0% | -37.0% |
| 1999 | 4.4% | +9.9% |
| 2000 | 4.3% | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 4.2% | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 4.2% | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 4.1% | -4.1% |
| 2004 | 3.9% | -4.7% |
| 2005 | 3.4% | -13.6% |
| 2006 | 3.3% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 3.1% | -5.6% |
| 2008 | 3.6% | +13.3% |
| 2009 | 3.7% | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 4.0% | +7.4% |
| 2011 | 3.8% | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 2.5% | -34.8% |
| 2013 | 2.8% | +10.7% |
| 2014 | 2.2% | -20.8% |
| 2015 | 2.0% | -6.4% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | -12.2% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | -10.9% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | -10.5% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | -8.6% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | +6.1% |
| 2022 | 1.4% | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 1.1% | -22.1% |
| 2024 | 1.0% | -4.8% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 1.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.4%, 2.3× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Korea's 1.0% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.5%, 23% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 14.3% | 10.2% | 19.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 14.5% | 10.9% | 17.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.8% | 4.0% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.8% | 3.1% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 1.4% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More public sector data for 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 taxes on international trade in Korea?
- Taxes on international trade in Korea was 1.0% in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest taxes on international trade recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 19.0% in 1978.
- What is the lowest taxes on international trade recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2024.
- How does Korea rank for taxes on international trade?
- Korea ranks 114th out of 154 countries with data for 2024.
- Is taxes on international trade rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 52.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Taxes on international trade (% of revenue). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Taxes on international trade are taxes that become payable when goods cross the national or customs frontiers of the economic territory or when transactions in services exchange between residents and non-residents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.