South Korea GDP Growth Rate

Last Release

Mar 31, 2024

Actual

1.3

Units In

0.6

Frequency

Quarterly

Next Release

Jun 04, 2024

Time to Release

1 Months 8 Days 13 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
7.8 Dec 1970	-7 Mar 1998	1.69 %	1960-2024	The Bank of Korea

South Korea has an export oriented economy and is the world's leading producer of displays and memory semiconductors and the second largest producer of ships. Services account for the highest percentage of GDP (around 57 percent of GDP). Within services the most important ones are public administration (6 percent ); education (5.3 percent); information and communication (5 percent); and business activities (4.6 percent of GDP). A strong manufacturing industry which has turned South Korea into a major exporter accounts for 32 percent of GDP.

Latest Updates

South Korea's economy expanded by 1.3% quarter-on-quarter in March 2024, up from 0.6% growth in the previous quarter, according to advance estimates. It is the largest expansion since December 2021, surpassing expectations of a 0.6% increase. On the expenditure side, private consumption rose by 0.8% (vs +0.2% in Q4), driven by increased expenditures on goods and services. Government consumption also grew, increasing by 0.7% (vs +0.5% in Q4), mainly due to higher spending on goods.Construction investment expanded significantly, growing by 2.7% (vs -4.5% in Q4), with both building construction and civil engineering seeing increases. However, facilities investment declined by 0.8% (vs +3.3% in Q4), primarily due to lower investment in transportation equipment. Exports rose by 0.9% (vs +3.5% in Q4), driven by higher exports of IT items, such as cellular phones. Imports contracted by 0.7% (vs +1.4% in Q4), mainly due to decreased imports of electronic equipment.