Republic of Korea vs China: population pyramids in 2017
Republic of KoreaChina
Each bar is the share of the total population at that single year of age (men left, women right), so countries of different sizes can be compared.
Republic of Korea and China compared
In 2017, the Republic of Korea has a population of 51.4 million and China 1.41 billion; China is about 27 times the size of the Republic of Korea.
The share aged 65 and over is 13.6% in the Republic of Korea and 10.7% in China, 2.9 points higher in the Republic of Korea. The median age is 41.8 years in the Republic of Korea and 37.1 years in China.
The total fertility rate is 1.04 in the Republic of Korea and 1.80 in China, both below the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 83.3 years in the Republic of Korea and 77.2 years in China.
By 2050, the population of the Republic of Korea is projected to shrink by 11.9% and that of China to shrink by 10.2% compared with 2017.
GDP per person is $36K in the Republic of Korea (2025) and $14K in China (2025).
Key figures (2017)
| Republic of Korea | China | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 51.4 million | 1.41 billion |
| Aged 0–14 | 13.2% | 18.3% |
| Aged 15–64 | 73.3% | 71.0% |
| Aged 65+ | 13.6% | 10.7% |
| Median age | 41.8 yrs | 37.1 yrs |
| Old-age dependency | 18.5 | 15.1 |
| Total fertility rate | 1.04 | 1.80 |
| Life expectancy | 83.3 yrs | 77.2 yrs |
| Population growth | +0.33% | +0.57% |
| Net migration (per year) | +104,029 | -94,625 |
| GDP | $1.87T (2025) | $19.5T (2025) |
| GDP per person | $36K (2025) | $14K (2025) |
| Unemployment | 2.7% (2025) | 4.6% (2025) |
Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.