Updated the 5th of March 2019

Regional gap in GDP per capita, 2000-16 Index of regional disparity in GDP per capita, 2016

Differences between Korean regions in terms of GDP per capita have increased slightly over the last sixteen years, and remain moderate, with Chungcheong having 30% higher GDP per capita than Jeju. Regional economic disparities in Korea remain among the lowest of OECD countries.

With a productivity growth of 2.9% per year over the period 2008-16, Chungcheong has experienced the highest growth in the country and it became also the region with the highest levels of productivity. Gyeongnam had a higher GDP per worker in 2008 compared to Chungcheong, but it experienced the lowest growth of productivity among Korean regions (0.8% per year).

While the youth unemployment rate has declined since 2012 in the OECD as a whole, youth unemployment in all Korean regions remained high and above the OECD average of 15.1% in 2016, with the exception of Jeju, where 9.6% of youths were unemployed in 2016.

Productivity trends, most and least dynamic regions, 2008-16 Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 years old, 2007-16

Source: OECD Regional Database. Notes: (1) Figure on regional gap in GDP per capita: OECD regions refer to the administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Korea is composed of seven large regions. (2) Figure on index of regional disparity: top (bottom) 20% regions are defined as those with the highest (lowest) GDP per capita until the equivalent of 20% of national population is reached, this indicator provides a harmonised measure to rank OECD countries, using data for small regions (Territorial Level 3) when available. (3) Productivity is measured as GDP per employee at place of work in constant prices, constant Purchasing Power Parities (reference year 2010).

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

35 000

40 000

45 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per capita in USD PPP

Lowest regionJeju

Highest regionChungcheong

29 959 USD

41 775 USD

36 300 USDKorea

1

2

3

4

Top 20 % richest over bottom 20% poorest regionsRatio

Country (number of regions considered)

Small regions(TL3)

Large regions (TL2)

2016 2000

Korea

55 000

60 000

65 000

70 000

75 000

80 000

85 000

2008 2010 2016

GDP per worker in USD PPP

Gyeongnam: lowest productivity growth (0.8% annually)

Chungcheong: highest productivity in 2016 and highest productivity growth (+2.9% average annual growth over 2008-16)

OECD

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2007 2012 2016

rate (%)

Lowest rateJeju

Highest rateGyeonbuk Region

9.6%

25.5%

23.4%Korea

Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 – KOREA http://www.oecd.org/regional

Economic trends in regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Relative ranking of the regions with the best and worst outcomes in the 11 well-being dimensions, with respect to all 402 OECD regions. The eleven dimensions are ordered by decreasing regional disparities in the country. Each well-being dimension is measured by the indicators in the table below.

The well-being domain with the largest disparities between Korean regions is related to jobs outcomes (employment and unemployment rate), with Seoul Capital Region ranking close to the median of OECD regions and Jeju in the bottom 15%. All Korean regions rank in the top 20% of the OECD regions in access to broadband, but in the bottom 20% in perceived social support network (community).

The top performing Korean regions fare better than the OECD average in 8 out of 13 well-being indicators. Exceptions are income per capita, number of rooms per person, air pollution, perceived social support network, and life satisfaction.

Source: OECD Regional Database. Visualisation: https://www.oecdregionalwellbeing.org. Notes: (1) OECD regions refer to the first administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Korea is composed of seven large regions. (2) Household income per capita data are based on USD constant PPP, constant prices (year 2010).

Jeju

Seoul Region

Gyeongbuk

Jeju

Jeolla

Seoul Region

Jeju

ChungcheongGyeongbuk

Seoul Region

Seoul Region

Gyeongnam Gangwon

Jeju

Gangwon

Jeju

Gangwon

SeoulRegion

Gyeongbuk

Seoul Region

Gyeongbuk

Gangwon

Jobs Education Safety Health CivicEngagement

Income Environment LifeSatisfaction

Housing Community Access toservices

Top region Bottom region

Ra

nkin

g o

f O

EC

D r

eg

ion

s(1

to

40

2)

top

20

%b

otto

m 2

0%

mid

dle

60

%

Seoul Region Regions

Top 20% Bottom 20%

Jobs

Employment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 64.2 67.7 65.6 61.4

Unemployment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 3.8 5.5 3.0 4.2

Education

Labour force w ith at least upper secondary education (%), 2017 84.3 81.7 88.6 76.6

Safety

Homicide Rate (per 100 000 people), 2016 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.8

Health

Life Expectancy at birth (years), 2016 81.4 80.4 82.4 80.8

Age adjusted mortality rate (per 1 000 people), 2016 6.5 8.1 6.1 7.1

Civic engagement

Voters in last national election (%), 2017 or lastest year 76.9 70.9 78.6 75.1

Income

Disposable income per capita (in USD PPP), 2016 16 909 17 695 18 352 15 824

Environment

Level of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³), 2015 31.1 12.4 25.7 33.0

Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction (scale from 0 to 10), 2013 5.9 6.8 6.1 5.7

Housing

Rooms per person, 2016 1.3 1.8 1.5 1.3

Community

Perceived social netw ork support (%), 2013 78.3 91.4 79.4 74.1

Access to services

Households w ith broadband access (%), 2017 99.2 78.0 99.7 98.4

Korean regionsCountry

Average

OECD median

region

Differences in well-being across regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

OECD population is concentrated in cities* Percentage of population in cities, 2016

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of urban agglomerations: 22 in Korea and 1 138 in the OECD.

In Korea, 83% of the population lives in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants. The share of population in cities with more than 500 000 people is 76% compared to 55% in the OECD area.

Importance of metropolitan areas Cities above 500 000 people, 2016

Contribution of metropolitan areas to GDP growth Cities above 500 000 people, 2000-16

Metropolitan areas in Korea account for 75% of national GDP. Between 2000 and 2016 they generated 74% of the national GDP growth, to which Seoul contributed two-thirds.

Two Korean metropolitan areas, Ulsan and Sebuk, are in the top 20% in terms of GDP per capita among the 327 OECD metropolitan areas, although the country has high disparities, with Gwangsan, Seo and Dalseong being in the bottom 20%.

In terms of PM 2.5 levels, all Korean metropolitan areas are among the 12% most polluted OECD metropolitan areas. Deokjin is the 5th most polluted metropolitan area across the OECD.

OECD Metropolitan areas ranking Cities above 500 000 people

GDP per capita, 2016

Air pollution (PM2.5), 2017

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of metropolitan areas with a population of over 500 000: 11 in Korea compared to 327 in the OECD. * Note: Cities are defined here as functional urban areas, which are composed by high-density urban centres of at least 50 000 people and their areas of influence (commuting zone). For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/functionalurbanareasbycountry.htm.

76%

6%1%

17%

United States

people in citieswith population above 500 000

peopleoutside cities

United States

people in cities withpopulation between50 000 and 250 000

51.2 million people - 83% live in cities

United StatesKorea

people in cities with population between 250 000 and 500 000

OECD average

1.2 billion people - 70%live in cities

people in citieswith population

above 500 000

people in cities withpopulation between

50 000 and 250 000

peopleoutside cities

55%

9%

30%

people in cities with populationbetween 250 000 and 500 000

6%

75%80% 76%

63%58% 55%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

% of nationalGDP

% of nationalemployment

% of nationalpopulation

Korea OECD average%

74%68%

Se

ou

l

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1 2

%

All metropolitan areas Largest contributor

Korea OECD average

32

7 m

etr

op

olit

an

are

as

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000USD PPP

Top 20% richest metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% poorest metropolitan areas

0

10

20

30

Lev el of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³)

Top 20% least polluted metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% most polluted metropolitan areas

Metropolitan areas in the national economy

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Subnational government expenditure by function As a share of total subnational government expenditure, 2016

Subnational government expenditure amounts to USD 5 089 per capita in Korea compared to an OECD average of USD 6 817. In Korea, this is equivalent to 43.1% of total public expenditure and to 13.9% of GDP. In comparison, across the OECD, subnational government expenditure accounts for 40.4% of total public expenditure and for 16.2% of GDP. Education and economic affairs are the two largest spending items for subnational governments in Korea: together they represent 46% of subnational expenditure compared to 39% in the OECD area.

In Korea, 57.7% of total public investment was carried out by subnational governments compared to an OECD average of 56.9%.

Role of subnational governments in public investment Subnational government public investment per capita, 2016

Source: OECD Subnational Government Structure and Finance Database. Note: the function ‘other’ includes housing and community amenities, recreation, culture and religion; environment; public order and safety.

OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018

The 2018 edition of OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance shows how regions and cities contribute to national growth and the well-being of societies. It updates its regular set of region-by-region indicators, examining a wide range of policies and trends and identifying those regions that are outperforming or lagging behind in their country.

Consult this publication on line: https://oe.cd/pub/2n9

Health 0.3% 18% Health

General public services 17% 14% General public services

Social protection 16% 14% Social protection

Economic affairs 18% 14% Economic affairs

Other 17% 15% Other

EducationEducation 28% 25%

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Korea OECD average

Subnational expenditure per capita: USD 5 089 USD 6 817

0

200

400

600

800

1 000

1 200

1 400

1 600

1 800

2 000

Total public investmentUSD 1 278 per capita3.0% of GDP

Subnational governmentinvestmentUSD 1 059 per capita57.7% of public invest.

USD per capita

Subnational government investmentUSD 727 per capita 56.9% of public invest.

Total public investmentUSD 1836 per capita5% of GDP

OECD averageKorea

Subnational government finance