Making the density in some areas even higher, more than 90 percent of Korea’s inhabitants are concentrated in just 2 percent of the country’s area, namely urban environments. (image: Kobiz Media / Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, July 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Korea is famous for its high population density. Excluding some city-states and island countries, Korea, with its 487 inhabitants per square kilometer of land as of 2013 can be ranked within the top 10 in terms of population density.
Making the density in some areas even higher, more than 90 percent of Korea’s inhabitants are concentrated in just 2 percent of the country’s area, namely urban environments.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s “Statistics of Land Planning 2014,” 47.05 million or 91.66 percent of Koreans live in urban areas covering a combined 17,596.8 square kilometers, representing 16.58 percent of the nation’s 106,102 square kilometer territory.
As residential urban areas cover a mere total of 2,594.7 square kilometers, it can be said that almost 92 percent of Koreans live in 2.44 percent of Korean territory, with a population density of 18,131 that fiercely competes with Chinese Macau at 18,534.
Meanwhile, the urban population of Korea exceeded the 90 percent level in 2005 for the first time at 90.11 percent, and has maintained its increasing trend. Last year, the urban population increased by 210,000, representing the addition of a city the size of Chungju in North Chungcheong Province to the Korean urban population.
By M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
