South Korea's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to surpass $40,000 for the first time this year. Until last year, Japan's per capita GDP was slightly higher than South Korea's, but this year, South Korea is expected to lead by more than $8,000, with this advantage anticipated to continue until 2031.
According to a report by the IMF released on October 13, South Korea's per capita GDP is estimated at $40,351 for this year, an increase of $7,104 (19.5%) from last year's estimate of $36,408.
The rankings of per capita GDP between South Korea and Japan are also expected to flip. Last year, Japan was ahead, but this year, South Korea is projected to be $8,112 higher than Japan. The IMF stated that South Korea's per capita GDP will remain above Japan's until 2031.
South Korea's per capita GDP is expected to continue its upward trend. Projections indicate it will reach $49,277 in 2027, $52,100 in 2028, $54,604 in 2029, $57,112 in 2030, and $59,919 in 2031.
In comparison to Taiwan, it is anticipated that Taiwan will remain slightly ahead until this year. The IMF estimates Taiwan's per capita GDP at $43,951 for this year, which is $439 more than South Korea's. However, next year, South Korea is expected to surpass Taiwan by approximately $1,863, maintaining that lead until 2030 when Taiwan is projected to overtake South Korea again.
The IMF also forecasts that South Korea's nominal GDP will reach $2.2458 trillion this year, expanding to $2.5395 trillion next year and $3.0693 trillion by 2031.
Growth rate projections have been revised upward. The IMF estimates South Korea's real GDP growth rate at 3.3% for this year, an increase of 0.7 percentage points from the July forecast of 2.6%. This upward revision exceeds the global average increase of 0.1 percentage points and the average for advanced economies of 0.4 percentage points.
For next year, the growth rate forecast for South Korea has been raised from 2.5% to 2.8%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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