IMF predicts Korea’s GDP per capita at $36,132

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is expected to surpass that of Japan and Taiwan this year, as it did last year.

According to the Bank of Korea, on Thursday, the IMF estimated South Korea’s GDP per capita to be 36,132 dollars this year, up 1.6 percent from last year, in its World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday. As calculated by the IMF, South Korea’s GDP per capita decreased from 37,518 dollars in 2021 to 34,822 dollars in 2022 before returning to growth last year.

According to the IMF, Japan’s GDP per capita is estimated to be 32,859 dollars this year. The gap with South Korea is wider than last year, as Japan’s GDP per capita is expected to decrease by 3.1 percent from last year. Taiwan’s GDP per capita is estimated to be 33,234 dollars this year, up 2.6 percent from last year. It surpasses Japan’s but is still 2,898 dollars less than South Korea’s.

“Japan’s GDP per capita in dollars is relatively low due to the weakening of the yen and the recent trend of low growth in Japan,” a Bank of Korea official explained.

The IMF expects South Korea to surpass 40,000 dollars in GDP per capita for the first time in 2027. As of this year’s estimates, 28 countries have a GDP per capita of more than 40,000 dollars, including Luxembourg (No. 1 with 132,230 dollars) and the U.S. (No. 6 with 86,600 dollars).


조응형 기자 yesbro@donga.com