South Korea's per capita gross domestic product is expected to rise by 7.6% to about $39,000 in 2026 compared to 2025, marking the largest year-on-year increase in five years amid strong exports led by memory chips.

Data released by financial authorities projected that the country's per capita GDP would reach $39,160, an increase of $2,750 from the previous year.

The expected increase would represent the largest annual growth since the 11.5% year-on-year increase in 2021, according to the German news agency dpa.

These forecasts were based on estimates applying the government's revised nominal GDP growth projection of 12.3% for this year to the nominal GDP of 2,656 trillion won ($1.79 trillion) in 2025, resulting in an estimate of 3,005.009 trillion won in 2026, which was then divided by the country's population of 51.6 million.

However, experts said that if the exchange rate of the South Korean won against the US dollar rises to an average of 1,456.1 won per dollar this year, South Korea's per capita GDP could exceed $40,000 for the first time.

Last week, the government announced a set of economic policy goals, including achieving a potential growth rate of 3%, joining the top four exporting countries in the world, and raising per capita gross national income (GNI), an indicator of the population's purchasing power, to $50,000. It is noted that per capita GNI stood at $36,800 in 2025.

Advertisement

Advertisement