Demographics of South Korea in the context of "Republic of Korea"

The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime, if they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime, and they were to live from birth until the end of their reproductive life.

As of 2023, the total fertility rate varied widely across the world, from 0.7 in South Korea, to 6.1 in Niger. Among sovereign countries that were not city states or microstates, in 2024 the following countries had a TFR of 1.0 or lower: South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Ukraine; the following countries had a TFR of 1.2 or lower: Argentina, Belarus, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Estonia, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, and Uruguay.

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. Like North Korea, South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of about 52 million, of which half live in the Seoul metropolitan area, the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world; other major cities include Busan, Daegu, and Incheon.

The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early seventh century BC. From the mid first century BC, various polities consolidated into the rival kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. The lattermost eventually unified most of the peninsula for the first time in the late seventh century AD, while Balhae succeeded Goguryeo in the north. The Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) achieved lasting unification and established the basis for the modern Korean identity. The subsequent Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) generated cultural, economic, and scientific achievements and also established isolationism starting from the mid-17th century. The succeeding Korean Empire (1897–1910) sought modernization and reform but was annexed in 1910 into the Empire of Japan. Japanese rule ended following Japan's surrender in World War II, after which Korea was divided into two zones: the Soviet-occupied northern zone and the United States-occupied southern zone. After negotiations on reunification failed, the southern zone became the Republic of Korea in August 1948, while the northern zone became the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea the following month.

The People's Republic of China is the second most-populous country in the world with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, only surpassed by India.

China's population has a relatively small youth component, partially a result of the strict enforcement of China's one-child policy that was in effect from 1979 until 2015, which limited urban families to one child and rural families to two. As of 2022, Chinese state media reported the country's total fertility rate to be 1.09, one of the lowest in the world alongside South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

This is a list of lists of contemporary ethnic groups.

• List of contemporary ethnic groups of Asia
• List of contemporary ethnic groups of Europe
• List of contemporary ethnic groups of North America
• List of contemporary ethnic groups of Oceania
• List of contemporary ethnic groups of South America
• List of Indigenous peoples
• List of diasporas
• List of stateless nations

• African people
  • List of contemporary ethnic groups of Africa
  • Indigenous people of Africa
  • Ethnic groups in Algeria
  • Ethnic groups in Botswana
  • Ethnic groups in Burundi
  • Ethnic groups in Chad
  • List of ethno-linguistic groups in Eritrea
  • List of ethnic groups in Ethiopia
  • List of ethnic groups in Nigeria
    • List of ethnic groups in Rivers State
  • Ethnic groups in Rwanda
  • List of ethnic groups in Tanzania
  • Ethnic groups in Senegal
  • Ethnic groups in Sierra Leone
  • List of ethnic groups in South Sudan
  • List of ethnic groups in Zambia
• Asian people
  • List of contemporary ethnic groups of Asia
  • Ethnic groups in Northern Asia
    • List of ethnic groups in Russia
  • List of ethnic groups in East Asia
    • List of ethnic groups in China
    • List of ethnic groups in Japan
    • List of ethnic groups in North Korea
    • List of ethnic groups in South Korea
    • List of ethnic groups in Taiwan
      • List of indigenous peoples of Taiwan
  • South Asian ethnic groups
    • Ethnic groups in Nepal
    • Ethnic groups in Pakistan
      • Demographics of Sindh
  • Ethnic groups in Southeast Asia
    • Ethnic groups in Indonesia
    • List of ethnic groups in Laos
    • Ethnic groups in Malaysia
    • List of ethnic groups in Myanmar
    • Ethnic groups in the Philippines
    • List of ethnic groups in Vietnam
  • Ethnic groups in the Middle East
• European people
  • List of contemporary ethnic groups of Europe
  • Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Peoples of the Caucasus
• Indigenous peoples of the Americas
  • List of contemporary ethnic groups of South America
  • Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas
• Oceanian people
  • List of contemporary ethnic groups of Oceania
  • List of Indigenous Australian group names
  • List of Melanesian ethnic groups
    • List of New Guinean ethnic groups
  • List of Micronesian ethnic groups
  • List of Polynesian ethnic groups
• Ethnoreligious group
• Ethnic groups by country

Koreans in China include both ethnic Koreans with Chinese citizenship and foreign residents living in China such as South Koreans (Chinese: 在华韩国人·韩裔), North Koreans (Chinese: 在华朝鲜人·朝鲜裔) and other Overseas Koreans. For this reason, ethnic Koreans with Chinese citizenship are termed Korean Chinese, Joseonjok, Chosŏnjok (Korean: 조선족; Hancha: 朝鮮族), and their official name in China is Chaoxianzu (朝鲜族; Cháoxiǎnzú; 'Joseon ethnic group'). Korean Chinese are the 13th largest ethnic minority group in China. They form a diasporic community with cultural ties to the Korean Peninsula across generations, including among individuals who have never visited Korea.

Most native Korean Chinese live in the Northeast China. Significant populations can also be found in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, with a sizable expatriate community in Shanghai and Shandong across the Yellow Sea. According to the South Korean government, the combined population of Koreans with Chinese nationality, South Korean and North Korean expats in China is 2,109,727 in 2023.

The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime, if they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime, and they were to live from birth until the end of their reproductive life.

As of 2023, the total fertility rate varied widely across the world, from 0.7 in South Korea, to 6.1 in Niger. Among sovereign countries that were not city states or microstates, in 2024 the following countries had a TFR of 1.0 or lower: South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Ukraine; the following countries had a TFR of 1.2 or lower: Argentina, Belarus, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Estonia, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, and Uruguay.