SEOUL: South Korea’s per capita income was revised up to over US$36,000 in 2023 due to a revision of the benchmark year, exceeding Japan’s estimate of per capita income last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Wednesday.
Under the latest change of the reference year for national accounts, South Korea’s gross national income (GNI) per capita stood at $36,194 last year, compared with a previous estimate of $33,745, BOK officials said.
Last year, Japan’s per capita income was estimated at $35,793, according to Choi Jeong-tae, a senior BOK official in charge of national accounts.
South Korea’s per capita income in 2023 is a “level lower than Italy, but higher than Taiwan and Japan,” Choi told reporters.
The GNI per capita of Italy and Taiwan was estimated at $38,182 and $33,365, respectively, last year, according to the BOK.
As a result of a change in the base year, South Korea’s gross domestic product reached 2,401 trillion won ($1.74 trillion) last year, up from the previous 2,236 trillion won, the BOK said.
Based on the new base year, the ratio of household debt to GDP fell to 93.5 percent last year from the previous 100.4 percent.
The updated data showed the country expanded at an average of 3.6 percent between 2001 and 2023, higher than the previous 3.5 percent.
