Signal The capital region's population share passed 50 percent in 2020 and is projected to reach 53 percent by 2045

Summary

The capital region's share of Korea's population was 42.8 percent in 1990 and rose steadily while the non-capital share fell. By 2005 the split was 48.2 percent for the capital region and 51.4 percent for the rest of the country. In 2020 the capital region reached 50.2 percent and overtook the non-capital regions for the first time. Projections put the share at 53.0 percent by 2045, concentrated on roughly 11.8 percent of the national land area. In absolute numbers the capital region has plateaued since 2020, while the non-capital regions have been declining since 2019 after decades of slow growth. The report presents these figures as evidence that a single-pole spatial structure is becoming entrenched.