People

Population:   
48,846,823 (July 2006 est.) 

Age structure:  
0-14 years: 18.9% (male 4,844,083/female 4,368,139)
15-64 years: 71.9% (male 17,886,148/female 17,250,862)
65 years and over: 9.2% (male 1,818,677/female 2,678,914) (2006 est.) 

Median age:  
total: 35.2 years
male: 34.2 years
female: 36.3 years (2006 est.) 

Population growth rate:  
0.42% (2006 est.) 

Birth rate:   
10 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 

Death rate:   
5.85 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) 

Net migration rate:  
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) 

Sex ratio:  
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.) 

Infant mortality rate:   
total: 6.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.54 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) 

Life expectancy at birth:   
total population: 77.04 years
male: 73.61 years
female: 80.75 years (2006 est.) 

Total fertility rate:   
1.27 children born/woman (2006 est.) 

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:   
less than 0.1% (2003 est.) 

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:   
8,300 (2003 est.) 

HIV/AIDS - deaths:   
less than 200 (2003 est.) 

Nationality:  
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean 

Ethnic groups:  
homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) 

Religions:  
no affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, other 1%
 
Languages:  
Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school 

Literacy:  
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.9%
male: 99.2%
female: 96.6% (2002)