What is key features of human rights in South Korea?

Key features of human rights in South Korea was 0.912 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest key features of human rights recorded in South Korea?

The highest recorded value was 0.931 in 2017.

What is the lowest key features of human rights recorded in South Korea?

The lowest recorded value was 0.073 in 1866.

How does South Korea rank for key features of human rights?

South Korea ranks 27th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is key features of human rights rising or falling in South Korea?

Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this South Korea data come from?

The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of human rights. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Key features of human rights in South Korea

Name: Key features of human rights in South Korea
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

South Korea: Key features of human rights was 0.912 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.912

Change on year

up 9.9%

World rank

27th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.931

in 2017

All-time low

0.073

in 1866

Years of data

237

1789–2025

Key features of human rights in South Korea, 1789–2025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, key features of human rights in South Korea stood at 0.912.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.9% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of human rights in South Korea peaked at 0.931 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.073, in 1866.

That places South Korea 27th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Key features of human rights in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Key features of human rights in South Korea, 1789 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1789	0.083	—
1790	0.083	+0.0%
1791	0.083	+0.0%
1792	0.084	+1.2%
1793	0.084	+0.0%
1794	0.084	+0.0%
1795	0.084	+0.0%
1796	0.084	+0.0%
1797	0.084	+0.0%
1798	0.084	+0.0%
1799	0.084	+0.0%
1800	0.086	+2.4%
1801	0.083	-3.5%
1802	0.085	+2.4%
1803	0.086	+1.2%
1804	0.084	-2.3%
1805	0.084	+0.0%
1806	0.084	+0.0%
1807	0.084	+0.0%
1808	0.084	+0.0%
1809	0.084	+0.0%
1810	0.084	+0.0%
1811	0.084	+0.0%
1812	0.084	+0.0%
1813	0.084	+0.0%
1814	0.083	-1.2%
1815	0.083	+0.0%
1816	0.084	+1.2%
1817	0.084	+0.0%
1818	0.084	+0.0%
1819	0.084	+0.0%
1820	0.084	+0.0%
1821	0.084	+0.0%
1822	0.084	+0.0%
1823	0.084	+0.0%
1824	0.084	+0.0%
1825	0.084	+0.0%
1826	0.084	+0.0%
1827	0.082	-2.4%
1828	0.083	+1.2%
1829	0.083	+0.0%
1830	0.083	+0.0%
1831	0.083	+0.0%
1832	0.083	+0.0%
1833	0.083	+0.0%
1834	0.083	+0.0%
1835	0.083	+0.0%
1836	0.083	+0.0%
1837	0.083	+0.0%
1838	0.083	+0.0%
1839	0.082	-1.2%
1840	0.082	+0.0%
1841	0.082	+0.0%
1842	0.082	+0.0%
1843	0.082	+0.0%
1844	0.082	+0.0%
1845	0.082	+0.0%
1846	0.082	+0.0%
1847	0.082	+0.0%
1848	0.082	+0.0%
1849	0.083	+1.2%
1850	0.083	+0.0%
1851	0.083	+0.0%
1852	0.083	+0.0%
1853	0.083	+0.0%
1854	0.083	+0.0%
1855	0.083	+0.0%
1856	0.083	+0.0%
1857	0.083	+0.0%
1858	0.083	+0.0%
1859	0.083	+0.0%
1860	0.082	-1.2%
1861	0.084	+2.4%
1862	0.084	+0.0%
1863	0.084	+0.0%
1864	0.075	-10.7%
1865	0.075	+0.0%
1866	0.073	-2.7%
1867	0.073	+0.0%
1868	0.073	+0.0%
1869	0.073	+0.0%
1870	0.073	+0.0%
1871	0.073	+0.0%
1872	0.073	+0.0%
1873	0.074	+1.4%
1874	0.074	+0.0%
1875	0.074	+0.0%
1876	0.076	+2.7%
1877	0.079	+3.9%
1878	0.079	+0.0%
1879	0.079	+0.0%
1880	0.079	+0.0%
1881	0.081	+2.5%
1882	0.088	+8.6%
1883	0.088	+0.0%
1884	0.088	+0.0%
1885	0.093	+5.7%
1886	0.097	+4.3%
1887	0.097	+0.0%
1888	0.097	+0.0%
1889	0.097	+0.0%
1890	0.097	+0.0%
1891	0.097	+0.0%
1892	0.097	+0.0%
1893	0.097	+0.0%
1894	0.111	+14.4%
1895	0.174	+56.8%
1896	0.268	+54.0%
1897	0.233	-13.1%
1898	0.218	-6.4%
1899	0.218	+0.0%
1900	0.21	-3.7%
1901	0.21	+0.0%
1902	0.21	+0.0%
1903	0.21	+0.0%
1904	0.202	-3.8%
1905	0.199	-1.5%
1906	0.197	-1.0%
1907	0.195	-1.0%
1908	0.195	+0.0%
1909	0.195	+0.0%
1910	0.119	-39.0%
1911	0.108	-9.2%
1912	0.108	+0.0%
1913	0.108	+0.0%
1914	0.108	+0.0%
1915	0.108	+0.0%
1916	0.108	+0.0%
1917	0.108	+0.0%
1918	0.108	+0.0%
1919	0.11	+1.9%
1920	0.112	+1.8%
1921	0.112	+0.0%
1922	0.112	+0.0%
1923	0.114	+1.8%
1924	0.114	+0.0%
1925	0.114	+0.0%
1926	0.114	+0.0%
1927	0.114	+0.0%
1928	0.114	+0.0%
1929	0.114	+0.0%
1930	0.114	+0.0%
1931	0.114	+0.0%
1932	0.114	+0.0%
1933	0.114	+0.0%
1934	0.114	+0.0%
1935	0.114	+0.0%
1936	0.114	+0.0%
1937	0.11	-3.5%
1938	0.109	-0.9%
1939	0.101	-7.3%
1940	0.101	+0.0%
1941	0.081	-19.8%
1942	0.081	+0.0%
1943	0.081	+0.0%
1944	0.081	+0.0%
1945	0.265	+227.2%
1946	0.459	+73.2%
1947	0.442	-3.7%
1948	0.458	+3.6%
1949	0.46	+0.4%
1950	0.38	-17.4%
1951	0.366	-3.7%
1952	0.366	+0.0%
1953	0.41	+12.0%
1954	0.481	+17.3%
1955	0.481	+0.0%
1956	0.479	-0.4%
1957	0.479	+0.0%
1958	0.491	+2.5%
1959	0.491	+0.0%
1960	0.657	+33.8%
1961	0.446	-32.1%
1962	0.434	-2.7%
1963	0.45	+3.7%
1964	0.466	+3.6%
1965	0.449	-3.6%
1966	0.449	+0.0%
1967	0.449	+0.0%
1968	0.449	+0.0%
1969	0.449	+0.0%
1970	0.447	-0.4%
1971	0.447	+0.0%
1972	0.393	-12.1%
1973	0.385	-2.0%
1974	0.384	-0.3%
1975	0.384	+0.0%
1976	0.384	+0.0%
1977	0.384	+0.0%
1978	0.384	+0.0%
1979	0.384	+0.0%
1980	0.459	+19.5%
1981	0.408	-11.1%
1982	0.448	+9.8%
1983	0.461	+2.9%
1984	0.477	+3.5%
1985	0.508	+6.5%
1986	0.523	+3.0%
1987	0.643	+22.9%
1988	0.797	+24.0%
1989	0.841	+5.5%
1990	0.852	+1.3%
1991	0.852	+0.0%
1992	0.854	+0.2%
1993	0.896	+4.9%
1994	0.896	+0.0%
1995	0.896	+0.0%
1996	0.896	+0.0%
1997	0.899	+0.3%
1998	0.921	+2.4%
1999	0.925	+0.4%
2000	0.93	+0.5%
2001	0.93	+0.0%
2002	0.93	+0.0%
2003	0.93	+0.0%
2004	0.93	+0.0%
2005	0.93	+0.0%
2006	0.93	+0.0%
2007	0.929	-0.1%
2008	0.894	-3.8%
2009	0.893	-0.1%
2010	0.891	-0.2%
2011	0.891	+0.0%
2012	0.891	+0.0%
2013	0.881	-1.1%
2014	0.877	-0.5%
2015	0.881	+0.5%
2016	0.881	+0.0%
2017	0.931	+5.7%
2018	0.93	-0.1%
2019	0.921	-1.0%
2020	0.924	+0.3%
2021	0.929	+0.5%
2022	0.905	-2.6%
2023	0.878	-3.0%
2024	0.83	-5.5%
2025	0.912	+9.9%

South Korea compared with similar countries

South Korea's 0.912 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.906, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
South Korea's 0.912 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.728, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1780s	0.083	0.083	0.083	1
1790s	0.0838	0.083	0.084	10
1800s	0.0844	0.083	0.086	10
1810s	0.0838	0.083	0.084	10
1820s	0.0836	0.082	0.084	10
1830s	0.0829	0.082	0.083	10
1840s	0.0821	0.082	0.083	10
1850s	0.083	0.083	0.083	10
1860s	0.0776	0.073	0.084	10
1870s	0.0754	0.073	0.079	10
1880s	0.0905	0.079	0.097	10
1890s	0.161	0.097	0.268	10
1900s	0.2023	0.195	0.21	10
1910s	0.1093	0.108	0.119	10
1920s	0.1134	0.112	0.114	10
1930s	0.1118	0.101	0.114	10
1940s	0.2509	0.081	0.46	10
1950s	0.4424	0.366	0.491	10
1960s	0.4698	0.434	0.657	10
1970s	0.3976	0.384	0.447	10
1980s	0.5565	0.408	0.841	10
1990s	0.8887	0.852	0.925	10
2000s	0.9226	0.893	0.93	10
2010s	0.8975	0.877	0.931	10
2020s	0.8963	0.83	0.929	6

Countries ranked near South Korea

24 Malta 0.915 compare
25 Lithuania 0.913 compare
25 Suriname 0.913 compare
27 Ghana 0.912 compare
27 Netherlands 0.912 compare
30 Austria 0.907 compare
30 Cape Verde 0.907 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for South Korea

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 4,407 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 117 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 117 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is key features of human rights in South Korea?: Key features of human rights in South Korea was 0.912 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of human rights recorded in South Korea?: The highest recorded value was 0.931 in 2017.
What is the lowest key features of human rights recorded in South Korea?: The lowest recorded value was 0.073 in 1866.
How does South Korea rank for key features of human rights?: South Korea ranks 27th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of human rights rising or falling in South Korea?: Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Korea data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of human rights. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Key features of human rights in South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 09 October 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/key-features-of-human-rights/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator: Key features of human rights
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 30,202 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Central estimate of the extent to which people are free from government torture, political killings, and forced labor, they have property rights, and enjoy the freedoms of movement, religion, expression, and association.