Korea Ahead of Italy in GDP per Capita

The South Korean economy became the 10th-largest economy in the world last year.

The South Korean economy moved up two notches by beating Brazil and Russia and became the 10th-largest economy in the world last year, according to the IMF World Economic Outlook.

According to the outlook, South Korea’s GDP per capita was US$31,497 in 2020. It exceeded that of Italy (US$31,288) for the first time.

“According to the IMF, the average of the 2020 and 2021 economic growth rates of South Korea is estimated at 1.3 percent whereas the estimated average stands at 0.2 percent in the case of advanced economies,” the Ministry of Economy and Finance said, adding, “It is likely that the GDP of only eight out of the G20 countries will reach the pre-COVID-19 level this year, including the United States, South Korea and Australia.”
 

The ministry also remarked that South Korea’s quarterly GDP would rebound to the Q4 2019 level in the first half of this year based on improving export, production and sentiment indicators. “Assuming that the GDP rises 0.6 percent in Q1 and Q2 each, the Q2 GDP will exceed the Q4 2019 level, that is, 468.8 trillion won,” it explained, continuing, “In addition, the 2021 growth rate divided by the 2020 growth rate is expected to be much higher in South Korea than in the group of advanced economies and South Korea’s and the group’s three-year average growth rates for 2020 to 2022 are estimated at 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.”

According to the ministry, this year’s rebound for each percent of 2020 degrowth is estimated at 3.6 for South Korea and 1.1 for the group, the South Korean economy in the period of 2019 to 2022 will rebound to a small extent after a slight contraction attributable to COVID-19, and advanced economies will rebound to a large extent after a substantial contraction in that period.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki also stressed that the South Korean economy is recovering fast. “The IMF World Economic Outlook clearly indicates that the South Korean economy is one of the most resilient,” he said, adding, “The IMF recently adjusted its growth forecast for South Korea upward to 3.6 percent.”

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