S. Korea's foreign population hits historic high, led by Chinese and Vietnamese

By the end of 2024, the number of foreign nationals residing in the country, both short- and long-term, surpassed 2.65 million, accounting for 5.17% of the total population, according to data released Monday by the Korea Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice, Korea Times reported.

This marks an increase of 126,127 compared to the previous peak in 2019, surpassing the 4.89% recorded in 2023.

Over the past decade, the foreign resident population in South Korea has steadily grown, rising from 1.9 million in 2015 to 2.52 million in 2019. While the numbers temporarily dipped during the Covid-19 pandemic, they rebounded in 2022 and have continued to rise since then.

Among the foreign residents, 2.04 million, or 77%, were long-term residents who had officially registered their residence, while 608,766 were short-term visitors.

In terms of nationality, the largest group of foreign residents came from China, with 958,959 individuals, followed by Vietnam (305,936), Thailand (188,770), the U.S. (170,251), and Uzbekistan (94,893).

According to the Ministry of Justice, a short-term resident refers to a foreign national who stays in the country for 90 days or less without registering, while a long-term resident is one who registers to live in the country for 91 days or more, as reported by The Korea Herald.

The foreign population in South Korea is predominantly composed of individuals in their 20s and 30s, who make up almost half of the total foreign population. Meanwhile, 15.9% are in their 40s, 12.9% are aged 60 and above, and 12.6% are in their 50s.

The immigration authorities also reported a steady increase in the number of international students over the past five years, rising from 153,361 in 2020 to 263,775 by the end of 2024, marking a 16.5% increase from 2023’s figure of 226,507 foreign students.

Additionally, the ministry highlighted that 178,519 foreign nationals were in the country for degree programs, while 85,256 were in South Korea for short-term studies, including Korean language programs.

The number of residents living illegally in South Korea decreased by 6.2% year-on-year, with 397,522 undocumented residents reported at the end of 2024.