New businesses registered (number) in South Korea
South Korea: New businesses registered (number) was 128,455 number in 2023. ▲ Rising
New businesses registered in South Korea, 2006–2023
Source: Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB). Measured in number.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 128,455 number for new businesses registered in 2023.
The figure is down 11.0% on the previous year and up 26.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, new businesses registered in South Korea peaked at 159,606 number in 2021 and was at its lowest, 65,016 number, in 2006.
That places South Korea 15th out of 177 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
New businesses registered (number) in South Korea, year by year
| Year | number | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 65,016 number | — |
| 2007 | 75,767 number | +16.5% |
| 2008 | 75,797 number | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 80,288 number | +5.9% |
| 2010 | 83,626 number | +4.2% |
| 2011 | 89,283 number | +6.8% |
| 2012 | 97,196 number | +8.9% |
| 2013 | 101,349 number | +4.3% |
| 2014 | 111,627 number | +10.1% |
| 2015 | 122,696 number | +9.9% |
| 2016 | 125,717 number | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 124,787 number | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 130,139 number | +4.3% |
| 2019 | 137,591 number | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 153,217 number | +11.4% |
| 2021 | 159,606 number | +4.2% |
| 2022 | 144,286 number | -9.6% |
| 2023 | 128,455 number | -11.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 128,455 number is above the median for high income countries, which is 19,050 number, 6.7× the median. (63 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 128,455 number is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16,144 number, 8.0× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 74,217 number | 65,016 number | 80,288 number | 4 |
| 2010s | 112,401 number | 83,626 number | 137,591 number | 10 |
| 2020s | 146,391 number | 128,455 number | 159,606 number | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More private sector data for South Korea
- Merchandise trade 71.6% (2025)
- Food imports 6.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 631.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 87.3% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 709.33 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 13,724 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3788 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 3.76 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is new businesses registered in South Korea?
- New businesses registered in South Korea was 128,455 number in 2023, according to Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest new businesses registered recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 159,606 number in 2021.
- What is the lowest new businesses registered recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 65,016 number in 2006.
- How does South Korea rank for new businesses registered?
- South Korea ranks 15th out of 177 countries with data for 2023.
- Is new businesses registered rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB), published as part of New businesses registered (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
New businesses registered are the number of new limited liability corporations (or its equivalent) registered in the calendar year.