Share of male sole proprietors in Korea
Korea: Share of male sole proprietors was 53.1% in 2023. ▬ Flat
Share of male sole proprietors in Korea, 2014–2023
Source: World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026. Measured in % of sole proprietors.
Analysis
In 2023, share of male sole proprietors in Korea stood at 53.1%. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of male sole proprietors in Korea peaked at 53.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 51.2%, in 2018.
Korea ranks 66th of 78 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Share of male sole proprietors in Korea, year by year
| Year | % of sole proprietors | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 52.6% | — |
| 2015 | 51.8% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 51.7% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 51.5% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 51.2% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 51.8% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 51.6% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 51.7% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 52.6% | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 53.1% | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 51.8% | 51.2% | 52.6% | 6 |
| 2020s | 52.3% | 51.6% | 53.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More private sector data for 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 share of male sole proprietors in Korea?
- Share of male sole proprietors in Korea was 53.1% in 2023, according to World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026.
- What is the highest share of male sole proprietors recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 53.1% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of male sole proprietors recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 51.2% in 2018.
- How does Korea rank for share of male sole proprietors?
- Korea ranks 66th out of 78 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of male sole proprietors rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026, published as part of Share of male sole proprietors (% of sole proprietors). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Share of male sole proprietors is the proportion of male newly registered sole proprietors out of the total number of newly registered sole proprietors in the economy in the calendar year. A sole proprietorship is a business entity owned and managed by a single individual who is indistinguishable from the business and personally liable.