Economy of South Korea

Economy of South Korea
Rank	15th (nominal) / 12th (PPP)
Currency	South Korean Won (KRW)
Trade organisations	APEC, WTO, OECD, G-20
Statistics
GDP	PPP: $1.423 trillion (2010 est.) Nominal: $986.3 billion (2010 est.)
GDP growth	6.1% (2010 est.)
GDP per capita	PPP: $30,200 (2010 est.) Nominal: $20,265 (2010 est.)
GDP by sector	agriculture (3.0%), industry (39.4%), services (57.6%) (2008 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	3% (2010 est.)
Population below poverty line	2% (2004 est.)
Gini index	31.4 (2009)
Labour force	24.62 million (2010 est.)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 7.3%; industry: 24.3%; services: 68.4% (2010 est.)
Unemployment	3.3% (2010 est.)
Main industries	electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel
Ease of Doing Business Rank	16th[1]
External
Exports	$466.3 billion (6th; 2010 est.)
Export goods	semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals
Main export partners	China 23.2%, United States 10.1%, Japan 5.8%, Hong Kong 5.3% (2009 est.)
Imports	$417.9 billion (8th; 2010 est.)
Import goods	machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics
Main import partners	China 16.8%, Japan 15.3%, United States 9%, Saudi Arabia 6.1%, Australia 4.6% (2009 est.)
FDI stock	abroad: $115.6 billion (31 December 2009)
Gross external debt	$370.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Public finances
Public debt	23.7% of GDP (2010 est.)
Revenues	$248.3 billion (2010 est.)
Expenses	$267.3 billion (2010 est.)
Economic aid	ODA, $900 million (donor) (2009)[2] aid to North Korea excluded
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:[3] A+ (Domestic) A (Foreign) AA- (T&C Assessment) Outlook: Stable[4] Moody's:[4] A1 Outlook: Stable Fitch:[4] A+ Outlook: Stable
Foreign reserves	US$298.806 billion (March 2011)[5]

Economy of South Korea

South Korea has a market economy which ranks 15th in the world by nominal GDP and 12th by purchasing power parity (PPP), identifying it as one of the G-20 major economies. It is a high-income developed country, with an emerging economy,^[6] and is a member of OECD. South Korea is one of the Asian Tigers, and is the only developed country so far to have been included in the group of Next Eleven countries. South Korea had one of the world's fastest growing economies from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and South Korea is still one of the fastest growing developed countries in the 2000s, along with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan,

South Korea's General Political and Economic Outlook Overview 2011-2015

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit report filed January 2011, the following are the highlights of South Korea's political and economic outlook for 2011-2015:

Economy of South Korea

In the early 1960s the economy of South Korea transformed from a poor, agricultural society to one most highly industrialized countries worldwide. This rapid economic growth was made possible by the cooperation of government and business leaders who worked together to target specific industries for development. However the Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 revealed structural deficiencies in the development model of South Korea. The deficiencies include huge foreign borrowing, high debt/equity ratios, and a disorderly financial sector. Subsequent to the crisis, the government made several attempts to liberalize the financial and economic sectors. Nevertheless the economy of South Korea continues to be dominated by large conglomerates.