SEOUL – The foreign resident population in South Korea has reached a new high, with nearly 2.26 million people now living in the country. This record number is driven by a significant increase in foreign students, according to a recent report by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
According to Yonhap News Agency, as of November 1, 2022, the number of foreign residents in South Korea stood at approximately 2.258 million, a 5.8 percent increase from the previous year. This figure includes foreign nationals residing in the country for more than 90 days, naturalized Koreans, and children from multicultural families with one foreign parent.
This record-setting number is the largest since relevant statistics began being compiled in 2006, with foreigners now accounting for 4.4 percent of South Korea’s total population. The report noted that the country’s foreign population had decreased in 2020 and 2021 but has returned to an upward trend following the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The surge in the foreign population is attributed to a 20.9 percent year-on-year increase in international students and a 7.9 percent rise in overseas Koreans. Of the total foreign population, around 1.75 million are foreign nationals without Korean citizenship, while 223,825 are naturalized Koreans. Additionally, some 280,000 children were born to multicultural families last year.
Significantly, foreign nationals have increased in all 17 cities and provinces across South Korea. Gyeonggi Province, surrounding the capital Seoul, hosts the largest number of foreign residents, totaling 751,507, an increase of 37,010 from the previous year. Seoul and Incheon also saw increases in their foreign resident populations.