Latest reading: Inflation ticked down to 4.0% in August from July’s 4.3%. August’s figure marked the lowest inflation rate since...
Inflation in Korea
The Republic of Korea maintained moderate inflation rates over the last decade, averaging around 2%. Inflation was notably below this threshold in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, and surged in 2021 and 2022 on economic recovery, supply constraints and high commodity prices. That said, inflation in 2022 was still below the OECD average. Inflation came down in 2023 and 2024 thanks to the lagged impact of successive rate hikes by the Central Bank.
In the year 2024, the inflation in Korea was 2.32%, compared to 1.27% in 2014 and 3.60% in 2023. It averaged 1.89% over the last decade. For more inflation information, visit our dedicated page.
Korea Inflation Chart
Note: This chart displays Inflation Rate (CPI, annual variation in %) for Korea from 2014 to 2024.
Source: Macrobond.
Korea Inflation Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, aop) | 0.5 | 2.5 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 2.3 |
| Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, eop) | 0.6 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 3.2 | 1.9 |
| Inflation (Core, ann. var. %, aop) | 0.4 | 1.4 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 2.2 |
| Inflation (PPI, ann. var. %, aop) | -0.5 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 1.6 | 1.7 |
Inflation falls to lowest level since November 2024 in August
Latest reading: Inflation eased to 1.7% in August from July’s 2.1%. August's reading marked the weakest inflation rate since November 2024 and was below the Central Bank's 2.0% target. The reading was largely driven by slower growth in prices for housing and utilities. The trend was unchanged, with annual average inflation coming in at July's 1.9% in August. Meanwhile, core inflation fell to 1.3% in August from the previous month's 2.0%. Lastly, consumer prices fell 0.06% in August over the previous month, contrasting July's 0.18% increase. August's result marked the weakest reading since May.
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Korean inflation projections for the next ten years from a panel of 29 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable inflation forecast available for Korean inflation.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Korean inflation projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Korean inflation forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
Latest Global Inflation News
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