Busan: population, income, jobs, health, schools, poverty and local budgets

Busan is a metropolitan city of South Korea, number 3 of 17 by population. Busan had 3,293,362 registered residents at the end of 2023 (resident registration, excluding registered foreign nationals). That is 3rd highest of 17 by population and 6.4% of the national total of 51,325,329.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Busan: Gross regional domestic product (GRDP) per person in Busan was 37.09 million won in 2024 (preliminary), 2nd lowest of 17 and below the national figure of 49.48 million won.
• Health in Busan: Life expectancy at birth in Busan was 82.6 years in 2023 (Ministry of Data and Statistics abridged life table), 3rd lowest of 17.
• Education in Busan: Families in Busan spent an average of 456,000 won a month on private education (hagwons, tutoring and similar) for each school student in 2025, 4th highest of 17 (national: 458,000 won).
• Poverty and living standards in Busan: 190,214 households in Busan received National Basic Livelihood Security benefits in 2025, 9.4% of the 2,013,319 recipient households nationwide (3rd highest of 17).
• Government budget and revenue in Busan: Local taxes collected in Busan came to 6.57 trillion won in 2023 (settled accounts), 3rd highest of 17. This covers the local taxes of the provincial or metropolitan government and of the cities, counties and districts inside it.

How metropolitan citys are governed in South Korea

Upper-level local governments (17): 1 special city (Seoul), 6 metropolitan cities, 1 special self-governing city (Sejong), 6 provinces, 3 special self-governing provinces (Jeju, Gangwon, Jeonbuk). Mayor or governor and council directly elected for four years; superintendent of education also directly elected. Regional planning, roads, transport, police support (autonomous police), education (via the education office).

Every tier of government in South Korea

Other metropolitan cities of South Korea

• Gyeonggi Province 13,630,821
• Seoul 9,386,034
• South Gyeongsang Province 3,251,158
• Incheon 2,997,410
• North Gyeongsang Province 2,577,312
• Daegu 2,351,972
• South Chungcheong Province 2,130,119
• South Jeolla Province 1,804,217
• Jeonbuk State 1,754,757
• North Chungcheong Province 1,593,469
• Gangwon State 1,527,807
• Daejeon 1,442,216
• Gwangju 1,419,237
• Ulsan 1,103,661
• Jeju Special Self-Governing Province 675,252
• Sejong 386,525

Up a level: South Korea · government and power in South Korea · cities

Sources

• Ministry of Data and Statistics with the Ministry of Education, published on KOSIS: Private Education Expenditure Survey: average monthly private education spending per student by school level and province, 2025 (table DT_1PE105), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 92cdffded762…)
• Ministry of Data and Statistics, published on KOSIS: Regional Income: per-person GRDP, regional gross income and household disposable income by province, 2024 preliminary (table DT_1C96), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 5d25f08e5a82…)
• Ministry of Data and Statistics, published on KOSIS: Economically Active Population Survey: economically active population by province, monthly, September 2025 to September 2026 (table DT_1DA7004S), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c3f248d42b19…)
• Ministry of Data and Statistics, published on KOSIS: Life Tables: abridged life tables by province (5-year age groups), 2023 (table DT_1B44), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 422d4dc3e3f8…)
• Ministry of Health and Welfare, published on KOSIS: National Basic Livelihood Security recipient households by province and household characteristics, 2025 (table DT_11714_N004), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 59fb13cf0bc8…)
• Ministry of the Interior and Safety, published on KOSIS (Ministry of Data and Statistics): Korea City Statistics: local tax per person and fiscal independence ratio, with resident registration population and households, 2023 (table DT_110001_A012), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0ed0a4bf00d3…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.