Place comparison

South Korea compared with Taiwan: area, population and density

South Korea is larger than Taiwan in both land area and population, while its national average population density is lower.

Place A Grouped by country or region Place B Grouped by country or region

Equal-area outline comparison

Outlines are centered and scaled by official land area; position does not show geographic location.

Area

Population

Population density

Area data date

Population data date

The detailed guide below compares South Korea with Taiwan. Use the selector above to explore any other pair.

Direct answer

How different are South Korea and Taiwan?

South Korea covers 100,459.9 km²; South Korea's area is 2.78 times Taiwan's. Its reported population is 51,805,547; South Korea's population is 2.21 times Taiwan's. By average density, South Korea's population density is about 79.8% of Taiwan's.

Area difference

South Korea's area is 2.78 times Taiwan's 100,459.9 km² · 36,197.3 km²

Population difference

South Korea's population is 2.21 times Taiwan's 51,805,547 · 23,400,220

Density difference

South Korea's population density is about 79.8% of Taiwan's 515.7 /km² · 646.5 /km²

On a familiar scale

South Korea ≈ 34 × Kaohsiung City 1,939 m² of land per resident
Taiwan ≈ 12.3 × Kaohsiung City 1,547 m² of land per resident

Reference scales come from Department of Household Registration, Ministry of the Interior: Land area, households and population density by township and district (year-end 2025) , as of 2025-12-31.

How to read it

South Korea is larger than Taiwan in both land and population, but land area grows by the larger multiple. This comparison uses the whole country, not Seoul or the Seoul Capital Area.

Geography and shape

South Korea occupies the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and includes offshore islands; Taiwan is centred on a mountainous main island. Both have rugged interiors that channel much of their settlement toward plains and coastal metropolitan areas.

Population context

South Korea has more people than Taiwan, but its land area is larger by a greater factor. Its national average density is consequently lower. Seoul’s urban intensity should not be substituted for the average of the whole country.

Boundaries and definitions

The Korean figure covers the Republic of Korea as a whole and uses a register-based census that includes Korean and foreign residents. Taiwan uses registered population. Dates and population systems differ slightly, so the comparison is best read as a scale comparison.

South Korea: Register-based census population, including Korean and foreign residents; registered cadastral land area.

Taiwan: Registered population and official administrative land area.

In-depth guide

How should South Korea and Taiwan be understood in context?

South Korea is larger than Taiwan in both land and population, but the land difference is proportionally greater. The result helps separate the scale of the whole country from the much denser image many visitors form in Seoul.

Country scale is different from capital-region scale

Seoul and its surrounding capital region dominate many international impressions of South Korea. This page uses the entire Republic of Korea, including every province, metropolitan city and island within the statistical boundary. Taiwan is also treated as a complete administrative territory.

A country-wide outline shows that the peninsula provides substantially more land than Taiwan. A city map of Seoul would answer a different question and should be compared with a Taiwanese city or metropolitan area under compatible definitions.

Mountainous countries can still have different averages

Both places have rugged interiors and strong coastal or plain-based settlement patterns. That shared geography may make their urban corridors feel comparable. However, South Korea has more total land per reported resident, so its national average density is lower in this dataset.

Average density cannot reveal how sharply people are concentrated in the Seoul region or Taiwan’s western corridor. It should be read as a baseline before moving to subnational comparisons, not as a description of an average street.

Population definitions need a visible footnote

South Korea’s figure comes from a register-based census that includes Korean and foreign residents. Taiwan’s figure is registered population. Both are official administrative measures, yet they do not count residents through exactly the same system.

The difference is small enough for a broad scale comparison but important when quoting an exact ratio. Atlas therefore displays the source date and scope instead of presenting the calculated multiple as timeless fact.

Questions people ask

About this geographic comparison

Is South Korea larger than Taiwan?

Yes in both land area and population. The calculated results above show that the area gap is proportionally larger than the population gap.

Does this compare Taiwan with Seoul?

No. It compares Taiwan with all of South Korea, including every province and metropolitan city, rather than Seoul or the Seoul Capital Area.

Do the two population figures use the same definition?

Not exactly. South Korea’s register-based census includes Korean and foreign residents, while Taiwan reports registered population. The scope notes and source dates are displayed with the comparison.

Sources

Outline data:

Natural Earth · Public domain