Municipal waste recycled in South Korea
South Korea: Municipal waste recycled was 13.17 million tonnes in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
13.17 million tonnes
Change on year
up 7.7%
World rank
6th
of 90 countries
All-time high
13.17 million tonnes
in 2022
All-time low
7.00 million tonnes
in 2000
Years of data
21
2000–2022
Municipal waste recycled in South Korea, 2000–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2022, municipal waste recycled in South Korea stood at 13.17 million tonnes. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.7% on the previous year and up 26.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in South Korea peaked at 13.17 million tonnes in 2022 and was at its lowest, 7.00 million tonnes, in 2000.
South Korea ranks 6th of 90 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycled in South Korea, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.00 million tonnes | — |
| 2001 | 7.64 million tonnes | +9.2% |
| 2002 | 8.01 million tonnes | +4.9% |
| 2003 | 8.37 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 2004 | 8.97 million tonnes | +7.2% |
| 2005 | 9.94 million tonnes | +10.8% |
| 2008 | 11.10 million tonnes | +11.6% |
| 2009 | 11.11 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 10.75 million tonnes | -3.2% |
| 2011 | 10.41 million tonnes | -3.2% |
| 2012 | 10.44 million tonnes | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 10.43 million tonnes | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 10.59 million tonnes | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 10.93 million tonnes | +3.2% |
| 2016 | 11.62 million tonnes | +6.3% |
| 2017 | 11.83 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 12.59 million tonnes | +6.5% |
| 2019 | 11.96 million tonnes | -5.0% |
| 2020 | 12.73 million tonnes | +6.4% |
| 2021 | 12.23 million tonnes | -3.9% |
| 2022 | 13.17 million tonnes | +7.7% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 13.17 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 948,000 tonnes, 13.9× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 13.17 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.09 million tonnes, 4.3× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.02 million tonnes | 7.00 million tonnes | 11.11 million tonnes | 8 |
| 2010s | 11.15 million tonnes | 10.41 million tonnes | 12.59 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.71 million tonnes | 12.23 million tonnes | 13.17 million tonnes | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More environment data for South Korea
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.2791 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -2.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual -0.2415 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 1.61 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycled in South Korea?
- Municipal waste recycled in South Korea was 13.17 million tonnes in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal waste recycled recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 13.17 million tonnes in 2022.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.00 million tonnes in 2000.
- How does South Korea rank for municipal waste recycled?
- South Korea ranks 6th out of 90 countries with data for 2022.
- Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycled. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes).