February 9, 2026
SEOUL – South Koreans have a life expectancy of over eight decades, but recent government data indicates that just under 70 of those years are expected to be in good health.
The healthy life expectancy for Koreans was 69.89 years in 2022, decreasing for two straight years from 70.93 years in 2020, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and its affiliate, the Korea Health Promotion Institute. This was the first time in nearly a decade that the healthy life expectancy fell below 70, since it recorded 69.69 in 2013.
Healthy life expectancy refers to how long a person is expected to live without major health issues. The overall life expectancy of Koreans was 83.7 in 2024 — 86.6 for women and 80.8 for men.
As women have longer life expectancies, their expected healthy lifespan was longer at 71.69 years, compared to 67.94 for men, though the disparity was smaller.
The discrepancy was more profound depending on income level, the data showed. The top 20 percent in income were expected to live 72.7 healthy years as of 2022, while the bottom 20 percent were expected to live 64.3 healthy years.
The gap has increased from the 6.7 years recorded in 2012 to 8.4 in 2022.
The country’s overall healthy life expectancy in 2022 was substantially lower than the government target of 73.3 years.
As such, extending the healthy life expectancy and ensuring health care for people of all income levels have been set as the main goals in the government’s 2026-30 general health plan.