Policy on North Korean Defectors< Data & Statistics< South-North Relations< 통일부

Number of North Korean Defectors Entering South Korea

(persons)

Number of North Korean Defectors Entering South Korea
Category	~'98	~'01	'02	'03	'04	'05	'06	'07	'08	'09	'10	'11	'12	'13	'14	'15	'16	'17	’18	’19	’20	’21	’22	’23	’24	’25.3	Total
Male	831	565	510	474	626	424	515	573	608	662	591	795	404	369	305	251	302	188	168	202	72	40	35	32	26	1	9,569
Female	116	478	632	811	1,272	960	1,513	1,981	2,195	2,252	1,811	1,911	1,098	1,145	1,092	1,024	1,116	939	969	845	157	23	32	164	210	37	24,783
Total	947	1,043	1,142	1,285	1,898	1,384	2,028	2,554	2,803	2,914	2,402	2,706	1,502	1,514	1,397	1,275	1,418	1,127	1,137	1,047	229	63	67	196	236	38	34,352
Percent age of female defecto rs	12.2%	45.8%	55.3%	63.1%	67.0%	69.4%	74.6%	77.6%	78.3%	77.3%	75.4%	70.6%	73.1%	75.6%	78.2%	80.3%	78.7%	83.3%	85.2%	80.7%	68.6%	36.5%	47.8%	83.7%	89.0%	97.4%	72.1%

Number of North Korean Defectors by Age Group

(persons)

Number of North Korean Defectors by Age Group
Category	Ages 0-9	Ages 10-19	Ages 20-29	Ages 30-39	Ages 40-49	Ages 50-59	Ages 60 and older	Total
Male	652	1,709	2,645	2,177	1,410	609	359	9,561
Female	646	2,113	7,042	7,694	4,721	1,510	1,006	24,732
Total	1,298	3,822	9,687	9,871	6,131	2,119	1,365	34,293

※ The figures are based on the ages when they entered South Korea and may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities.

Number of North Korean Defectors by Professional Background in the North

(persons)

Number of North Korean Defectors by Professional Background in the North
Category	Management	Military	Workers	Unemployed	Volunteer sector	Arts and sports	Professions	Non-target (children)	Total
Male	418	725	4,211	3,221	95	83	245	563	9,561
Female	143	171	9,414	12,058	1,491	226	538	691	24,732
Total	561	896	13,625	15,279	1,586	309	783	1,254	34,293

※ The figures may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities (The figures may be adjusted as a result of the revision of historical

Number of North Korean Defectors by Academic Background in the North

(persons)

Number of North Korean Defectors by Academic Background in the North
Category	Preschool child	Kindergarten	Primary school	Secondary school (Middleand highschool)	College	University and higher education	Uneducated	Other (unidentified)	Total
Male	419	135	807	5,776	867	1,153	361	43	9,561
Female	405	221	1,535	17,964	2,742	1,235	518	112	24,732
Total	824	356	2,342	23,740	3,609	2,388	879	155	34,293

※ The figures may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities, and they include dropouts for each educational level.
※ The figures may be adjusted as a result of the revision of historical data and the category of Other includes those who entered Hanawon recently and did not fill in their academic background.

Number of North Korean Defectors by Region of Birth in the North

(persons)

Number of North Korean Defectors by Region of Birth in the North
Cate gory	Kangwon	Nampo	Ryang gang	Jagang	South Pyongan	North Pyongan	Pyong yang	South Hamg yong	North Hamg yong	South Hwang hae	North Hwang hae	Kaesong	Other (uniden tified)	Total
Male	225	78	1,565	80	466	379	513	781	4,865	276	188	47	98	9,561
Female	382	94	4,603	171	665	515	359	2,140	15,132	212	290	34	135	24,732
Total	607	172	6,168	251	1,131	894	872	2,921	19,997	488	478	81	233	34,293

※ The figures may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities.

Number of North Korean Defectors by Region

(persons)

Number of North Korean Defectors by Region
Region	Seoul	Gyeonggi	Incheon	Busan	North Gyeongsang	South Gyeongsang	Daegu	North Chung cheong	South Chung cheong and Sejong
Male	1,981	2,798	786	207	234	234	124	290	373
Female	4,391	8,367	2,206	628	891	817	484	1,133	1,474
Total	6,372	11,165	2,992	835	1,125	1,051	608	1,423	1,847
Region	Gwangju	Gangwon	Daejeon	South Jeolla	North Jeolla	Ulsan	Jeju	Total
Male	108	222	119	136	106	113	65	7,896
Female	402	705	459	550	420	340	275	23,542
Total	510	927	578	686	526	453	340	31,438

※ The figures do not include those who are dead, whose resident registrations were cancelled, who emigrated, whose residences are unknown, and who are in protection facilities.

Settlement Status of North Korean Defectors

(percentage (%))

Settlement Status of North Korean Defectors
Category	’08	’09	’10	’11	’12	’13	’14	’15	’16	’17	’18	’19	’20	’21	’22	’23	’24
Percentage of recipients receiving livelihood benefits	54.8	54.9	51.3	46.7	40.8	35	32.3	25.3	24.4	24.4	23.8	23.8	23.8	22.8	22.6	22.7	22.9
Dropout rates(primary, middle, and highschool)	10.8	6.1	4.9	4.7	3.3	3.46	2.5	2.2	2.1	2.0	2.5	3.0	2.9	1.2	1.6	1.9	2.7

Economic Activities of North Korean Defectors

(percentage (%))

Economic Activities of North Korean Defectors
Category	’08	’09	’10	’11	’12	’13	’14	’15	’16	’17	’18	’19	’20	’21	’22	’23	’24
Activity Rates	49.6	48.6	42.6	56.5	54.1	56.9	56.6	59.4	57.9	61.2	64.8	62.1	60.1	61.3	63.0	63.4	64.1
Employment rates	44.9	41.9	38.7	49.7	50	51.4	53.1	54.6	55	56.9	60.4	58.2	54.4	56.7	59.2	60.5	60.1
Unemploy ment rates	9.5	13.7	9.2	12.1	7.5	9.7	6.2	4.8	5.1	7	6.9	6.3	9.4	7.5	6.1	4.5	6.3

통일부

South-North Relations

Policy on North Korean Defectors

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