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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · South Korea · Asia

Busan

Busan · South Korea
City population
3,285,147
#2
in South Korea
#1
in Busan
#106
worldwide
SeoulBusan
35.102, 129.030 · 330 km from Seoul
City population
3,285,147
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in South Korea
#2
of 144 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#106
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of South Korea
6.4%
of the national population

About Busan

At 330 km from Seoul, this city holds 3,285,147 residents, making it South Korea's second-largest city proper and accounting for 6.4% of the national population. Kimhae lies 20 km away with 531,966 residents; Changwon, 35 km distant, has 1,025,702.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in South Korea
#2of 144
LargestSmallest
Position in Busan
#1of 2
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
South Korea
Region
Busan
Rank in region
#1of 2
Distance to capital
330 km
to Seoul
Elevation
15 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Asia/Seoul
Coordinates
35.102, 129.030
Record updated
2026-04-14
Entry edited, not measured

City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.

Nearby Cities

All 144 in South Korea

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

20KMKimhae532K people23KMGijang176K people27KMYangsan358K people35KMChangwon1.03M people36KMUngsang83K people

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Busan3.29M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Busan compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Busan3.29M

Busan Population FAQ

What is the population of Busan?

Busan has a city population of 3,285,147. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Busan?

Busan is in Busan, South Korea, 330 km from the capital, Seoul. Its coordinates are 35.102, 129.030.

How big is Busan compared with other cities in South Korea?

It is the 2nd largest of the 144 cities of 15,000 or more listed in South Korea, holding 6.4% of the national population.

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