kosis

KOSIS, short for Korea Statistical Information Service, is an online portal that provides access to official statistics for the Republic of Korea. It is operated by Statistics Korea (often abbreviated as KOSTAT) and aggregates data produced by government ministries and statistical agencies. The service covers a broad range of domains, including population and housing, economy and industry, education, health, environment, and culture, and is designed to support research, policy analysis, business planning, and public information.

Content and features: KOSIS offers search and navigation by topic, region, or indicator, with interactive charts and time-series views. Users can access data tables, metadata, and methodological notes, and data can typically be downloaded in formats such as CSV or Excel. The portal also provides data visualization tools and, for developers, an Open API that enables programmatic access to selected datasets. English-language support is available to assist international users, alongside the Korean interface.

Organization and purpose: The portal serves researchers, policymakers, businesses, journalists, and the general public by centralizing official statistical data and providing documentation on data sources and methodologies. It aims to enhance transparency, enable international comparability, and facilitate cross-domain analysis and policy evaluation.

History and context: KOSIS was developed as part of efforts to standardize and disseminate Korea’s official statistics under the mandate of Statistics Korea. By consolidating data from multiple agencies, KOSIS seeks to improve accessibility and reliability of statistics for domestic and international audiences.