By providing a nitrogen-doped low carrier concentration layer 13 having both of a donor concentration and an acceptor concentration controlled below 1×1016/cm3 at a p-n junction portion between an n-type GaP layer 12 and a p-type GaP layer 14, the luminance of the GaP light emitting device can be improved by as much as 20 to 30% over the conventional one. Suppressing the donor concentration and the acceptor concentration in the low carrier concentration layer 13 below 1×1016/cm3 inevitably gives a carrier concentration, which is expressed as a difference between both concentrations, lower than 1×1016/cm3 accordingly. The emission efficiency upon injection of electrons or holes can be improved by suppressing the concentration of the donor which serves as non-emissive center below 1×1016/cm3 to thereby extend the carrier lifetime; and by concomitantly suppressing the carrier concentration at a level significantly lower than that in the adjacent layers 12 and 14.