Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Puerto Rico, you would:
Health
live 1.3 years longer
In Puerto Rico, the average life expectancy is 82 years (78 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In South Korea, that number is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
make 26.6% more money
Puerto Rico has a GDP per capita of $33,400 as of 2020, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $42,300 as of 2020.
be 65.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Puerto Rico, 10.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In South Korea, that number is 3.8% as of 2019.
pay a 15.2% higher top tax rate
Puerto Rico has a top tax rate of 33.0% as of 2016. In South Korea, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 47.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In Puerto Rico, approximately 21.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Korea, 11.0 women do as of 2017.
be 52.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Puerto Rico, approximately 6.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In South Korea, on the other hand, 2.9 children do as of 2022.
have 12.1% fewer children
In Puerto Rico, there are approximately 7.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Korea, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 24.4% more likely to have internet access
In Puerto Rico, approximately 78.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In South Korea, about 97.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 26.2% less on education
Puerto Rico spends 6.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2014. South Korea spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2018.
Geography
see 4.8 times more coastline
Puerto Rico has a total of 501 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Puerto Rican Department of Treasury, National Tax Service, South Korea.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Puerto Rico? See an in-depth size comparison.