Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Australia, you would:
Health
be 72.6% less likely to be obese
In Australia, 30.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 33.9% less spent on your healthcare
Australia spends $7,691 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 36.1% fewer doctors per person
Australia has 40.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 2.1 times more likely to die by suicide
Australia has a suicide rate of 13.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 34.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Australia, 4.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
make 44.4% less money
Australia has a GDP per capita of $65,130 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 25.8% less likely to die during infancy
In Australia, approximately 3.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In South Korea, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2024.
be 100.0% more likely to die during childbirth
In Australia, approximately 2.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In South Korea, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
have 56.1% fewer children
In Australia, there are approximately 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In South Korea, there are 4.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 16.5% less on healthcare
Australia spends 10.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 8.7% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 90.6% less coastline
Australia has a total of 25,760 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 43.5% less likely to be murdered
Australia has a homicide rate of 0.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 53.3% more likely to die in a road accident
In Australia, road accidents kill 4.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 31.0% more home broadband
Australia has 36.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
use 15.8% more electricity
Australia uses 9,801 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
live with 18.2 times more strain on fresh water
Australia withdraws 5% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 19.4% less CO2
Australia emits 14.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. South Korea emits 11.4 tonnes as of 2024.
be 90.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Australia, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Australia vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Australia? See an in-depth size comparison.