Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Estonia, you would:
Health
live 4.3 years longer
In Estonia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (75 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 87 years for women) as of 2024.
be 58.8% less likely to be obese
In Estonia, 20.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 35.8% more spent on your healthcare
Estonia spends $3,741 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 12.7% more access to essential health services
Estonia scores 79 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. South Korea scores 89 as of 2021.
have 24.8% fewer doctors per person
Estonia has 34.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 84.3% more likely to die by suicide
Estonia has a suicide rate of 14.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 67.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Estonia, 8.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
Life
be 20.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Estonia, approximately 5.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In South Korea, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
be 53.3% more likely to die during infancy
In Estonia, approximately 1.5 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.
have 33.8% fewer children
In Estonia, there are approximately 7.1 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 10.7% more on healthcare
Estonia spends 7.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.7% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 36.4% less coastline
Estonia has a total of 3,794 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 68.8% less likely to be murdered
Estonia has a homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 14.5% less likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Estonia, 75% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2021. In South Korea, that number is 64% as of 2021.
be 56.8% more likely to die in a road accident
In Estonia, road accidents kill 4.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 35.2% more home broadband
Estonia has 35.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
use 2.1 times more electricity
Estonia uses 5,298 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
live with 6.5 times more strain on fresh water
Estonia withdraws 13% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
Environment
be 46.2% more likely to die from air pollution
In Estonia, air pollution causes 13.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 46.4% more CO2
Estonia emits 7.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. South Korea emits 11.4 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Estonia vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Estonia? See an in-depth size comparison.