Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Finland, you would:
Health
live 1.3 years longer
In Finland, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 85 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 65.4% less likely to be obese
In Finland, 24.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 21.0% less spent on your healthcare
Finland spends $6,433 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 27.7% fewer doctors per person
Finland has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 88.9% more likely to die by suicide
Finland has a suicide rate of 14.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 71.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Finland, 9.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
make 35.5% less money
Finland has a GDP per capita of $56,149 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 50.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Finland, approximately 8.0 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 21.1% more likely to die during infancy
In Finland, approximately 1.9 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 39.7% fewer children
In Finland, there are approximately 7.8 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 15.2% less on education
Finland spends 6.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 17.1% less on healthcare
Finland spends 10.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 8.7% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 93.0% more coastline
Finland has a total of 1,250 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 51.0% less likely to be murdered
Finland has a homicide rate of 1.0 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 25.3% less likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Finland, 86% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2021. In South Korea, that number is 64% as of 2021.
be 64.3% more likely to die in a road accident
In Finland, road accidents kill 4.2 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
Finland has 36.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
live with 12.0 times more strain on fresh water
Finland withdraws 7% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
use 23.4% less electricity
Finland uses 14,819 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 2.7 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Finland, air pollution causes 7.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.1 times more CO2
Finland emits 5.5 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: Finland vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Finland? See an in-depth size comparison.