Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Greece, you would:
Health
live 1.8 years longer
In Greece, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 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 69.5% less likely to be obese
In Greece, 27.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 47.1% more spent on your healthcare
Greece spends $3,454 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 15.6% more access to essential health services
Greece scores 77 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. South Korea scores 89 as of 2021.
have 60.3% fewer doctors per person
Greece has 65.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 5.9 times more likely to die by suicide
Greece has a suicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 68.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Greece, 8.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
make 34.4% more money
Greece has a GDP per capita of $26,948 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 20.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Greece, 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 28.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Greece, approximately 3.2 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 28.8% fewer children
In Greece, there are approximately 6.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In South Korea, there are 4.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 13.5% more likely to have internet access
In Greece, approximately 86.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In South Korea, about 97.9% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 60.1% more on education
Greece spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 82.4% less coastline
Greece has a total of 13,676 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 42.9% less likely to be murdered
Greece 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.
Infrastructure
use 2.4 times more electricity
Greece uses 4,686 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
live with 4.2 times more strain on fresh water
Greece withdraws 20% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
Environment
be 17.4% less likely to die from air pollution
In Greece, air pollution causes 23.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.2 times more CO2
Greece emits 5.0 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: Greece vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Greece? See an in-depth size comparison.