Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
be 62.3% less likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 26.6% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 40.3% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 2.3 times more likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 26.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
be 63.6% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Iceland, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.
make 63.2% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 33.3% more likely to die during childbirth
In Iceland, approximately 3.0 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 58.0% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 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 26.0% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 51.4% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 62.8% less likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 29.5% less likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Iceland, 91% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2022. In South Korea, that number is 64% as of 2021.
be 2.9 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 27.4% more home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
live with 218.5 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
use 76.8% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 2.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 33.3% more CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. South Korea emits 11.4 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), The World Factbook (2016), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.