Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Iraq, you would:
Health
live 9.8 years longer
In Iraq, the average life expectancy is 73 years (71 years for men, 75 years for women) as of 2022. In South Korea, that number is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022.
be 84.5% less likely to be obese
In Iraq, 30.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 4.5 times more money
Iraq has a GDP per capita of $9,300 as of 2020, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $42,300 as of 2020.
be 76.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Iraq, 16.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2012. In South Korea, that number is 3.8% as of 2019.
be 37.4% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Iraq, 23.0% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.
pay a 2.5 times higher top tax rate
Iraq has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In South Korea, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 86.1% less likely to die during childbirth
In Iraq, approximately 79.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Korea, 11.0 women do as of 2017.
be 95.6% more likely to be literate
In Iraq, the literacy rate is 50.1% as of 2018. In South Korea, it is 98.0% as of 2019.
be 85.4% less likely to die during infancy
In Iraq, approximately 19.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In South Korea, on the other hand, 2.9 children do as of 2022.
have 72.0% fewer children
In Iraq, there are approximately 24.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Korea, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 61.7% more likely to have internet access
In Iraq, approximately 60.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In South Korea, about 97.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 82.2% more on healthcare
Iraq spends 4.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Korea, that number is 8.2% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 41.6 times more coastline
Iraq has a total of 58 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, National Tax Service, South Korea.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Iraq? See an in-depth size comparison.