Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Ireland, you would:
Health
be 70.0% less likely to be obese
In Ireland, 27.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 42.1% less spent on your healthcare
Ireland spends $8,772 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 32.6% fewer doctors per person
Ireland has 38.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 3.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Ireland has a suicide rate of 8.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 42.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Ireland, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
make 72.5% less money
Ireland has a GDP per capita of $131,592 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 32.4% less likely to die during infancy
In Ireland, approximately 3.4 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 53.0% fewer children
In Ireland, there are approximately 10.0 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 86.6% more on education
Ireland spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 26.7% more on healthcare
Ireland spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.7% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 66.6% more coastline
Ireland has a total of 1,448 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 26.2% less likely to be murdered
Ireland has a homicide rate of 0.7 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 Ireland, 75% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2019. In South Korea, that number is 64% as of 2021.
be 2.5 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Ireland, road accidents kill 2.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 48.0% more home broadband
Ireland has 32.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
use 80.2% more electricity
Ireland uses 6,298 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
live with 10.6 times more strain on fresh water
Ireland withdraws 8% 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 Ireland, air pollution causes 13.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 88.1% more CO2
Ireland emits 6.0 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: Ireland vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Ireland? See an in-depth size comparison.