Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Italy, you would:
Health
be 40.2% less likely to be obese
In Italy, 14.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
have 37.7% fewer doctors per person
Italy has 41.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 3.9 times more likely to die by suicide
Italy has a suicide rate of 7.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 58.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Italy, 6.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
make 16.4% less money
Italy has a GDP per capita of $43,309 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 33.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Italy, approximately 6.0 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 25.4% fewer children
In Italy, there are approximately 6.3 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 32.9% more on education
Italy spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 68.2% less coastline
Italy has a total of 7,600 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 15.8% less likely to be murdered
Italy has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 38.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Italy, road accidents kill 5.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 50.4% more home broadband
Italy has 31.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
use 2.2 times more electricity
Italy uses 5,137 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
live with 2.9 times more strain on fresh water
Italy withdraws 30% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
Environment
be 26.7% more likely to die from air pollution
In Italy, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.2 times more CO2
Italy emits 5.1 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: Italy vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Italy? See an in-depth size comparison.