Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Kiribati, you would:
Health
live 17.0 years longer
In Kiribati, the average life expectancy is 67 years (65 years for men, 68 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 81.6% less likely to be obese
In Kiribati, 45.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 12.7 times more spent on your healthcare
Kiribati spends $401 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 85.4% more access to essential health services
Kiribati scores 48 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. South Korea scores 89 as of 2021.
be 57.6% more likely to die by suicide
Kiribati has a suicide rate of 17.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 14.2 times more money
Kiribati has a GDP per capita of $2,559 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 95.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Kiribati, approximately 80.0 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 94.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Kiribati, approximately 38.8 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 81.4% fewer children
In Kiribati, there are approximately 25.3 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 26.5% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Kiribati, approximately 79% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In South Korea, 100% of people do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 67.0% less on education
Kiribati spends 16.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 20.7% less on healthcare
Kiribati spends 10.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 8.7% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 2.1 times more coastline
Kiribati has a total of 1,143 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 11.3% more likely to die in a road accident
In Kiribati, road accidents kill 6.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 1593.3 times more home broadband
Kiribati has 0.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
Environment
be 61.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Kiribati, air pollution causes 49.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 19.3 times more CO2
Kiribati emits 0.6 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: Kiribati vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Kiribati? See an in-depth size comparison.