Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Malta, you would:
Health
be 72.7% less likely to be obese
In Malta, 30.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 10.9% less spent on your healthcare
Malta spends $5,706 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 42.2% fewer doctors per person
Malta has 45.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 4.3 times more likely to die by suicide
Malta has a suicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 24.4% less money
Malta has a GDP per capita of $47,907 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 50.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Malta, approximately 8.0 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 51.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Malta, approximately 4.7 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 39.0% fewer children
In Malta, there are approximately 7.7 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 14.9% more on education
Malta spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 12.3 times more coastline
Malta has a total of 197 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 14.3% less likely to be murdered
Malta 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 3.6 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Malta, road accidents kill 1.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 2.3 times more electricity
Malta uses 5,013 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
live with 17.4% more strain on fresh water
Malta withdraws 73% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 3.6 times more CO2
Malta emits 3.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. South Korea emits 11.4 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Malta vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Malta? See an in-depth size comparison.