Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of North Korea, you would:
Health
live 11.2 years longer
In North Korea, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 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 30.9% less likely to be obese
In North Korea, 6.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 24.9 times more money
North Korea has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2015, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $42,300 as of 2020.
be 85.3% less likely to be unemployed
In North Korea, 25.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2013. In South Korea, that number is 3.8% as of 2019.
Life
be 87.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In North Korea, approximately 89.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Korea, 11.0 women do as of 2017.
be 87.1% less likely to die during infancy
In North Korea, approximately 22.2 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 51.3% fewer children
In North Korea, there are approximately 14.2 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 3.8 times more likely to have access to electricity
In North Korea, approximately 26% of the population has electricity access as of 2019. In South Korea, 100% of the population do as of 2020.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to North Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.