Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Norway, you would:
Health
be 58.5% less likely to be obese
In Norway, 20.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 46.6% less spent on your healthcare
Norway spends $9,523 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 47.5% fewer doctors per person
Norway has 49.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 2.1 times more likely to die by suicide
Norway has a suicide rate of 13.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 42.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Norway, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
make 61.7% less money
Norway has a GDP per capita of $94,594 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 4.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Norway, approximately 1.0 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 15.0% more likely to die during infancy
In Norway, approximately 2.0 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 51.5% fewer children
In Norway, there are approximately 9.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In South Korea, there are 4.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Geography
see 90.4% less coastline
Norway has a total of 25,148 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 33.3% less likely to be murdered
Norway 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 4.6 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Norway, road accidents kill 1.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 41.8 times more strain on fresh water
Norway withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
use 52.1% less electricity
Norway uses 23,673 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 2.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Norway, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 58.2% more CO2
Norway emits 7.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. South Korea emits 11.4 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Norway vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Norway? See an in-depth size comparison.