Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Palau, you would:
Health
live 14.2 years longer
In Palau, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 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 79.3% less likely to be obese
In Palau, 40.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 2.7 times more spent on your healthcare
Palau spends $1,857 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 44.4% more doctors per person
Palau has 18.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
have 36.9% more access to essential health services
Palau scores 65 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. South Korea scores 89 as of 2021.
Economy
make 85.5% more money
Palau has a GDP per capita of $19,532 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 95.5% less likely to die during childbirth
In Palau, approximately 89.0 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 87.6% less likely to die during infancy
In Palau, approximately 18.6 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 56.0% fewer children
In Palau, there are approximately 10.7 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 16.6% more likely to have internet access
In Palau, approximately 83.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In South Korea, about 97.9% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 20.0% less on healthcare
Palau spends 10.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 8.7% of GDP as of 2024.
spend 57.3% more on education
Palau spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 58.9% more coastline
Palau has a total of 1,519 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 68.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In Palau, road accidents kill 22.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 6.5 times more home broadband
Palau has 7.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 86.3% less CO2
Palau emits 82.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. South Korea emits 11.4 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Palau vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Palau? See an in-depth size comparison.