Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Romania, you would:
Health
live 7.2 years longer
In Romania, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 80 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 74.2% less likely to be obese
In Romania, 32.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 94.4% more spent on your healthcare
Romania spends $2,614 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 14.1% more access to essential health services
Romania scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. South Korea scores 89 as of 2021.
have 28.0% fewer doctors per person
Romania has 36.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 2.9 times more likely to die by suicide
Romania has a suicide rate of 9.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 55.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Romania, 6.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
make 60.7% more money
Romania has a GDP per capita of $22,538 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 66.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Romania, approximately 12.0 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 61.7% less likely to die during infancy
In Romania, approximately 6.0 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 37.3% fewer children
In Romania, there are approximately 7.5 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 64.9% more on education
Romania spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 52.0% more on healthcare
Romania spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 8.7% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 10.7 times more coastline
Romania has a total of 225 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 56.8% less likely to be murdered
Romania has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 28.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In Romania, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 33.5% more home broadband
Romania has 35.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
use 4.4 times more electricity
Romania uses 2,585 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
live with 11.2 times more strain on fresh water
Romania withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
Environment
be 58.7% less likely to die from air pollution
In Romania, air pollution causes 46.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 3.1 times more CO2
Romania emits 3.7 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: Romania vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Romania? See an in-depth size comparison.