Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Samoa, you would:
Health
live 7.8 years longer
In Samoa, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 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 90.1% less likely to be obese
In Samoa, 47.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 6.7 times more money
Samoa has a GDP per capita of $6,300 as of 2020, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $42,300 as of 2020.
be 27.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Samoa, 5.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In South Korea, that number is 3.8% as of 2019.
be 29.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Samoa, 20.3% live below the poverty line as of 2013. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.
pay a 40.7% higher top tax rate
Samoa has a top tax rate of 27.0% as of 2016. In South Korea, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 74.4% less likely to die during childbirth
In Samoa, approximately 43.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Korea, 11.0 women do as of 2017.
be 83.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Samoa, approximately 17.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In South Korea, on the other hand, 2.9 children do as of 2022.
have 64.0% fewer children
In Samoa, there are approximately 19.2 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 2.9 times more likely to have internet access
In Samoa, approximately 34.0% of the population has internet access as of 2019. In South Korea, about 97.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 28.1% more on healthcare
Samoa spends 6.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Korea, that number is 8.2% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 6.0 times more coastline
Samoa has a total of 403 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, National Tax Service, South Korea, Ministry of Revenue, Samoa.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.