Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in India instead of South Korea, you would:

Health

be 17.0% less likely to be obese

In South Korea, 4.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In India, that number is 3.9% of people as of 2016.

live 12.9 years less

In South Korea, the average life expectancy is 83 years (79 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2020. In India, that number is 70 years (68 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2020.

Economy

make 81.8% less money

South Korea has a GDP per capita of $39,500 as of 2017, while in India, the GDP per capita is $7,200 as of 2017.

be 2.3 times more likely to be unemployed

In South Korea, 3.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In India, that number is 8.5% as of 2017.

be 52.1% more likely to live below the poverty line

In South Korea, 14.4% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In India, however, that number is 21.9% as of 2011.

Life

have 2.2 times more children

In South Korea, there are approximately 8.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020. In India, there are 18.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020.

be 13.2 times more likely to die during childbirth

In South Korea, approximately 11.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In India, 145.0 women do as of 2017.

be 24.1% less likely to be literate

In South Korea, the literacy rate is 98.0% as of 2019. In India, it is 74.4% as of 2018.

be 11.8 times more likely to die during infancy

In South Korea, approximately 3.0 children die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In India, on the other hand, 35.4 children do as of 2020.

Basic Needs

be 15.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In South Korea, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2016. In India, 84% of the population do as of 2017.

be 64.1% less likely to have internet access

In South Korea, approximately 95.9% of the population has internet access as of 2018. In India, about 34.5% do as of 2018.

Expenditures

spend 28.3% less on education

South Korea spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2015. India spends 3.8% of total GDP on education as of 2013.

Geography

see 2.9 times more coastline

South Korea has a total of 2,413 km of coastline. In India, that number is 7,000 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

India: At a glance

India is a sovereign country in South Asia, with a total land area of approximately 2,973,193 sq km. The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty which ruled India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century. By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence, which was granted in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states - India and Pakistan. The neighboring nations have fought three wars since independence, the last of which was in 1971 and resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. Despite pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, economic growth following the launch of economic reforms in 1991 and a massive youthful population are driving India's emergence as a regional and global power.
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How big is India compared to South Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.

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