Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Norway instead of South Korea, you would:
Health
see 87.4% more spent on your healthcare
South Korea spends $5,081 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Norway spends $9,523 as of 2023.
have 90.6% more doctors per person
South Korea has 26.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Norway has 49.8 as of 2023.
be 52.1% less likely to die by suicide
South Korea has a suicide rate of 27.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Norway, it is 13.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 2.4 times more likely to be obese
In South Korea, 8.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Norway, that number is 20.2% of people as of 2024.
Economy
make 2.6 times more money
South Korea has a GDP per capita of $36,227 as of 2025, while in Norway, the GDP per capita is $94,594 as of 2025.
be 73.1% more likely to be unemployed
In South Korea, 2.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Norway, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.
Life
be 75.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In South Korea, approximately 4.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Norway, 1.0 women do as of 2023.
be 13.0% less likely to die during infancy
In South Korea, approximately 2.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Norway, on the other hand, 2.0 children do as of 2024.
have 2.1 times more children
In South Korea, there are approximately 4.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Norway, there are 9.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Geography
see 10.4 times more coastline
South Korea has a total of 2,413 km of coastline. In Norway, that number is 25,148 km.
Safety
be 78.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In South Korea, road accidents kill 6.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Norway, they kill 1.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 50.0% more likely to be murdered
South Korea has a homicide rate of 0.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Norway, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
live with 97.6% less strain on fresh water
South Korea withdraws 85% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Norway withdraws 2% as of 2022.
use 2.1 times more electricity
South Korea uses 11,350 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Norway uses 23,673 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 57.9% less likely to die from air pollution
In South Korea, air pollution causes 19.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Norway, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 36.8% less CO2
South Korea emits 11.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Norway emits 7.2 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: South Korea vs. Norway
Norway: At a glance
How big is Norway compared to South Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.