Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Spain instead of South Korea, you would:
Health
have 64.5% more doctors per person
South Korea has 26.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Spain has 42.9 as of 2022.
be 68.3% less likely to die by suicide
South Korea has a suicide rate of 27.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Spain, it is 8.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 82.9% more likely to be obese
In South Korea, 8.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Spain, that number is 15.3% of people as of 2024.
Economy
be 3.9 times more likely to be unemployed
In South Korea, 2.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Spain, that number is 10.4% as of 2025.
Life
be 25.0% 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 Spain, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
have 38.3% more children
In South Korea, there are approximately 4.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Spain, there are 6.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 13.0% more 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 Spain, on the other hand, 2.6 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 15.2% less on education
South Korea spends 5.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Spain spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 2.1 times more coastline
South Korea has a total of 2,413 km of coastline. In Spain, that number is 4,964 km.
Safety
be 49.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In South Korea, road accidents kill 6.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Spain, they kill 3.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 43.7% more likely to be murdered
South Korea has a homicide rate of 0.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Spain, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
live with 49.2% less strain on fresh water
South Korea withdraws 85% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Spain withdraws 43% as of 2022.
find 17.9% less home broadband
South Korea has 47.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Spain has 39.2 as of 2024.
use 54.2% less electricity
South Korea uses 11,350 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Spain uses 5,196 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 47.4% less likely to die from air pollution
In South Korea, air pollution causes 19.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Spain, it causes 10.0 as of 2019.
emit 60.3% less CO2
South Korea emits 11.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Spain emits 4.5 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. Spain
Spain: At a glance
How big is Spain compared to South Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.