Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sweden instead of South Korea, you would:
Health
be 4.4 times more likely to be obese
In South Korea, 4.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sweden, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 19.9% more money
South Korea has a GDP per capita of $42,300 as of 2020, while in Sweden, the GDP per capita is $50,700 as of 2020.
be 80.3% more likely to be unemployed
In South Korea, 3.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Sweden, that number is 6.8% as of 2019.
be 18.8% more likely to live below the poverty line
In South Korea, 14.4% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Sweden, however, that number is 17.1% as of 2018.
pay a 50.3% higher top tax rate
South Korea has a top tax rate of 38.0% as of 2016. In Sweden, the top tax rate is 57.1% as of 2016.
Life
be 63.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In South Korea, approximately 11.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Sweden, 4.0 women do as of 2017.
be 19.9% less likely to die during infancy
In South Korea, approximately 2.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Sweden, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2022.
have 56.5% more children
In South Korea, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Sweden, there are 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 68.9% more on education
South Korea spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Sweden spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2018.
spend 32.9% more on healthcare
South Korea spends 8.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Sweden, that number is 10.9% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 33.4% more coastline
South Korea has a total of 2,413 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, National Tax Service, South Korea, Skatteverket.
Sweden: At a glance
How big is Sweden compared to South Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.