Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Spain, you would:
Health
be 45.3% less likely to be obese
In Spain, 15.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
have 39.2% fewer doctors per person
Spain has 42.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 3.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Spain has a suicide rate of 8.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 74.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Spain, 10.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
Life
be 11.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Spain, approximately 2.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In South Korea, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2024.
be 33.3% more likely to die during childbirth
In Spain, approximately 3.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In South Korea, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
have 27.7% fewer children
In Spain, there are approximately 6.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In South Korea, there are 4.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 17.9% more on education
Spain spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 51.4% less coastline
Spain has a total of 4,964 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 30.4% less likely to be murdered
Spain has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 97.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In Spain, road accidents kill 3.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 21.8% more home broadband
Spain has 39.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
use 2.2 times more electricity
Spain uses 5,196 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
live with 97.0% more strain on fresh water
Spain withdraws 43% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
Environment
be 90.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Spain, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.5 times more CO2
Spain emits 4.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. South Korea emits 11.4 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: Spain vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Spain? See an in-depth size comparison.