Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Sweden, you would:
Health
be 52.2% less likely to be obese
In Sweden, 17.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 34.6% less spent on your healthcare
Sweden spends $7,770 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 40.8% fewer doctors per person
Sweden has 44.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
be 98.9% more likely to die by suicide
Sweden has a suicide rate of 13.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 69.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Sweden, 8.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
make 42.6% less money
Sweden has a GDP per capita of $63,133 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 15.0% more likely to die during infancy
In Sweden, approximately 2.0 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.
have 49.5% fewer children
In Sweden, there are approximately 9.3 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 26.1% less on education
Sweden spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 22.6% less on healthcare
Sweden spends 11.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.7% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 25.0% less coastline
Sweden has a total of 3,218 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 58.3% less likely to be murdered
Sweden has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 12.2% less likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Sweden, 73% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2022. In South Korea, that number is 64% as of 2021.
be 3.3 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Sweden, road accidents kill 2.1 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Korea, they kill 6.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 17.7% more home broadband
Sweden has 40.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
live with 23.8 times more strain on fresh water
Sweden withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
Environment
be 2.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Sweden, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 3.2 times more CO2
Sweden emits 3.6 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 (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Sweden vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Sweden? See an in-depth size comparison.