Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Thailand, you would:
Health
live 5.3 years longer
In Thailand, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022. In South Korea, that number is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022.
be 53.0% less likely to be obese
In Thailand, 10.0% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 2.4 times more money
Thailand has a GDP per capita of $17,300 as of 2020, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $42,300 as of 2020.
be 3.8 times more likely to be unemployed
In Thailand, 1.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In South Korea, that number is 3.8% as of 2019.
be 45.5% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Thailand, 9.9% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.
Life
be 70.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Thailand, approximately 37.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Korea, 11.0 women do as of 2017.
be 55.6% less likely to die during infancy
In Thailand, approximately 6.5 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In South Korea, on the other hand, 2.9 children do as of 2022.
have 31.8% fewer children
In Thailand, there are approximately 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Korea, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 24.4% more likely to have internet access
In Thailand, approximately 78.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In South Korea, about 97.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 50.0% more on education
Thailand spends 3.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. South Korea spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2018.
spend 2.2 times more on healthcare
Thailand spends 3.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Korea, that number is 8.2% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 25.0% less coastline
Thailand has a total of 3,219 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Thailand? See an in-depth size comparison.