Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Turkey, you would:
Health
live 6.2 years longer
In Turkey, the average life expectancy is 77 years (75 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 87 years for women) as of 2024.
be 70.9% less likely to be obese
In Turkey, 28.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of people as of 2024.
see 2.9 times more spent on your healthcare
Turkey spends $1,769 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Korea spends $5,081 as of 2024.
have 16.7% more doctors per person
Turkey has 22.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. South Korea has 26.1 as of 2022.
have 17.1% more access to essential health services
Turkey scores 76 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. South Korea scores 89 as of 2021.
be 10.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Turkey has a suicide rate of 2.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Korea, it is 27.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 68.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Turkey, 8.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Korea, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
make 94.8% more money
Turkey has a GDP per capita of $18,599 as of 2025, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $36,227 as of 2025.
Life
be 73.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Turkey, approximately 15.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In South Korea, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
be 71.2% less likely to die during infancy
In Turkey, approximately 8.0 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 57.3% fewer children
In Turkey, there are approximately 11.0 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 74.5% more on education
Turkey spends 3.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. South Korea spends 5.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 2.0 times more on healthcare
Turkey spends 4.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 8.7% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 66.5% less coastline
Turkey has a total of 7,200 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
Safety
be 85.1% less likely to be murdered
Turkey has a homicide rate of 3.2 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 2.0 times more home broadband
Turkey has 23.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Korea has 47.8 as of 2024.
use 3.0 times more electricity
Turkey uses 3,731 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. South Korea uses 11,350 kWh as of 2024.
live with 77.9% more strain on fresh water
Turkey withdraws 48% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Korea withdraws 85% as of 2022.
Environment
be 51.3% less likely to die from air pollution
In Turkey, air pollution causes 39.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Korea, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.1 times more CO2
Turkey emits 5.4 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: Turkey vs. South Korea
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Turkey? See an in-depth size comparison.