Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of United States, you would:
Health
live 2.3 years longer
In United States, the average life expectancy is 80 years (78 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2020. In South Korea, that number is 83 years (79 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2020.
be 87.0% less likely to be obese
In United States, 36.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
be 15.9% less likely to be unemployed
In United States, 4.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In South Korea, that number is 3.7% as of 2017.
make 33.9% less money
United States has a GDP per capita of $59,800 as of 2017, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $39,500 as of 2017.
Life
be 42.1% less likely to die during childbirth
In United States, approximately 19.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Korea, 11.0 women do as of 2017.
be 43.4% less likely to die during infancy
In United States, approximately 5.3 children die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In South Korea, on the other hand, 3.0 children do as of 2020.
have 33.9% fewer children
In United States, there are approximately 12.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020. In South Korea, there are 8.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020.
Geography
see 87.9% less coastline
United States has a total of 19,924 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 United States? See an in-depth size comparison.