Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Estonia instead of North Korea, you would:

Health

live 6.1 years longer

In North Korea, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022. In Estonia, that number is 78 years (73 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.

be 3.1 times more likely to be obese

In North Korea, 6.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Estonia, that number is 21.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 22.2 times more money

North Korea has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2015, while in Estonia, the GDP per capita is $37,700 as of 2022.

be 81.4% more likely to be unemployed

In North Korea, 3.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Estonia, that number is 5.6% as of 2022.

Life

be 95.3% less likely to die during childbirth

In North Korea, approximately 107.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Estonia, 5.0 women do as of 2020.

be 84.6% less likely to die during infancy

In North Korea, approximately 22.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Estonia, on the other hand, 3.4 children do as of 2022.

have 37.9% fewer children

In North Korea, there are approximately 13.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Estonia, there are 8.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 90.1% more likely to have access to electricity

In North Korea, approximately 53% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Estonia, 100% of the population do as of 2021.

Geography

see 52.1% more coastline

North Korea has a total of 2,495 km of coastline. In Estonia, that number is 3,794 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Estonia: At a glance

Estonia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 42,388 sq km. After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with the West. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004, formally joined the OECD in late 2010, and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2011.
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How big is Estonia compared to North Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.

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