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

Health

live 14.6 years longer

In North Korea, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022. In Singapore, that number is 86 years (84 years for men, 89 years for women) as of 2022.

be 10.3% less likely to be obese

In North Korea, 6.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Singapore, that number is 6.1% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 63.5 times more money

North Korea has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2015, while in Singapore, the GDP per capita is $108,000 as of 2022.

be 16.9% more likely to be unemployed

In North Korea, 3.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Singapore, that number is 3.6% as of 2022.

Life

be 93.5% less likely to die during childbirth

In North Korea, approximately 107.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Singapore, 7.0 women do as of 2020.

be 93.0% 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 Singapore, on the other hand, 1.6 children do as of 2022.

have 33.3% fewer children

In North Korea, there are approximately 13.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Singapore, there are 8.8 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 Singapore, 100% of the population do as of 2021.

Geography

see 92.3% less coastline

North Korea has a total of 2,495 km of coastline. In Singapore, that number is 193 km.


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

Singapore: At a glance

Singapore is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 709 sq km. Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. Singapore subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
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How big is Singapore compared to North Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.

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