Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Estonia, you would:
Health
live 5.1 years longer
In Estonia, the average life expectancy is 78 years (73 years for men, 83 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 77.8% less likely to be obese
In Estonia, 21.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 20.5% more money
Estonia has a GDP per capita of $42,000 as of 2023, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $50,600 as of 2023.
be 58.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Estonia, 6.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 2.6% as of 2023.
be 36.0% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Estonia, 22.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.
pay a 90.0% higher top tax rate
Estonia has a top tax rate of 20.0% as of 2016. In South Korea, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 16.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Estonia, approximately 3.4 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.
be 60.0% more likely to die during childbirth
In Estonia, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In South Korea, 8.0 women do as of 2020.
have 15.6% fewer children
In Estonia, there are approximately 8.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In South Korea, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 28.8% less on education
Estonia spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. South Korea spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
Geography
see 36.4% less coastline
Estonia has a total of 3,794 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Estonian Tax and Customs Board, The World Factbook, National Tax Service, South Korea.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Estonia? See an in-depth size comparison.