Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in South Korea instead of Iceland, you would:

Health

be 78.5% less likely to be obese

In Iceland, 21.9% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 25.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Iceland, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 2.6% as of 2023.

pay a 17.9% lower top tax rate

Iceland has a top tax rate of 46.3% as of 2016. In South Korea, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.

make 23.9% less money

Iceland has a GDP per capita of $66,500 as of 2023, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $50,600 as of 2023.

be 63.6% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Iceland, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.

Life

be 2.7 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Iceland, approximately 3.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In South Korea, 8.0 women do as of 2020.

be 73.9% more likely to die during infancy

In Iceland, approximately 1.6 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.

have 45.1% fewer children

In Iceland, there are approximately 12.6 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 39.0% less on education

Iceland spends 7.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. South Korea spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

spend 12.5% less on healthcare

Iceland spends 9.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 51.4% less coastline

Iceland has a total of 4,970 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, National Tax Service, South Korea, Directorate of Internal Revenue.

South Korea: At a glance

South Korea (sometimes abbreviated ROK) is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 96,920 sq km. An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan beginning in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. In 1910, Tokyo formally annexed the entire Peninsula. Korea regained its independence following Japan's surrender to the United States in 1945. After World War II, a democratic-based government (Republic of Korea, ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a communist-style government was installed in the north (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought alongside ROK soldiers to defend South Korea from a DPRK invasion supported by China and the Soviet Union. A 1953 armistice split the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. PARK Chung-hee took over leadership of the country in a 1961 coup. During his regime, from 1961 to 1979, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth, with per capita income rising to roughly 17 times the level of North Korea. South Korea held its first free presidential election under a revised democratic constitution in 1987, with former ROK Army general ROH Tae-woo winning a close race. In 1993, KIM Young-sam (1993-98) became the first civilian president of South Korea's new democratic era. President KIM Dae-jung (1998-2003) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his contributions to South Korean democracy and his "Sunshine" policy of engagement with North Korea. President PARK Geun-hye, daughter of former ROK President PARK Chung-hee, took office in February 2013 and is South Korea's first female leader. South Korea holds a non-permanent seat (2013-14) on the UN Security Council and will host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Serious tensions with North Korea have punctuated inter-Korean relations in recent years, including the North's attacks on a South Korean ship and island in 2010, nuclear and missile tests, and its temporary closure of the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in 2013.
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How big is South Korea compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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