Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Ireland, you would:
Health
live 1.3 years longer
In Ireland, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 years for men, 84 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 81.4% less likely to be obese
In Ireland, 25.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
be 39.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Ireland, 4.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 2.6% as of 2023.
pay a 20.8% lower top tax rate
Ireland has a top tax rate of 48.0% as of 2016. In South Korea, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.
make 56.2% less money
Ireland has a GDP per capita of $115,600 as of 2023, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $50,600 as of 2023.
Life
be 17.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Ireland, approximately 3.5 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 Ireland, 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 37.7% fewer children
In Ireland, there are approximately 11.1 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 51.6% more on education
Ireland spends 3.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. South Korea spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
spend 18.3% more on healthcare
Ireland spends 7.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of GDP as of 2020.
Geography
see 66.6% more coastline
Ireland has a total of 1,448 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, The Office of the Revenue Commissioners, National Tax Service, South Korea.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Ireland? See an in-depth size comparison.