Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
live 24.2 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 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 46.0% less likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 29.8 times more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2023, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $50,600 as of 2023.
be 16.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 2.6% as of 2023.
be 74.6% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.
pay a 26.7% higher top tax rate
Sierra Leone has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2014. In South Korea, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 98.2% less likely to die during childbirth
In Sierra Leone, approximately 443.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In South Korea, 8.0 women do as of 2020.
be 2.0 times more likely to be literate
In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In South Korea, it is 98.0% as of 2019.
be 96.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Sierra Leone, approximately 73.4 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.
have 77.5% fewer children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In South Korea, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 3.4 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Sierra Leone, approximately 29% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In South Korea, 100% of the population do as of 2022.
be 7.7 times more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 12.7% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In South Korea, about 98.0% do as of 2021.
be 37.2% more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Sierra Leone, approximately 73% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In South Korea, 100% of people do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 48.4% less on education
Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. South Korea spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
Geography
see 6.0 times more coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 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, National Revenue Authority.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.