Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Singapore, you would:
Health
be 23.0% less likely to be obese
In Singapore, 6.1% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
live 3.4 years less
In Singapore, the average life expectancy is 86 years (84 years for men, 89 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.
Economy
be 23.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Singapore, 3.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 2.6% as of 2023.
make 60.3% less money
Singapore has a GDP per capita of $127,500 as of 2023, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $50,600 as of 2023.
pay a 72.7% higher top tax rate
Singapore has a top tax rate of 22.0% as of 2016. In South Korea, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 85.2% more likely to die during infancy
In Singapore, 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 21.4% fewer children
In Singapore, there are approximately 8.8 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 67.9% more on education
Singapore spends 2.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. South Korea spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
spend 37.7% more on healthcare
Singapore spends 6.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of GDP as of 2020.
Geography
see 12.5 times more coastline
Singapore has a total of 193 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, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, National Tax Service, South Korea.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Singapore? See an in-depth size comparison.