Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Somalia, you would:
Health
live 27.2 years longer
In Somalia, the average life expectancy is 56 years (53 years for men, 58 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 43.4% less likely to be obese
In Somalia, 8.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 33.7 times more money
Somalia has a GDP per capita of $1,500 as of 2023, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $50,600 as of 2023.
be 86.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Somalia, 19.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 2.6% as of 2023.
be 73.5% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Somalia, 54.4% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.
Life
be 98.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Somalia, approximately 621.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In South Korea, 8.0 women do as of 2020.
be 96.7% less likely to die during infancy
In Somalia, approximately 86.5 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.
have 81.5% fewer children
In Somalia, there are approximately 37.4 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 2.0 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Somalia, approximately 49% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In South Korea, 100% of the population do as of 2022.
be 6.8 times more likely to have internet access
In Somalia, approximately 14.5% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In South Korea, about 98.0% do as of 2021.
be 18.6% more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Somalia, approximately 84% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In South Korea, 100% of people do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 15.7 times more on education
Somalia spends 0.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. South Korea spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
Geography
see 20.2% less coastline
Somalia has a total of 3,025 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.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Somalia? See an in-depth size comparison.