Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 3.2 years less

In South Korea, the average life expectancy is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Chile, that number is 80 years (77 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.

be 6.0 times more likely to be obese

In South Korea, 4.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Chile, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 25.0% less likely to live below the poverty line

In South Korea, 14.4% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Chile, however, that number is 10.8% as of 2020.

make 41.7% less money

South Korea has a GDP per capita of $50,600 as of 2023, while in Chile, the GDP per capita is $29,500 as of 2023.

be 3.4 times more likely to be unemployed

In South Korea, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Chile, that number is 9.0% as of 2023.

Life

have 79.2% more children

In South Korea, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Chile, there are 12.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 87.5% more likely to die during childbirth

In South Korea, approximately 8.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Chile, 15.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.3 times more likely to die during infancy

In South Korea, approximately 2.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Chile, on the other hand, 6.5 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 19.1% more on education

South Korea spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Chile spends 5.6% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

spend 16.7% more on healthcare

South Korea spends 8.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Chile, that number is 9.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 2.7 times more coastline

South Korea has a total of 2,413 km of coastline. In Chile, that number is 6,435 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Chile: At a glance

Chile is a sovereign country in South America, with a total land area of approximately 743,812 sq km. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the Inca ruled northern Chile while the Mapuche inhabited central and southern Chile. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Mapuche were brought under central government control. After a series of elected governments, the three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was inaugurated in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, contributed to steady growth, reduced poverty rates by over half, and helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation. In January 2014, Chile assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term.
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How big is Chile compared to South Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.

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