Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 13.3 years less

In South Korea, the average life expectancy is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Kenya, that number is 70 years (68 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2022.

be 51.1% more likely to be obese

In South Korea, 4.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Kenya, that number is 7.1% of people as of 2016.

Economy

pay a 21.1% lower top tax rate

South Korea has a top tax rate of 38.0% as of 2016. In Kenya, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2016.

make 88.7% less money

South Korea has a GDP per capita of $50,600 as of 2023, while in Kenya, the GDP per capita is $5,700 as of 2023.

be 2.2 times more likely to be unemployed

In South Korea, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Kenya, that number is 5.7% as of 2023.

be 2.5 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In South Korea, 14.4% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Kenya, however, that number is 36.1% as of 2016.

Life

have 3.7 times more children

In South Korea, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Kenya, there are 25.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 66.2 times more likely to die during childbirth

In South Korea, approximately 8.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Kenya, 530.0 women do as of 2020.

be 15.7% less likely to be literate

In South Korea, the literacy rate is 98.0% as of 2019. In Kenya, it is 82.6% as of 2021.

be 9.7 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 Kenya, on the other hand, 27.9 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 24.0% less likely to have access to electricity

In South Korea, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Kenya, 76% of the population do as of 2022.

be 70.4% less likely to have internet access

In South Korea, approximately 98.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Kenya, about 29.0% do as of 2021.

be 28.7% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In South Korea, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In Kenya, 71% of people do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 48.8% less on healthcare

South Korea spends 8.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Kenya, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 77.8% less coastline

South Korea has a total of 2,413 km of coastline. In Kenya, that number is 536 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Revenue Authority, The World Factbook, National Tax Service, South Korea.

Kenya: At a glance

Kenya is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 569,140 sq km. Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence in 1963 until his death in 1978, when President Daniel MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but were viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform. KIBAKI's NARC coalition splintered in 2005 over a constitutional review process. Government defectors joined with KANU to form a new opposition coalition, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which defeated the government's draft constitution in a popular referendum in November 2005. KIBAKI's reelection in December 2007 brought charges of vote rigging from ODM candidate Raila ODINGA and unleashed two months of violence in which as many as 1,500 people died. African Union-sponsored mediation led by former UN Secretary General Kofi ANNAN in late February 2008 resulted in a power-sharing accord bringing ODINGA into the government in the restored position of prime minister. The power sharing accord included a broad reform agenda, the centerpiece of which was constitutional reform. In August 2010, Kenyans overwhelmingly adopted a new constitution in a national referendum. The new constitution introduced additional checks and balances to executive power and significant devolution of power and resources to 47 newly created counties. It also eliminated the position of prime minister following the first presidential election under the new constitution, which occurred on 4 March 2013. Uhuru KENYATTA, the son of founding president Jomo KENYATTA, won the March elections in the first round by a close margin and was sworn into office on 9 April 2013.
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