Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Timor-Leste, you would:
Health
live 13.0 years longer
In Timor-Leste, the average life expectancy is 70 years (68 years for men, 72 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 23.7% more likely to be obese
In Timor-Leste, 3.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 11.0 times more money
Timor-Leste has a GDP per capita of $4,600 as of 2023, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $50,600 as of 2023.
be 65.6% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Timor-Leste, 41.8% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.
be 73.7% more likely to be unemployed
In Timor-Leste, 1.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In South Korea, that number is 2.6% as of 2023.
Life
be 96.1% less likely to die during childbirth
In Timor-Leste, approximately 204.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In South Korea, 8.0 women do as of 2020.
be 43.9% more likely to be literate
In Timor-Leste, the literacy rate is 68.1% as of 2018. In South Korea, it is 98.0% as of 2019.
be 91.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Timor-Leste, approximately 33.7 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 76.7% fewer children
In Timor-Leste, there are approximately 29.7 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 2.5 times more likely to have internet access
In Timor-Leste, approximately 39.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In South Korea, about 98.0% do as of 2021.
be 14.3% more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Timor-Leste, approximately 87% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In South Korea, 100% of people do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 15.2% less on healthcare
Timor-Leste spends 9.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In South Korea, that number is 8.4% of GDP as of 2020.
spend 11.9% more on education
Timor-Leste spends 4.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. South Korea spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
Geography
see 3.4 times more coastline
Timor-Leste has a total of 706 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 Timor-Leste? See an in-depth size comparison.