Born in Korea, Rep. or in China?
Two babies are born the same second, one in Korea, Rep. and one in China. This is what the numbers say about the two lives ahead of them.
- A baby born in Korea, Rep. can expect to live 83.7 years; in China, 78.1 years.
- A child in China is 2 times as likely to die before the age of five as a child in Korea, Rep..
- Income per person in Korea, Rep. buys 2.2 times as much as in China.
- Each year about 242,917 babies are born in Korea, Rep. and 9,522,580 in China.
Side by side
| Indicator | Korea, Rep. | China | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health and survival | |||
| Life expectancy, women (years) | 86.6 | 81 | 75.9 |
| Life expectancy, men (years) | 80.8 | 75.3 | 71 |
| Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000) | 2.3 | 4.1 | 27.8 |
| Children who die before 5 (per 1,000) | 2.8 | 5.7 | 37.6 |
| Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births) | 4 | 16 | 189 |
| Adults living with HIV (%) | ≈ 0.3 | ≈ 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Adults who smoke (%) | 19 | 23 | 20 |
| Alcohol per adult (litres a year) | 7.8 | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Road deaths (per 100,000) | 8.6 | 17.4 | 17 |
| Homicides (per 100,000) | 0.48 | 0.5 | 4.7 |
| Family and school | |||
| Children per woman | 0.75 | 1.01 | 2.85 |
| Women married before 18 (%) | ≈ 15 | 3 | 18 |
| Children in primary school (%) | 97 | 89 | 89 |
| Secondary school enrolment (%) | 96 | 92 | 81 |
| Higher education enrolment (%) | 100 | 77 | 48 |
| Children aged 7–14 who work (%) | ≈ 11.5 | ≈ 11.5 | 11.9 |
| Money and work | |||
| Income per person (PPP) | $55,697 | $25,067 | $21,797 |
| Income inequality (Gini, 0–100) | 33 | 36 | 34 |
| Living on under $3 a day (%) | 0.1 | 0 | 9.9 |
| Unemployment (%) | 2.7 | 4.6 | 5.1 |
| Jobs in farming (%) | 5 | 22 | 27 |
| Women in the workforce (%) | 57 | 59 | 48 |
| Health costs paid out of pocket (%) | 34 | 32 | 37 |
| Home and connection | |||
| Living in cities (%) | 81 | 66 | 58 |
| Access to electricity (%) | 100 | 100 | 92 |
| Safe drinking water (%) | 100 | 96 | 91 |
| Internet users (%) | 98 | 92 | 72 |
| Peace and wellbeing | |||
| Life satisfaction (0–10) | 6.04 | 6.07 | 5.4 |
| Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year) | 0 | 0 | 2.43 |
| Refugees abroad (% of population) | 0 | 0.01 | 0.34 |
≈ Estimated from the region
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
Korea, Rep.: 1960: 53.9 → 2026: 84.4 → 2050: 87.4China: 1960: 33.5 → 2026: 79.2 → 2050: 83.4
Korea, Rep.ChinaWorld
Korea, Rep.: 1960: 113 → 2026: 3 → 2050: 2China: 1960: 199 → 2026: 5 → 2050: 2
Korea, Rep.ChinaWorld
Korea, Rep.: 1960: 6 → 2026: 0.83 → 2050: 1China: 1960: 4.5 → 2026: 1.1 → 2050: 1.2
Korea, Rep.ChinaWorld
Korea, Rep.: 1960: 28 → 2026: 81 → 2050: 83China: 1960: 20 → 2026: 67 → 2050: 90
Korea, Rep.ChinaWorld
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All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.