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Health · East Asia & Pacific · High income
South Korea: health in numbers
Life expectancy is 83.6 yrs (2024), 14th of 217 in the world and 4th of 37 in East Asia & Pacific. Life expectancy, women is 86.6 yrs (2024), 6th of 217 in the world and 4th of 37 in East Asia & Pacific. Life expectancy, men is 80.8 yrs (2024), 26th of 217 in the world and 6th of 37 in East Asia & Pacific.
Life expectancy
South KoreaEast Asia & PacificHigh incomeWorld
Life expectancy, women
South KoreaEast Asia & PacificHigh incomeWorld
17 indicators
Health: South Korea in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within East Asia & Pacific; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancyLife expectancy at birth, years | 83.6 yrs2024 | 14/217 | 4/37 | 75.9 yrs | 80.1 yrs | 83.4 yrs | +2.3%since 2014 | 76.7 yrs | 80.4 yrs | 73.5 yrs | |
| Life expectancy, womenLife expectancy at birth, women, years | 86.6 yrs2024 | 6/217 | 4/37 | 79.7 yrs | 83.6 yrs | 86.5 yrs | +1.9%since 2014 | 79.7 yrs | 83.2 yrs | 76.0 yrs | |
| Life expectancy, menLife expectancy at birth, men, years | 80.8 yrs2024 | 26/217 | 6/37 | 72.3 yrs | 76.8 yrs | 80.5 yrs | +2.8%since 2014 | 73.9 yrs | 77.8 yrs | 71.1 yrs | |
| Infant mortalityInfant mortality, per 1,000 live births | 2.32024 | 181/196 | 28/30 | 5.8 | 3.3 | 2.5 | −21%since 2014 | 10.7 | 4.2 | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortalityUnder-5 mortality, per 1,000 live births | 2.82024 | 180/196 | 28/30 | 7.6 | 4.1 | 3.1 | −22%since 2014 | 13.2 | 5.1 | 37.4 | |
| Neonatal mortalityNeonatal mortality, per 1,000 live births | 1.22024 | 189/196 | 28/30 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | −29%since 2014 | 6.7 | 2.8 | 17.2 | |
| Maternal mortalityMaternal mortality, per 100,000 live births | 42023 | 180/194 | 28/30 | 15 | 8 | 12 | −43%since 2013 | 66 | 10 | 197 | |
| Measles vaccinationMeasles immunisation, % of children 12–23 months | 97%2024 | 42/193 | 7/30 | 95% | 98% | 98% | −2.0 ppsince 2014 | 90% | 94% | 84% | |
| TuberculosisTuberculosis incidence, per 100,000 people | 352024 | 114/208 | 27/36 | 50 | 97 | 48 | −59%since 2014 | 144 | 12 | 131 | |
| Health spendingCurrent health expenditure, % of GDP | 8.7%2024 | 50/193 | 11/29 | 3.7% | 5.8% | 8.0% | +2.4 ppsince 2014 | 6.8% | 12.5% | 10.1% | |
| Out-of-pocket spendingOut-of-pocket health spending, % of health expenditure | 33.7%2024 | 73/193 | 8/29 | 43.3% | 38.8% | 31.8% | −3.8 ppsince 2014 | 26.0% | 13.4% | 17.3% | |
| PhysiciansPhysicians per 1,000 people | 2.612022 | 71/180 | 7/25 | 1.30 | 2.02 | 2.51 | +24%since 2012 | 2.40 | 3.78 | 1.86 | |
| Hospital bedsHospital beds per 1,000 people | 12.82022 | 2/182 | 1/27 | 4.7 | 8.9 | 12.7 | +23%since 2012 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 3.3 | |
| Basic waterBasic drinking water, % of population | 100.0%2024 | 29/206 | 9/37 | 98.8%2002 | 99.1% | 99.8% | +0.7 ppsince 2014 | 95.3% | 99.2% | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitationBasic sanitation, % of population | 99.7%2024 | 30/203 | 9/37 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 99.8% | −0.2 ppsince 2014 | 94.8% | 98.3% | 82.2% | |
| Tobacco useTobacco use, % of adults | 18.6%2024 | 86/166 | 21/29 | 35.5% | 27.0% | 20.6% | −8.4 ppsince 2010 | 23.1% | 20.2% | 20.3% | |
| Road deathsRoad traffic deaths, per 100,000 people | 8.62019 | 133/186 | 20/26 | 25.6 | 13.7 | 8.62019 | −41%since 2009 | 16.5 | 8.7 | 16.7 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Life expectancy+2.3%83.6 yrs in 2024
- Life expectancy, women+1.9%86.6 yrs in 2024
- Life expectancy, men+2.8%80.8 yrs in 2024
- Infant mortality−21%2.3 in 2024
Worse than ten years ago
- Measles vaccination−2.0 pp97% in 2024
- Basic sanitation−0.2 pp99.7% in 2024
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
South Korea and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with South Korea. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | South Korea | China | Japan | North Korea |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 83.6 yrs2024 | 78.0 yrs2024 | 84.0 yrs2024 | 73.7 yrs2024 |
| Life expectancy, women | 86.6 yrs2024 | 81.0 yrs2024 | 87.1 yrs2024 | 75.9 yrs2024 |
| Life expectancy, men | 80.8 yrs2024 | 75.2 yrs2024 | 81.1 yrs2024 | 71.6 yrs2024 |
| Infant mortality | 2.32024 | 4.12024 | 1.82024 | 13.32024 |
| Under-5 mortality | 2.82024 | 5.72024 | 2.42024 | 16.72024 |
| Neonatal mortality | 1.22024 | 2.62024 | 0.92024 | 8.92024 |
| Maternal mortality | 42023 | 162023 | 32023 | 672023 |
| Measles vaccination | 97%2024 | 95%2024 | 95%2024 | 99%2024 |
| Tuberculosis | 352024 | 492024 | 102024 | — |