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Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 05 of 12 · Country Index 2026
South Korea: Health & Wellbeing
How long, and how well fed, do people live?
South Korea is placed 8th of 201 countries on health & wellbeing in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Life Expectancy at Birth 84.33 (2023); Under-Five Mortality Rate 2.796 (2024).
Health & Wellbeing
8th
of 201 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
- 84.33Life Expectancy at Birth, 2023Years a newborn would live at current death rates
- 2.796Under-Five Mortality Rate, 2024Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births)
- 3,419Dietary Energy Supply, 2024Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day)
- 1.1Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2023Population in severe food insecurity (%)
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place South Korea on health & wellbeing — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country in that edition, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Life Expectancy at Birth
UN DESA Population Division
Why it is a key: How long people actually live — the one measure of adult health on this site. Child mortality, which it correlates with, is a measure of a health system's reach in the first five years; this is the whole span.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
84.33
Years a newborn would live at current death rates
Higher is better
South Korea: 84.33. Across the 222 countries in this edition, values run from 54.46 (Nigeria) to 86.37 (Monaco); the world median is 74.63.
- World median
- 74.63
- Best in Eastern Asia
- 85.51 Hong Kong
- Land neighbours
- North Korea 73.64
Each grey tick is one of 222 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 2 of 4
Under-Five Mortality Rate
UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME)
Why it is a key: Deaths before a fifth birthday, the most widely used summary of whether a health system reaches people.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
2.796
Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births)
Lower is better
South Korea: 2.796. Across the 200 countries in this edition, values run from 1.26 (San Marino) to 115.65 (Nigeria); the world median is 14.54.
- World median
- 14.54
- Best in Eastern Asia
- 2.434 Japan
- Land neighbours
- North Korea 16.67
Each grey tick is one of 200 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Dietary Energy Supply
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: Whether the food supply covers what the population needs to eat.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
3,419
Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day)
Higher is better
South Korea: 3,419. Across the 155 countries in this edition, values run from 1,757 (Somalia) to 3,962 (United States); the world median is 2,982.
- World median
- 2,982
- Best in Eastern Asia
- 3,504 China
Each grey tick is one of 155 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: The share of people who went without food, established by asking them rather than by modelling the supply.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0
1.1
Population in severe food insecurity (%)
Lower is better
South Korea: 1.1. Across the 133 countries in this edition, values run from 0 (Armenia) to 63.1 (South Sudan); the world median is 4.7.
- World median
- 4.7
- Best in Eastern Asia
- 0.7 Mongolia
Each grey tick is one of 133 countries in the 2023 edition.
02Over time
Which way South Korea is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Life Expectancy at Birth
Years a newborn would live at current death rates · higher is better
South KoreaWorld median
South Korea rose from 76.24 in 2000 to 84.33 in 2023; the world median went from 70.68 to 74.63.
Every year’s figures
Year South Korea World median 2023 84.329 74.630 2022 82.727 74.313 2021 83.852 72.433 2020 83.675 73.063 2019 83.685 74.196 2018 83.340 74.081 2017 83.278 74.029 2016 82.920 74.013 2015 82.540 73.783 2014 82.364 73.330 2013 81.836 73.386 2012 81.308 73.210 2011 81.169 73.003 2010 80.717 72.827 2009 80.550 72.426 2008 79.996 72.264 2007 79.432 72.113 2006 79.035 72.027 2005 78.449 71.876 2004 77.957 71.477 2003 77.497 71.409 2002 77.230 71.173 2001 76.920 70.926 2000 76.235 70.678 Under-Five Mortality Rate
Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births) · lower is better
South KoreaWorld median
South Korea fell from 7.553 in 2000 to 2.796 in 2024; the world median went from 30.43 to 14.54.
Every year’s figures
Year South Korea World median 2024 2.80 14.5 2023 2.85 15.2 2022 2.91 14.7 2021 2.97 15.1 2020 3.05 15.3 2019 3.14 15.7 2018 3.23 16.3 2017 3.32 16.8 2016 3.41 17.5 2015 3.51 17.9 2014 3.62 18.3 2013 3.73 18.7 2012 3.85 18.8 2011 3.98 19.0 2010 4.12 19.2 2009 4.31 20.8 2008 4.54 20.7 2007 4.83 21.8 2006 5.18 22.8 2005 5.57 24.0 2004 5.98 25.9 2003 6.38 26.9 2002 6.77 28.0 2001 7.16 29.1 2000 7.55 30.4 Dietary Energy Supply
Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day) · higher is better
South KoreaWorld median
South Korea rose from 2,987 in 2001 to 3,419 in 2024; the world median went from 2,628 to 2,982.
Every year’s figures
Year South Korea World median 2024 3,419 2,982.0 2023 3,426 2,969.0 2022 3,423 2,962.5 2021 3,404 2,967.0 2020 3,389 2,934.0 2019 3,382 2,912.5 2018 3,383 2,893.0 2017 3,364 2,886.0 2016 3,343 2,863.0 2015 3,327 2,835.0 2014 3,317 2,844.0 2013 3,305 2,856.0 2012 3,307 2,838.0 2011 3,319 2,827.5 2010 3,311 2,808.0 2009 3,271 2,818.0 2008 3,212 2,811.0 2007 3,156 2,810.5 2006 3,100 2,772.0 2005 3,044 2,740.5 2004 2,994 2,712.5 2003 2,972 2,685.0 2002 2,970 2,667.0 2001 2,987 2,628.0 Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity
Population in severe food insecurity (%) · lower is better
South KoreaWorld median
South Korea rose from 0 in 2015 to 1.1 in 2023; the world median went from 3.3 to 4.7.
Every year’s figures
Year South Korea World median 2023 1.1 4.7 2022 0.9 5.4 2021 0.8 5.7 2020 0.7 5.6 2019 0.6 4.5 2018 0.0 3.9 2017 0.0 3.6 2016 0.0 3.3 2015 0.0 3.3
03In context
South Korea beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 201 countries on health & wellbeing, never a place within the region.
1st201stNot placed · 23 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
South Korea and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 201 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Life Expectancy at BirthYears a newborn would live at current death rates | Under-Five Mortality RateDeaths before age five (per 1,000 live births) | Dietary Energy SupplyDietary energy supply (kcal per person per day) | Prevalence of Severe Food InsecurityPopulation in severe food insecurity (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 8th | 84.33 | 2.796 | 3,419 | 1.1 |
 North Korea | 108th | 73.64 | 16.67 | — | — |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Eastern Asia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 201.
Placed either side on health & wellbeing
The countries immediately above and below South Korea in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where South Korea is ahead of the world, and behind
10 more statistics filed under health & wellbeing, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median7
Statistics on which South Korea does better than the middle country measured.
Stunting Prevalence in Children Under FiveUNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates) · 2024 · world median 13.80.85213.8No earlier reading
South Korea: 0.852 · world median 13.8 · Children under 5 who are stunted (%). UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.518 to 52.8; lower is better.
Position 161st of 162 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Human Capital IndexWorld Bank Group · 2020 · world median 0.5640.7990.564No real change since 2010
South Korea: 0.799 · world median 0.564 · HCI score (0–1). World Bank Group, 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 0.292 to 0.879; higher is better.
Position 4th of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.3510.0380.351No real change since 2013
South Korea: 0.038 · world median 0.351 · GII (0 = full equality, 1 = maximum inequality). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.003 to 0.838; lower is better.
Ranked 12th of 172 by UNDP Human Development Report Office.
Maternal Mortality RatioMMEIG · 2023 · world median 46.653.7946.65▲ Improved since 2013
South Korea: 3.79 · world median 46.65 · Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.11 to 992.83; lower is better.
Position 178th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.7620.9370.762No real change since 2013
South Korea: 0.937 · world median 0.762 · HDI score (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.388 to 0.972; higher is better.
Ranked 20th of 193 by UNDP Human Development Report Office.
Global Violent DeathsSmall Arms Survey · 2021 · world median 4.020.64.02No real change since 2011
South Korea: 0.6 · world median 4.02 · Violent deaths per 100,000 people. Small Arms Survey, 2021 edition, data for 2021.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 112.28; lower is better.
Position 185th of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Prevalence of UndernourishmentFAO · 2023 · world median 5.22.55.2▼ Worsened since 2013
South Korea: 2.5 · world median 5.2 · Population undernourished (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 2.5 to 54.2; lower is better.
Position 104th of 104 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median1
Statistics on which South Korea does worse than the middle country measured.
Fatal Occupational InjuriesILO · 2023 · world median 2.0053.932.005▲ Improved since 2013
South Korea: 3.93 · world median 2.005 · Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.12 to 8.409; lower is better.
No better end2
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Pesticide Use per HectareFAO · 2024 · world median 1.7313.031.73Moved since 2014
South Korea: 13.03 · world median 1.73 · Pesticide use (kg per hectare of cropland). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 37.72.
Position 24th of 178 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Average Weekly Hours WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 38.8937.2938.89Moved since 2015
South Korea: 37.29 · world median 38.89 · Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 23.64 to 54.7.
Position 114th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for South Korea
Births Attended by Skilled Health Staff (last 2015), Children with Functional Difficulties, Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six Months, Female Genital Mutilation Prevalence, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Global Report on Food Crises, INFORM Severity Index and Violent Discipline of Children. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Health & Wellbeing among South Korea’s 12 topics
Health & Wellbeing is South Korea’s 5th best-placed topic of 12. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Education & Knowledge1st of 1823/4 keys
- Work & Labour3rd of 1824/4 keys
- Mobility & Connectivity3rd of 1473/3 keys
- Development & Human Capital7th of 1943/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing8th of 2014/4 keys
- Governance & Institutions14th of 1935/5 keys
- Economy & Innovationjoint 15th of 1503/3 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties35th of 1983/3 keys
- Gender & Equality37th of 1783/3 keys
- Peace & Securityjoint 68th of 1773/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience120th of 1913/3 keys
- Environment & Sustainability128th of 1613/3 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on health & wellbeing
The three countries placed highest of 201, and the leaders South Korea can most readily be measured against.
1
San MarinoSouthern Europe
1st of 201 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Matl derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
MonacoWestern Europe
2nd of 201 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Martin Weber derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
AndorraSouthern Europe
3rd of 201 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Tiia Monto derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest placed on all 4 keys
Italy4th4/4 keysHighest in Asia
Japan5th3/4 keysThis page
South Korea8th4/4 keys
Positions out of 201 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about South Korea and health & wellbeing
On health & wellbeing
Global Hunger Index 2025: Countries with the Most Alarming Hunger Crisis
Thirteen countries scored across four editions — 2000, 2008, 2016 and 2025 — and five the report could not score at all. DR Congo and South Sudan share 121st place on 37.5.
On health & wellbeing
World Happiness Report 2025: Finland Leads Again as the US and UK Face Major Declines
The ten highest life evaluations of 2025, drawn on a world map, and the six things the report uses to explain them. Costa Rica and Mexico are the only two outside Europe and the Middle East.
08Questions
South Korea on health & wellbeing: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does South Korea rank on health & wellbeing?
South Korea is placed 8th of 201 countries on Health & Wellbeing in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (Life Expectancy at Birth, Under-Five Mortality Rate, Dietary Energy Supply and Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Life Expectancy at Birth figure for South Korea?
84.33 in 2023 (years a newborn would live at current death rates), according to UN DESA Population Division. The world median in the same edition was 74.63.
What is the latest Under-Five Mortality Rate figure for South Korea?
2.796 in 2024 (deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births)), according to UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME). The world median in the same edition was 14.54.
How does South Korea compare with North Korea on health & wellbeing?
North Korea is placed 108th of 201, and South Korea 8th. Life Expectancy at Birth: North Korea 73.64, South Korea 84.33; Under-Five Mortality Rate: North Korea 16.67, South Korea 2.796.
How have South Korea’s health & wellbeing figures changed?
Life Expectancy at Birth rose from 76.24 in 2000 to 84.33 in 2023; Under-Five Mortality Rate fell from 7.553 in 2000 to 2.796 in 2024; Dietary Energy Supply rose from 2,987 in 2001 to 3,419 in 2024; Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity rose from 0 in 2015 to 1.1 in 2023.
Which health & wellbeing statistics are missing for South Korea?
No current reading is published for South Korea on Births Attended by Skilled Health Staff, Children with Functional Difficulties, Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six Months, Female Genital Mutilation Prevalence, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Global Report on Food Crises, INFORM Severity Index and Violent Discipline of Children. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
South Korea, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions14th of 193
- Economy & Innovation=15th of 150
- Work & Labour3rd of 182
- Education & Knowledge1st of 182
- Development & Human Capital7th of 194
- Environment & Sustainability128th of 161
- Gender & Equality37th of 178
- Democracy & Civil Liberties35th of 198
- Peace & Security=68th of 177
- Risk & Resilience120th of 191
- Mobility & Connectivity3rd of 147
- The full South Korea profile
Nearby, on health & wellbeing
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Health spending, hospital beds and doctors per person are not measured, because more of any of them does not guarantee better outcomes. Mental health and self-reported happiness are not part of this topic. Child nutrition, maternal mortality and many other indicators are published here as context; maternal mortality is a key in Development & Human Capital instead.
How the Health & Wellbeing standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 18 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2024, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 201 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Life Expectancy at Birth — UN DESA Population Division, CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Under-Five Mortality Rate — UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Dietary Energy Supply — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
The other 10 statistics on this page come from 7 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
South Korea’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- South Korea (banner) — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0
- San Marino — Matl derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Monaco — Martin Weber derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Andorra — Tiia Monto derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). South Korea: Health & Wellbeing — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/south-korea/health