Italy vs South Korea

Italy and South Korea compared on 10 key figures from official sources. Each value is the latest one published for that country, so the year is shown with it.

• Italy has about 1.1 times as many people as South Korea: 58.9 million against 51.7 million in 2025.
• GDP per person in Italy ($43,309) is 20% higher than in South Korea ($36,227) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in South Korea (1%) than in Italy (0.5%), a difference of 0.5 percentage points in 2025.
• Consumer prices rose faster in South Korea (2.1%) than in Italy (1.5%), a difference of 0.6 percentage points in 2025.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Italy (6.4%) than in South Korea (2.7%), a difference of 3.7 percentage points in 2025.
• A baby born in Italy can expect to live 0.4 years longer than one born in South Korea: 84 years against 83.6 years in 2024.
• The population of Italy is older: half of its people are over 47.5 years, against 44.5 years in South Korea in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in South Korea (97.9%) than in Italy (89.2%), a difference of 8.7 percentage points in 2024.
• CO2 emissions per person in South Korea (11.4 tonnes) are about 2.2 times as high as in Italy (5.1 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in South Korea (64.4%) than in Italy (31.8%), a difference of 32.6 percentage points in 2024.