South Korea vs Spain

South Korea and Spain 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.

• South Korea and Spain have about the same number of people: 51.7 million and 49.4 million in 2025.
• GDP per person in Spain ($38,627) is 7% higher than in South Korea ($36,227) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in Spain (2.8%) than in South Korea (1%), a difference of 1.8 percentage points in 2025.
• Consumer prices rose faster in Spain (2.7%) than in South Korea (2.1%), a difference of 0.6 percentage points in 2025.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Spain (10.4%) than in South Korea (2.7%), a difference of 7.7 percentage points in 2025.
• A baby born in Spain can expect to live 0.3 years longer than one born in South Korea: 83.9 years against 83.6 years in 2024.
• Half of the population is older than about 44.5 years in both South Korea and Spain in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in South Korea (97.9%) than in Spain (95.8%), a difference of 2.1 percentage points in 2024.
• CO2 emissions per person in South Korea (11.4 tonnes) are about 2.5 times as high as in Spain (4.5 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in South Korea (64.4%) than in Spain (38.2%), a difference of 26.2 percentage points in 2024.