Country comparison
China vs South Korea
China is 95× the size of South Korea. China has 27× the population of South Korea. South Korea has 2.6× the GDP per capita of China.
Side by side
| China | Category | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| 9,562,910 km² more | Area (2024) China: 95× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 100,460 km² |
| 1.41 billion more | Population (2025) China: 27× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 51.7 million |
| 150 people/km² | Population density (2024) South Korea: 3.5× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 530 people/km² |
| US$ 13,862 | GDP per capita (2025) South Korea: 2.6× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | US$ 36,227 more |
| 78 years | Life expectancy (2024) World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 83.6 years more |
| 92% | Internet users (2024) World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 98% more |
| 39.1 years | Median age (2023) South Korea: 1.1× more Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) | 44.5 years |
| 1.01 births per woman | Fertility rate (2024) China: 1.4× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 0.75 births per woman |
| 9.3 t less | CO₂ emissions per capita (2024) South Korea: 1.2× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 11.4 t |
| 8 more | Castles, fortresses and palaces China: 1.1× more Wikidata (CC0 1.0) | 7 |
| 1 | Ghost stories | 1 |
| 3 | UFO cases China: 3× more | 1 |
| 6 | VPN providers with servers in the country South Korea: 5× more VPN Map (Ominuvo) (CC BY 4.0) | 30 |
| Chinese | Official languages Unicode CLDR (Unicode License v3) | Korean |
| Chinese yuan (renminbi) (CNY) | Currency ISO 4217 | South Korean won (KRW) |
| Type A, C, I · 220 V | Plugs and voltage Shared plug types: C | Type C, F · 220 V |
| UTC+8 | Time zone of the capital Time difference: 1 h IANA tz database (public domain) | UTC+9 |
Values link to the country pages in the Ominuvo series maps. Area: World Bank data (indicator AG.SRF.TOTL.K2: land and inland water, source FAO, CC BY 4.0); “approx.” – no such data for the country: area of the map outline (Natural Earth 1:50m), accurate to about 3%.
More comparisons: China
Source: World Bank – Surface area (AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), FAO (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – WDI: UN World Population Prospects (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – FAO population estimates, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – World Population Prospects, United Nations (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union… (CC BY 4.0), Our World in Data – UN, World Population Prospects (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint… (CC BY 4.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0), VPN Map (Ominuvo) (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR (Unicode License v3), ISO 4217, IANA tz database (public domain), Natural Earth (public domain). Data from the Ominuvo series maps (index of 2026-11-01); details and licences on the map pages.