Guatemala vs South Korea
Guatemala is 9% larger than South Korea.
GuatemalaSouth KoreaGuatemala moved onto South Korea · Equal-area projection
1.09×
Guatemala is 1.09× the area of South Korea.
 Guatemala |  South Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaGuatemala: 1.09× the area | 108,889 km²#105 of 194 | 100,295 km²#107 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 4 | 1 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Korea: 2.77× the population | 18,687,881#70 of 194 · 2025 | 51,684,564#29 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Korea: 3.0× the density | 172 / km²#55 of 194 | 515 / km²#16 of 194 |
| Urban populationSouth Korea: 1.44× the urban share | 56%#116 of 192 · 2025 | 81%#39 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateGuatemala: 3.05× the births per woman | 2.29 per woman#81 of 192 · 2024 | 0.75 per woman#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthGuatemala: 1.65 points higher | +1.52%#67 of 192 · 2025 | −0.13%#165 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateGuatemala: 4.38× the birth rate | 20.6 per 1,000#68 of 192 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000#191 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Korea: 1.43× the death rate | 4.9 per 1,000#173 of 192 · 2024 | 7.0 per 1,000#102 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Guatemala: 20.8 points higher | 31.0%#65 of 192 · 2025 | 10.2%#192 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Korea: 15.3 points higher | 5.0%#123 of 192 · 2025 | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Korea: 1.7 per 1,000 higher | −0.4 per 1,000#95 of 192 · 2025 | +1.3 per 1,000#44 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 1.87 per 1,000#46 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Korea: 10.9 years longer | 72.7 years#106 of 192 · 2024 | 83.6 years#11 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityGuatemala: 7.48× the infant mortality | 17.2 per 1,000 births#73 of 191 · 2024 | 2.3 per 1,000 births#175 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSouth Korea: 2.04× the doctors per person | 1.28 per 1,000#100 of 178 · 2020 | 2.61 per 1,000#71 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentSouth Korea: 4.1× the university enrolment | 27.3%#103 of 145 · 2023 | 111.9%#3 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Korea: 0.275 higher | 0.662#134 of 190 · 2023 | 0.937#19 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSouth Korea: 5.96× the income per person | $6,360#99 of 185 · 2025 | $37,880#29 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Korea: 15.2× the economy | $123.31B2025 | $1.87T2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)South Korea: 4.15× the output per person | $15,197#109 of 184 · 2025 | $63,125#29 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthGuatemala: 3.3 points higher | +4.3%#64 of 187 · 2025 | +1.0%#156 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSouth Korea: 0.6 points higher | +1.5%#128 of 176 · 2025 | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSouth Korea: 1.04× the unemployment | 2.6%#154 of 178 · 2025 | 2.7%#149 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyGuatemala: 97.0× the share in extreme poverty | 9.7%#46 of 149 · 2023 | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2021 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Guatemala: 12.3 higher | 45.2#15 of 149 · 2023 | 32.9#95 of 149 · 2021 |
| Jobs in agricultureGuatemala: 24.0 points higher | 29.1% of jobs#62 of 178 · 2025 | 5.1% of jobs#130 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Korea: 0.7 points higher | 22.7% of jobs#58 of 178 · 2025 | 23.4% of jobs#51 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Korea: 23.3 points higher | 48.2% of jobs#127 of 178 · 2025 | 71.5% of jobs#46 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentGuatemala: 0.6 points higher | 1.4% of GDP#112 of 184 · 2025 | 0.8% of GDP#137 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSouth Korea: 30.2 points higher | 15.6% of GDP#147 of 168 · 2025 | 45.8% of GDP#54 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSouth Korea: 5.0× the military spending | 0.5% of GDP#143 of 155 · 2025 | 2.6% of GDP#38 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Korea: 1.63× the share online | 60%#134 of 184 · 2024 | 98%#13 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Korea: 1.53× the mobile subscriptions | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 | 173 per 100#13 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSouth Korea: 1.95× the forest share | 33% of land#94 of 192 · 2024 | 64% of land#19 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Korea: 10.2× the CO₂ per person | 1.11 t a year#126 of 185 · 2024 | 11.4 t a year#15 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyGuatemala: 58.5 points higher | 62.1%#35 of 190 · 2021 | 3.6%#161 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySouth Korea: 9.1 points higher | 90.9%#137 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Guatemala: 1.36× the air pollution | 29.7 µg/m³#50 of 191 · 2023 | 21.9 µg/m³#71 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landGuatemala: 2.4 points higher | 20.1% of land#82 of 191 · 2025 | 17.7% of land#95 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landGuatemala: 4.2 points higher | 17.5% of land#61 of 190 · 2024 | 13.3% of land#78 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Korea: 14.9× the water stress | 5.7%#115 of 176 · 2022 | 85.2%#21 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationGuatemala: 1.57× the rain and snow | 1,996 mm#33 of 180 · 2022 | 1,274 mm#71 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Korea: 1.13 higher | −0.21#120 of 193 · 2025 | +0.92#42 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Korea: 1.84 higher | −0.92#147 of 193 · 2025 | +0.92#36 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateGuatemala: 46.8× the homicide rate | 23.4 per 100,000#15 of 146 · 2023 | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republic |
| Member of | — | OECD, G20 |
| Capital | Guatemala City | Seoul |
| Currency | Quetzal (GTQ) | South Korean won (KRW) |
| Official languages | Spanish | Korean, Korean Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−6 | UTC+9 |
| Calling code | +502 | +82 |
| Region | Central America, North America | Eastern Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Guatemala sits at about 16° N and is stretched to 1.08× its true area; South Korea at 36° N is stretched to 1.54×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Guatemala bigger than South Korea?
- Yes. Guatemala is 9% larger than South Korea. Guatemala covers 108,889 km² and South Korea covers 100,295 km².
- How many times does South Korea fit into Guatemala?
- About 1.1 times: Guatemala has 1.09× the area of South Korea.
- Why do Guatemala and South Korea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Guatemala is drawn about 1.08× its true area there and South Korea about 1.54×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Guatemala or South Korea?
- South Korea: 51,684,564 people against 18,687,881. Density: Guatemala 172 per km², South Korea 515 per km².
- Which is richer, Guatemala or South Korea?
- By gross national income per person, South Korea: $37,880 against $6,360 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 5.96× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Guatemala or South Korea?
- In South Korea: life expectancy at birth is 83.6 years, against 72.7 — 10.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Guatemala and South Korea have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).