Hungary vs South Korea
South Korea is 8% larger than Hungary.
HungarySouth KoreaHungary moved onto South Korea · Equal-area projection
0.93×
Hungary is 0.93× the area of South Korea. Put the other way, South Korea is 1.08× the size of Hungary.
 Hungary |  South Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSouth Korea: 1.08× the area | 93,011 km²#108 of 194 | 100,295 km²#107 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 7 | 1 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Korea: 5.43× the population | 9,514,251#97 of 194 · 2025 | 51,684,564#29 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Korea: 5.04× the density | 102 / km²#86 of 194 | 515 / km²#16 of 194 |
| Urban populationSouth Korea: 1.15× the urban share | 71%#70 of 192 · 2025 | 81%#39 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateHungary: 1.88× the births per woman | 1.41 per woman#155 of 192 · 2024 | 0.75 per woman#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSouth Korea: 0.37 points higher | −0.50%#180 of 192 · 2025 | −0.13%#165 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateHungary: 1.74× the birth rate | 8.2 per 1,000#168 of 192 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000#191 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateHungary: 1.91× the death rate | 13.4 per 1,000#8 of 192 · 2024 | 7.0 per 1,000#102 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Hungary: 4.2 points higher | 14.4%#171 of 192 · 2025 | 10.2%#192 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Hungary: 0.9 points higher | 21.2%#19 of 192 · 2025 | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Korea: 3.0 per 1,000 higher | −1.7 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2025 | +1.3 per 1,000#44 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.22 per 1,000#99 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Korea: 6.9 years longer | 76.7 years#68 of 192 · 2024 | 83.6 years#11 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityHungary: 1.35× the infant mortality | 3.1 per 1,000 births#164 of 191 · 2024 | 2.3 per 1,000 births#175 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsHungary: 1.33× the doctors per person | 3.46 per 1,000#47 of 178 · 2022 | 2.61 per 1,000#71 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentSouth Korea: 1.85× the university enrolment | 60.5%#55 of 145 · 2024 | 111.9%#3 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Korea: 0.067 higher | 0.870#45 of 190 · 2023 | 0.937#19 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSouth Korea: 1.59× the income per person | $23,850#50 of 185 · 2025 | $37,880#29 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Korea: 7.6× the economy | $246.49B2025 | $1.87T2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)South Korea: 1.27× the output per person | $49,838#44 of 184 · 2025 | $63,125#29 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSouth Korea: 0.5 points higher | +0.5%#168 of 187 · 2025 | +1.0%#156 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationHungary: 2.3 points higher | +4.4%#47 of 176 · 2025 | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentHungary: 1.67× the unemployment | 4.5%#106 of 178 · 2025 | 2.7%#149 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyHungary: 9.0× the share in extreme poverty | 0.9%#88 of 149 · 2017 | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2021 |
| Income inequality (Gini)South Korea: 2.3 higher | 30.6#115 of 149 · 2017 | 32.9#95 of 149 · 2021 |
| Jobs in agricultureSouth Korea: 1.0 points higher | 4.1% of jobs#138 of 178 · 2025 | 5.1% of jobs#130 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryHungary: 7.1 points higher | 30.5% of jobs#20 of 178 · 2025 | 23.4% of jobs#51 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Korea: 6.1 points higher | 65.4% of jobs#68 of 178 · 2025 | 71.5% of jobs#46 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSouth Korea: 29.2 points higher | -28.4% of GDP#183 of 184 · 2025 | 0.8% of GDP#137 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsHungary: 26.8 points higher | 72.6% of GDP#20 of 168 · 2025 | 45.8% of GDP#54 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSouth Korea: 1.27× the military spending | 2.0% of GDP#58 of 155 · 2025 | 2.6% of GDP#38 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Korea: 1.04× the share online | 94%#34 of 184 · 2024 | 98%#13 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Korea: 1.65× the mobile subscriptions | 105 per 100#123 of 191 · 2024 | 173 per 100#13 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSouth Korea: 2.82× the forest share | 23% of land#114 of 192 · 2024 | 64% of land#19 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Korea: 2.55× the CO₂ per person | 4.46 t a year#54 of 185 · 2024 | 11.4 t a year#15 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyHungary: 11.7 points higher | 15.3%#120 of 190 · 2021 | 3.6%#161 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Korea: 1.6× the air pollution | 13.7 µg/m³#128 of 191 · 2023 | 21.9 µg/m³#71 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landHungary: 4.6 points higher | 22.3% of land#67 of 191 · 2025 | 17.7% of land#95 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landHungary: 31.9 points higher | 45.2% of land#8 of 190 · 2024 | 13.3% of land#78 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Korea: 10.5× the water stress | 8.1%#97 of 176 · 2022 | 85.2%#21 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSouth Korea: 2.16× the rain and snow | 589 mm#134 of 180 · 2022 | 1,274 mm#71 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Korea: 0.41 higher | +0.51#70 of 193 · 2025 | +0.92#42 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Korea: 0.92 higher | 0.00#82 of 193 · 2025 | +0.92#36 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateHungary: 1.4× the homicide rate | 0.7 per 100,000#123 of 146 · 2023 | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republic | Presidential republic |
| Member of | EU, NATO, Schengen Area, OECD | OECD, G20 |
| Capital | Budapest | Seoul |
| Currency | Hungarian forint (HUF) | South Korean won (KRW) |
| Official languages | Hungarian | Korean, Korean Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+1, summer time UTC+2 | UTC+9 |
| Calling code | +36 | +82 |
| Region | Eastern Europe, Europe | 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. Hungary sits at about 47° N and is stretched to 2.16× its true area; South Korea at 36° N is stretched to 1.54×. That difference is why Hungary looks so much bigger than it is next to South Korea. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Hungary bigger than South Korea?
- No. Hungary is 7% smaller than South Korea. Hungary covers 93,011 km² and South Korea covers 100,295 km².
- How many times does Hungary fit into South Korea?
- About 1.1 times: South Korea has 1.08× the area of Hungary.
- Why do Hungary and South Korea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Hungary is drawn about 2.16× its true area there and South Korea about 1.54×. That is why Hungary looks so much bigger than it really is next to South Korea. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Hungary or South Korea?
- South Korea: 51,684,564 people against 9,514,251. Density: Hungary 102 per km², South Korea 515 per km².
- Which is richer, Hungary or South Korea?
- By gross national income per person, South Korea: $37,880 against $23,850 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.59× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Hungary or South Korea?
- In South Korea: life expectancy at birth is 83.6 years, against 76.7 — 6.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Hungary and South Korea have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Hungary: parliamentary republic; South Korea: presidential republic.