South Korea vs United States
United States is 98.0 times larger than South Korea. South Korea would fit into United States about 98 times.
South KoreaUnited StatesSouth Korea moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.01×
South Korea is 0.01× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 98.0× the size of South Korea.
 South Korea |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 98.0× the area | 100,295 km²#107 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 6.61× the population | 51,684,564#29 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Korea: 14.8× the density | 515 / km²#16 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationAbout the same urban share | 81%#39 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateUnited States: 2.17× the births per woman | 0.75 per woman#192 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthUnited States: 0.65 points higher | −0.13%#165 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateUnited States: 2.26× the birth rate | 4.7 per 1,000#191 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 1.29× the death rate | 7.0 per 1,000#102 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15United States: 6.9 points higher | 10.2%#192 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Korea: 1.9 points higher | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited States: 2.3 per 1,000 higher | +1.3 per 1,000#44 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Korea: 4.7 years longer | 83.6 years#11 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityUnited States: 2.39× the infant mortality | 2.3 per 1,000 births#175 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited States: 1.41× the doctors per person | 2.61 per 1,000#71 of 178 · 2022 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentSouth Korea: 1.41× the university enrolment | 111.9%#3 of 145 · 2024 | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexUnited States: 0.001 higher | 0.937#19 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 2.34× the income per person | $37,880#29 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 16.4× the economy | $1.87T2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 1.43× the output per person | $63,125#29 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthUnited States: 1.2 points higher | +1.0%#156 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationUnited States: 0.8 points higher | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentUnited States: 1.56× the unemployment | 2.7%#149 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyUnited States: 11× the share in extreme poverty | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2021 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 8.9 higher | 32.9#95 of 149 · 2021 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureSouth Korea: 3.6 points higher | 5.1% of jobs#130 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Korea: 4.5 points higher | 23.4% of jobs#51 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 8.1 points higher | 71.5% of jobs#46 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentUnited States: 0.2 points higher | 0.8% of GDP#137 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSouth Korea: 34.8 points higher | 45.8% of GDP#54 of 168 · 2025 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 1.2× the military spending | 2.6% of GDP#38 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Korea: 1.03× the share online | 98%#13 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Korea: 1.53× the mobile subscriptions | 173 per 100#13 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSouth Korea: 1.91× the forest share | 64% of land#19 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 1.2× the CO₂ per person | 11.4 t a year#15 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyUnited States: 7.3 points higher | 3.6%#161 of 190 · 2021 | 10.9%#139 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: 3.13× the air pollution | 21.9 µg/m³#71 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSouth Korea: 4.8 points higher | 17.7% of land#95 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 3.3 points higher | 13.3% of land#78 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Korea: 3.02× the water stress | 85.2%#21 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSouth Korea: 1.78× the rain and snow | 1,274 mm#71 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Korea: 1.22 higher | +0.92#42 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Korea: 0.05 higher | +0.92#36 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateUnited States: 11.6× the homicide rate | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2023 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | OECD, G20 | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Seoul | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | South Korean won (KRW) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | Korean, Korean Sign Language | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+9 | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +82 | +1 |
| Region | Eastern Asia, Asia | Northern America, North America |
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. South Korea sits at about 36° N and is stretched to 1.54× its true area; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. 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 South Korea bigger than United States?
- No. South Korea is 98.0 times smaller than United States. South Korea covers 100,295 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does South Korea fit into United States?
- About 98 times: United States has 98.0× the area of South Korea.
- Why do South Korea and United States look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. South Korea is drawn about 1.54× its true area there and United States about 1.98×. 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, South Korea or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 51,684,564. Density: South Korea 515 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, South Korea or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $37,880 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.34× as much.
- Where do people live longer, South Korea or United States?
- In South Korea: life expectancy at birth is 83.6 years, against 78.9 — 4.7 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do South Korea and United States have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).