Compare
Bangladesh vs South Korea
How Bangladesh and South Korea compare on 39 measures, from 1789 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, South Korea was higher: 84.3 years against 74.7 years
- GDP per person · In 2025, South Korea was higher: $37,470 against $1,985
- Population · In 2023, Bangladesh was higher: 172 million people against 51.8 million people
- Military spending · In 2025, South Korea was higher: 2.6% of GDP against 0.81% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, South Korea was higher: 11.36 tonnes against 0.72 tonnes
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyBangladesh: 74.7 years in 2023South Korea: 84.3 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBangladesh: 3.1 per 100 live births in 2024South Korea: 0.3 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBangladesh: 22.8 per 1,000 live births in 2023South Korea: 2.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterBangladesh: 59.1% in 2022South Korea: 99.3% in 2022
- DepressionBangladesh: 4.11% in 2017South Korea: 3.17% in 2017
- Suicide rateBangladesh: 6 per 100,000 people in 2017South Korea: 20.8 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBangladesh: 172 million people in 2023South Korea: 51.8 million people in 2023
- Population growthBangladesh: 1.21% a year in 2023South Korea: -0.04% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateBangladesh: 2.16 births per woman in 2023South Korea: 0.72 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBangladesh: 33.2% in 2025South Korea: 81.2% in 2025
- Median ageBangladesh: 25.3 years in 2023South Korea: 44.5 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBangladesh: 6.3% in 2023South Korea: 18.3% in 2023
- Net migration rateBangladesh: -3.2 per 1,000 people in 2023South Korea: 1.7 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBangladesh: 0.81% of GDP in 2025South Korea: 2.6% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBangladesh: $3.67B in 2025South Korea: $48.9B in 2025
- Military spending per personBangladesh: $22 in 2025South Korea: $924 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBangladesh: 7.1% of government spending in 2025South Korea: 10.8% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBangladesh: 227,000 people in 2020South Korea: 569,000 people in 2020
- National powerBangladesh: 1.01% of world capability in 2022South Korea: 2% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBangladesh: 0.32% of the labour force in 2020South Korea: 2.01% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBangladesh: 32 million TIV in 2025South Korea: 222 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsBangladesh: 2 million TIV in 1984South Korea: 2.02 billion TIV in 2025
Climate
Technology and environment
Each country on its own
Good to know
- Sources: UN, Gapminder and UN IGME, WHO/UNICEF, IHME, World Bank, IMF, UNESCO, Our World in Data, V-Dem, UCDP, SIPRI, IISS, Correlates of War, ERA5, CMIP6, EDGAR, ITU and FAO. Each measure’s page names its own and what it counts.
- Values are drawn on today’s borders. Years without a published value are left empty, never filled in.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time