South Korea vs Vietnam
South Korea vs Vietnam: Government debt
Government debt: 49.6% of GDP in South Korea in 2024 and 30.5% of GDP in Vietnam in 2025, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in South Korea, by 18.4 percentage points, or 1.59 times that in Vietnam.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- South Korea has been higher since 2020, when it overtook Vietnam.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts South Korea at 49.7% of GDP and Vietnam at 24.5% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | South Korea | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 52.4 | 30.5 |
| 2024 | 49.6 | 31.2 |
| 2023 | 50.6 | 34.3 |
| 2022 | 49.7 | 34.9 |
| 2021 | 48 | 39.2 |
| 2020 | 45.9 | 41.3 |
| 2019 | 39.7 | 41 |
| 2018 | 37.9 | 43.8 |
| 2017 | 38 | 46.6 |
| 2016 | 39.1 | 47.9 |
| 2015 | 38.8 | 46.1 |
| 2014 | 37.9 | 43.4 |
| 2013 | 36 | 41.4 |
| 2012 | 33.5 | 38.3 |
| 2011 | – | 36.2 |
| 2010 | – | 37.3 |
| 2009 | – | 36.2 |
| 2008 | – | 31.1 |
| 2007 | – | 32.2 |
| 2006 | – | 30.3 |
| 2005 | – | 28.7 |
| 2004 | – | 29.4 |
| 2003 | – | 29.8 |
| 2002 | – | 27.7 |
| 2001 | – | 25.4 |
| 2000 | – | 24.8 |
- 12.3Projected
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | South Korea | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 47.3 | 28.3 |
| 2027 | 46.2 | 26.2 |
| 2028 | 47 | 25.3 |
| 2029 | 48.2 | 24.6 |
| 2030 | 49.2 | 24.4 |
| 2031 | 49.7 | 24.5 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
South Korea vs Vietnam
Health
- Life expectancySouth Korea: 84.3 years in 2023Vietnam: 74.6 years in 2023
- Child mortalitySouth Korea: 0.3 per 100 live births in 2024Vietnam: 1.7 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalitySouth Korea: 2.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023Vietnam: 15.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterSouth Korea: 99.3% in 2022Vietnam: 57.8% in 2022
- DepressionSouth Korea: 3.17% in 2017Vietnam: 2.88% in 2017
- Suicide rateSouth Korea: 20.8 per 100,000 people in 2017Vietnam: 7.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationSouth Korea: 51.8 million people in 2023Vietnam: 100 million people in 2023
- Population growthSouth Korea: -0.04% a year in 2023Vietnam: 0.64% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateSouth Korea: 0.72 births per woman in 2023Vietnam: 1.91 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationSouth Korea: 81.2% in 2025Vietnam: 38.8% in 2025
- Median ageSouth Korea: 44.5 years in 2023Vietnam: 32.4 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overSouth Korea: 18.3% in 2023Vietnam: 8.6% in 2023
- Net migration rateSouth Korea: 1.7 per 1,000 people in 2023Vietnam: -0.8 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingSouth Korea: 2.6% of GDP in 2025Vietnam: 2.15% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsSouth Korea: $48.9B in 2025Vietnam: $10.9B in 2025
- Military spending per personSouth Korea: $924 in 2025Vietnam: $104 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingSouth Korea: 10.8% of government spending in 2025Vietnam: 9.9% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelSouth Korea: 569,000 people in 2020Vietnam: 522,000 people in 2020
- National powerSouth Korea: 2% of world capability in 2022Vietnam: 1.11% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersSouth Korea: 2.01% of the labour force in 2020Vietnam: 0.95% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsSouth Korea: 222 million TIV in 2025Vietnam: 177 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsSouth Korea: 2.02 billion TIV in 2025Vietnam: 10 million TIV in 2018