UCLA Center for East Asian Studies

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South Korea and the United States Today

South Korea	United States
Population
47,470,969 (July 2000 est.)	275,562,673 (July 2000 est.)
annual growth rate: 10% (1999 est.)	annual growth rate: 4.1% (1999 est.)
life exp. 74.43 years (2000 est.)	77.12 years (2000 est.)
infant mortality: 7.85/1,000 (2000 est.)	6.82/1,000 (2000 est.)
birth rate  15.12/1,000(2000 est.)	14.2/1,000 (2000 est.)
minorities 8.1%(1999)	16.6% (1999)
urban population: 81% (2000)	76% (2000)
Density (people/km sq) 475 (2000)	31 (2000)
% < age 15      22% (2000)	21.25% (2000)
% > age 65      7% (2000)	12.64% (2000)

                                                                           

Total Area
98,480 sq km	9,629,091 sq km
cultivated   21%	19%
forest    65%	30%
pasture   1%	25%

 

Health Care
1 physician/724 people (1999)	1 physician/404 people (1999)
1 hospital bed/ people (1999)	1 hospital bed/198 people (1999)

                                                                                     

Indicators of Living Standards
per capita GDP: $13,300 (1999 est.)	per capita GDP: $33,900 (1999 est.)
1 telephone/2.1 people	1 telephone/1.3 people
1 television/3.4 people	1 television/1.2 people
cars:	cars: 143 million
literacy: 98%	literacy: 97%
daily newspapers sold: (1999)	daily newspapers sold: 255/1000 people (1999)
Motor vehicles per 1000 people:  226	767

 

Economic Measures
South Korea  GDP $625.7 billion (1999 est.)	U.S. GDP: $9.255 trillion (1999 est.)
1990-99  average annual growth rate: 5.7%	1990-99 average annual growth rate: 3.3%
defense spending as a share of GDP 3.1%	defense spending share of GDP: 3.1%
defense share of gov't   spending: 20.8%	defense share of gov't spending: 15.9%

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Last Updated on 7/26/01