Malaysia’s coastline is 94% longer than South Korea’s

Malaysia: 4,675 km (2026 edition) · South Korea: 2,413 km (2026 edition)

Malaysia’s highest peak towers 2,145 m above South Korea’s

Malaysia: 4,095 m (2026 edition) · South Korea: 1,950 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 25% of Malaysia, versus 16% of South Korea

Malaysia: 24.8% (2024) · South Korea: 16% (2024)

South Korea has 44% more people than Malaysia

Malaysia: 36 million (2025) · South Korea: 51.7 million (2025)

South Korea is 4.8 times as densely populated as Malaysia

Malaysia: 110 per km² (2025) · South Korea: 530 per km² (2025)

The typical person in South Korea is 14 years older than in Malaysia

Malaysia: 30.1 years (2023) · South Korea: 44.5 years (2023)

Women in Malaysia have 0.8 more children on average than in South Korea

Malaysia: 1.54 children per woman (2024) · South Korea: 0.75 children per woman (2024)

20% of people in South Korea are 65 or older, versus 8.0% in Malaysia

Malaysia: 8% (2025) · South Korea: 20.3% (2025)

Malaysia hosts 49 times as many refugees per resident as South Korea

Malaysia: 4.2 per 1,000 (2025) · South Korea: 0.1 per 1,000 (2025)

South Korea has produced 0.6 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Malaysia none

Malaysia: 0 (2026) · South Korea: 0.6 (2026)

Malaysia has 2 official languages, South Korea 1

Malaysia: 2 (2026) · South Korea: 1 (2026)

South Korea’s economy is 4 times the size of Malaysia’s

Malaysia: $472 billion (2025) · South Korea: $1.87 trillion (2025)

South Korea produces 52% more per person than Malaysia

Malaysia: Int$41,498 (2025) · South Korea: Int$63,125 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in Malaysia than in South Korea (Gini 7.8 points higher)

Malaysia: 40.7 (2021) · South Korea: 32.9 (2021)

South Korea and Malaysia are practically level

Malaysia: 0% (2021) · South Korea: 0.1% (2021)

Unemployment is 3.8% in Malaysia, versus 2.7% in South Korea

Malaysia: 3.8% (2025) · South Korea: 2.7% (2025)

South Korea spends 2.6% of its GDP on the military, Malaysia 1.0%

Malaysia: 1% (2025) · South Korea: 2.6% (2025)

South Korea’s central government collects 13% of GDP in tax, Malaysia’s 12%

Malaysia: 12.4% (2024) · South Korea: 13.3% (2024)

South Korea’s price level (US = 100) is 1.8× Malaysia’s

Malaysia: 32% (2025) · South Korea: 57% (2025)

South Korea spends 7 times as much on health per person as Malaysia

Malaysia: $450 (2023) · South Korea: $3,137 (2024)

A baby in Malaysia is 3 times as likely to die before turning one as in South Korea

Malaysia: 7 per 1,000 (2024) · South Korea: 2.3 per 1,000 (2024)

South Korea has 11% more doctors per person than Malaysia

Malaysia: 2.3 per 1,000 (2023) · South Korea: 2.6 per 1,000 (2022)

South Korea has 6.5 times as many hospital beds per person as Malaysia

Malaysia: 2 per 1,000 (2023) · South Korea: 12.8 per 1,000 (2022)

The suicide rate in South Korea is 4.7 times that in Malaysia

Malaysia: 5 per 100k (2023) · South Korea: 23.4 per 100k (2023)

24% of adults in Malaysia are obese, versus 7.5% in South Korea

Malaysia: 23.6% (2024) · South Korea: 7.5% (2024)

19% of adults in South Korea smoke, versus 17% in Malaysia

Malaysia: 16.9% (2024) · South Korea: 18.6% (2024)

People in South Korea rate their lives 0.04 points higher than in Malaysia

Malaysia: 6.01 (2025) · South Korea: 6.04 (2025)

Adults in South Korea drink 10 times as much alcohol as in Malaysia

Malaysia: 0.8 litres (2023) · South Korea: 8.3 litres (2023)

South Korea has 22% more meat per person than Malaysia

Malaysia: 69.1 kg (2023) · South Korea: 84 kg (2023)

South Korea has 504 kcal more food per person per day than Malaysia

Malaysia: 2,927 kcal (2023) · South Korea: 3,430 kcal (2023)

Workers in Malaysia put in 397 more hours a year than in South Korea

Malaysia: 2,308 hours (2023) · South Korea: 1,910 hours (2023)

Adults in South Korea went to school 1.6 years longer than in Malaysia

Malaysia: 11.1 years (2023) · South Korea: 12.7 years (2023)

South Korea welcomed 9% more tourists per resident than Malaysia (2019)

Malaysia: 0.29 (2022) · South Korea: 0.32 (2024)

South Korea has 11 more World Heritage sites than Malaysia (17 against 6)

Malaysia: 6 (2026) · South Korea: 17 (2026)

South Korea has won 409 Olympic medals, Malaysia 15

Malaysia: 15 (2026 edition) · South Korea: 409 (2026 edition)

Malaysia and South Korea are practically level

Malaysia: 98% (2024) · South Korea: 98% (2024)

Home internet in South Korea is 11% faster than in Malaysia

Malaysia: 269 Mbps (2026) · South Korea: 298 Mbps (2026)

Malaysia and South Korea are practically level

Malaysia: 100% (2024) · South Korea: 100% (2024)

81% of people in South Korea live in cities, versus 77% in Malaysia

Malaysia: 77% (2025) · South Korea: 81% (2025)

South Korea has 173 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Malaysia 140

Malaysia: 140 (2024) · South Korea: 173 (2024)

South Korea’s railway network is 2.6 times as long as Malaysia’s

Malaysia: 1,655 km (2021) · South Korea: 4,309 km (2021)

Airlines from South Korea fly 14% more passengers per resident than those from Malaysia

Malaysia: 1.3 (2023) · South Korea: 1.48 (2023)

Forest covers 64% of South Korea, but only 58% of Malaysia

Malaysia: 57.7% (2024) · South Korea: 64.4% (2024)

The average person in South Korea emits 38% more CO₂ than someone in Malaysia

Malaysia: 8.2 t (2024) · South Korea: 11.3 t (2024)

21% of Malaysia’s electricity is renewable, versus 10% in South Korea

Malaysia: 20.7% (2025) · South Korea: 10.4% (2025)

The air in South Korea carries 37% more fine dust than in Malaysia

Malaysia: 15.3 µg/m³ (2024) · South Korea: 21 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 54% more likely to be murdered in Malaysia than in South Korea

Malaysia: 0.7 per 100k (2023) · South Korea: 0.5 per 100k (2023)

Roads in Malaysia are 86% deadlier than in South Korea

Malaysia: 16.2 per 100k (2023) · South Korea: 8.7 per 100k (2023)

Malaysia is on average 12.8 °C warmer than South Korea

Malaysia: 26°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Korea: 13.2°C (2016–2025 avg)

Malaysia gets 2.4 times as much rain as South Korea

Malaysia: 3,081 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Korea: 1,265 mm (2016–2025 avg)