# China and South Korea compared

China and South Korea side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 4 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/chn-vs-kor
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- China: 221 BCE — Qin Shi Huang completes the unification of China
- South Korea: 918 — Wang Kŏn founds Goryeo, which gives Korea its name

## Economy

| Metric | China | Observed | South Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $18.74 T | 2024 | $1.88 T | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $13,303 | 2024 | $36,239 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 5.0% | 2024 | 2.0% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 0.2% | 2024 | 2.3% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 37.2% | 2024 | 84.6% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | China | Observed | South Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1.41 bn | 2024 | 52 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 78.0 yrs | 2024 | 83.6 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 65.9% | 2024 | 81.2% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.0 | 2024 | 0.7 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | China | Observed | South Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 27.9 | 2024 | 71.0 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 63.3 | 2024 | 76.8 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 68.8 | 2024 | 80.2 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 53.7 | 2024 | 70.8 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 47.0 | 2024 | 76.2 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 49.6 | 2024 | 65.1 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | China | Observed | South Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 5.9% | 2023 | 8.7% | 2024 |
| Physicians | 3.11 | 2022 | 2.61 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 5.7 | 2024 | 2.8 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 95.0% | 2024 | 97.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | — | — | 99.3% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | China | Observed | South Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 96.7% | 2020 | 98.0% | 2008 |
| Education spending | 3.9% | 2023 | 5.4% | 2022 |
| Primary enrolment | 99.6% | 2024 | 100.9% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 92.3% | 2012 | 96.3% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 76.9% | 2024 | 111.9% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | China | Observed | South Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 2.6% | 2023 | 4.9% | 2023 |
| Researchers (per million) | 2,107 | 2023 | 9,472 | 2023 |
| Internet users | 91.6% | 2025 | 97.9% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 132 | 2024 | 173 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 26.3% | 2024 | 36.3% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | China | Observed | South Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 9,388,210 km² | 2023 | 97,600 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 24.0% | 2023 | 64.1% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 55.4% | 2023 | 16.1% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 9.3 | 2024 | 11.4 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 15.2% | 2021 | 3.6% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | China | Observed | South Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 1.7% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.5% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Copper (mined) | 1.8 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Iron ore | 290 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Gold (mined) | 380 t | 2025 | — | — |
| Lithium (mined) | 62.0 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Cobalt (mined) | 2,000 t | 2025 | — | — |
| Nickel (mined) | 120 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Rare earths | 270 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Bauxite | 87 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Zinc (mined) | 4.1 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Phosphate rock | 110 Mt | 2025 | — | — |

## Military

| Metric | China | Observed | South Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 1.7% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $314 B | 2024 | $48 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 2.5 m | 2020 | 569,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/CHN.md and https://terralore.co/country/KOR.md.

## Entangled histories (4 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 108 BCE: **Fall of Gojoseon to Han China** — The Han dynasty conquers Gojoseon and establishes commanderies in the north, fragmenting the peninsula into smaller competing states. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Korea (history); Gojoseon)
- 668 CE: **Silla unifies the peninsula** — Allied with Tang China, Silla conquers Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668, then expels the Tang, achieving the first unification of Korea under native rule. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Three Kingdoms period; Unified Silla dynasty)
- 1592-1598 CE: **Japanese (Imjin) invasions repelled** — Toyotomi Hideyoshi's forces invade Korea; resistance led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his turtle ships, with Ming Chinese aid, ultimately drives them out. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Joseon dynasty; Korea (history))
- 25 June 1950: **The Korean War** — North Korea invades the South; a US-led UN force and Chinese intervention turn the war into a grinding stalemate that devastates the peninsula and kills millions. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: The Korean War and Japan's Recovery; Korea (history))

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/CHN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/KOR/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "China and South Korea compared", terralore.co/compare/chn-vs-kor, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.