South Korea vs Upper middle income: Life expectancy at birth, total

South Korea
83.63 years
in 2024
Upper middle income
76.05 years
in 2024
South Korea rank
14th
Upper middle income rank
9th

Life expectancy at birth, total over time

  • South Korea
  • Upper middle income
020406080196019922024

How they compare

South Korea currently reports 83.63 years against 76.05 years in Upper middle income, a difference of 7.58 years.

That makes South Korea's figure about 1.1 times Upper middle income's.

Across all 65 years both countries report, South Korea has been ahead every year.

South Korea ranks 14th and Upper middle income ranks 9th of 217 countries.

South Korea has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Korea Upper middle income Difference Ahead
1960s 56.85 years 52.86 years 3.99 years South Korea
1970s 63.93 years 60.34 years 3.59 years South Korea
1980s 68.53 years 65.42 years 3.11 years South Korea
1990s 73.54 years 68.94 years 4.6 years South Korea
2000s 77.94 years 72.01 years 5.93 years South Korea
2010s 81.73 years 74.75 years 6.98 years South Korea
2020s 83.34 years 75.43 years 7.9 years South Korea

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher life expectancy at birth, total, South Korea or Upper middle income?
South Korea, at 83.63 years against 76.05 years in Upper middle income as of 2024.
What is the difference in life expectancy at birth, total between South Korea and Upper middle income?
7.58 years, with South Korea ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Upper middle income?
65 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
How do South Korea and Upper middle income rank globally for life expectancy at birth, total?
South Korea ranks 14th and Upper middle income ranks 9th of 217 countries.
Where does this data come from?
World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Life expectancy at birth, total (years). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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South Korea vs Upper middle income: Life expectancy at birth, total. Statizoid, drawing on World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/life-expectancy-at-birth-total-years/korea-rep/upper-middle-income/

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About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
Unit
years
Source
World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
265 places, 17,191 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.