South Korea vs United States: Share of population that cannot afford a healthy diet
South Korea
4.2%
in 2024
United States
4.5%
in 2024
South Korea rank
122nd
United States rank
119th
Share of population that cannot afford a healthy diet over time
- South Korea
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 4.5% against 4.2% in South Korea, a difference of 0.3%.
That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times South Korea's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 8 shared years of data; in 2017 it was South Korea ahead.
South Korea ranks 122nd and United States ranks 119th of 150 countries.
South Korea has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 8.5% | 4.6% | 3.8% | South Korea |
| 2020s | 4.7% | 3.9% | 0.8% | South Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population that cannot afford a healthy diet, South Korea or United States?
- United States, at 4.5% against 4.2% in South Korea as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of population that cannot afford a healthy diet between South Korea and United States?
- 0.3%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and United States?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 2017 to 2024.
- How do South Korea and United States rank globally for share of population that cannot afford a healthy diet?
- South Korea ranks 122nd and United States ranks 119th of 150 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- FAO and World Bank (2025), using data and methods from Bai et al. (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population that cannot afford a healthy diet. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of the total population unable to afford a healthy diet. A diet is considered unaffordable when the diet cost plus expenditures for basic non-food needs exceed income per capita per day.