South Korea vs Türkiye

South Korea scores 84.5 in the NationsTree Index (1st in the world) and Türkiye scores 64.7 (47th), a gap of 19.8 points. Their trees are 40 m and 39 m tall; tree height grows with real GDP and is adjusted by the index.

Türkiye has 66% more people than South Korea. Türkiye is 7.8 times larger than South Korea by land area. The economy of Türkiye is 19% larger than that of South Korea (GDP at purchasing power parity). Population: South Korea 51.7 million and Türkiye 85.9 million (2025).

GDP per person at purchasing power parity is $63,125 in South Korea and $45,288 in Türkiye (2025, international dollars). People in South Korea live on average 6.2 years longer (83.6 vs 77.4 years).

Of 37 indicators reported by both countries, South Korea ranks higher in the world on 29 and Türkiye on 8. South Korea is clearly stronger in institutions & safety, society & health and infrastructure & digital. Türkiye is clearly stronger in natural resources, land & people and tourism.

As a nation, South Korea is the older of the two (statehood since 57 BC, 2,082 years), compared with Türkiye (since 1299). Over the last five years South Korea improved faster (direction score 75 vs 71 out of 100).