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Country guide· 22 min read

South Korea rankings 2026: where South Korea places in 156 global Top 10s

South Korea is #1 in Countries with the most hospital beds per 1,000 people, #1 in 2 rankings and inside the top 10 of 42 rankings. Every position, value and source, regenerated as the data refreshes.

South Korea appears in 156 of the 491 live country rankings on Top10Earth. This guide walks through every one of them: where South Korea is number one, where it makes the top 10, where it sits further down the table, and what has moved since the previous snapshot. Its best position is #1 in Countries with the most hospital beds per 1,000 people, where it is measured at 12.81 per 1,000 people (Hospital beds) as of 2026-11-02. South Korea holds the #1 spot in 2 rankings and finishes inside the top 10 in 42 rankings.

Where South Korea is number one

South Korea leads the world in 2 rankings. In each case the runner-up and the gap are shown so the lead can be judged, not just the position.

Top 10 finishes

South Korea is inside the top 10 of 40 further rankings beyond the ones it leads. Each entry names the country directly above it, which is the position to beat at the next refresh.

The remaining 28 top-10 positions are in the full list at the end of this guide.

South Korea by theme

The rankings are grouped by category below, so the economic picture, the health picture and the environmental picture can be read separately. Positions are out of the number of countries each source reports, which differs by ranking.

Environment and energy

In environment and energy, South Korea holds 59 positions: #5 of 50 in Countries generating the most coal electricity per person (3,765.07 kWh per person), #5 of 46 in Countries with the highest CO₂ emissions from other industry (10.2k thousand tonnes), #6 of 50 in Countries using the most coal energy per person (15.4k kWh per person) and #7 of 50 in Countries generating the most electricity from fossil fuels (375.06 TWh). 55 more rankings are listed below.

Food and agriculture

In food and agriculture, South Korea holds 35 positions: #6 of 50 in Countries producing the most farmed fish (2,281.88 thousand metric tons), #9 of 50 in Countries with the most fish and seafood consumption per person (52.82 kg per person per year), #12 of 50 in Countries producing the most pig meat (1,455 thousand tonnes) and #13 of 50 in Countries using the most nitrogen fertilizer per hectare of cropland (139.82 kg per hectare). 31 more rankings are listed below.

World and society

In world and society, South Korea holds 23 positions: #3 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of adults with tertiary education (58.3 %), #8 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of people using safely managed sanitation (99.33 %), #9 of 50 in Countries with the largest military share of population (1.07 %) and #9 of 50 in Countries with the most military personnel (555 thousand people). 19 more rankings are listed below.

Health and wellbeing

In health and wellbeing, South Korea holds 14 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries with the most hospital beds per 1,000 people (12.81 per 1,000 people), #3 of 50 in Countries with the highest healthy life expectancy at birth (72.45 years), #3 of 50 in Countries with the highest life expectancy at birth (83.8 years) and #5 of 50 in Countries with the longest life expectancy (84.33 years). 10 more rankings are listed below.

Finance and crypto

In finance and crypto, South Korea holds 13 positions: #6 of 50 in Countries with the largest share of global goods exports (2.8 %), #7 of 50 in Countries with the highest manufacturing share of the economy (27.43 % of GDP), #8 of 50 in Countries with the highest manufactured share of exports (87.29 % of merchandise exports) and #10 of 50 in Countries with the largest stock market value relative to GDP (147.23 % of GDP). 9 more rankings are listed below.

Education and science

In education and science, South Korea holds 7 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries with the most students reaching minimum maths level (primary) (93.42 %), #2 of 50 in Countries with the most researchers per million people (9,471.83 per million people), #3 of 50 in Countries spending the most on research as a share of GDP (4.94 % of GDP) and #5 of 50 in Countries with the highest primary school completion rates (100 %). 3 more rankings are listed below.

Consumer tech

In consumer tech, South Korea holds 5 positions: #8 of 50 in Countries with the most fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (47.8 per 100 people), #11 of 50 in Countries with the most fixed broadband subscriptions (24.72 million subscriptions), #13 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of people using the internet (97.9 %) and #21 of 50 in Countries with the most mobile phone subscriptions (89.22 million subscriptions). 1 more ranking is listed below.

What changed at the latest refresh

Comparing each ranking's newest snapshot with the one before it, South Korea moved in 139 rankings:

Where South Korea ranks lowest

A guide that only listed wins would be misleading. South Korea's lowest current positions are 49th of 50 in Countries with the fastest export growth (6.83 %), 49th of 50 in Countries with the highest death rates from Alzheimer's and dementias (24.95 per 100,000 people) and 49th of 50 in Countries with the highest plug-in hybrid share of car sales (0.86 %). Whether a low position is good or bad depends on the metric: being near the bottom of an emissions or mortality ranking is the better place to be.

Every ranking that includes South Korea

How to read these numbers

Each ranking measures one metric from one named source at one time, so a #3 in one table and a #3 in another are not directly comparable. Countries also report in different years: the capture date is when Top10Earth fetched the data, while the source's own year is stated on each ranking page under methodology. For a side-by-side with another country on the same measures, open any ranking and use the head-to-head links, or visit South Korea's entity page for the live table and rank-history chart.

Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value. Each number is fetched from its source on a schedule, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails that gate the previous snapshot stays live and a person looks at why. Every past snapshot is kept, which is what makes the rank-history charts on each ranking page possible.

Questions people ask about South Korea

What is South Korea's best ranking on Top10Earth?

#1 in Countries with the most hospital beds per 1,000 people, with 12.81 per 1,000 people (Hospital beds) as of 2026-11-02.

How many rankings include South Korea?

156 current country rankings out of 491 on the site, including 2 rankings where it is #1.

Is South Korea in the top 10 of anything?

Yes: 42 rankings, including #1 in Countries with the most hospital beds per 1,000 people, #1 in Countries with the most students reaching minimum maths level (primary) and #2 in Countries with the most researchers per million people.

Where do the numbers come from?

From Our World in Data. Each ranking page names its source, metric definition and capture date.

When was this guide last updated?

The newest snapshot used here was captured on 2026-11-02. The guide is regenerated automatically as rankings refresh.

Live table and history →

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