| Ranking | South Korea | Sweden | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Countries with the highest plug-in hybrid share of car sales2026-11-02 | #49 · 0.86 % | #1 · 25.74 % | Sweden by 48 |
| Countries with the most students reaching minimum maths level (primary)2026-11-02 | #1 · 93.42 % | #19 · 76.89 % | South Korea by 18 |
| Countries with the most researchers per million people2026-11-02 | #2 · 9,471.83 per million people | #3 · 8,910.74 per million people | South Korea by 1 |
| Countries with the highest healthy life expectancy at birth2026-11-02 | #3 · 72.45 years | #8 · 71.12 years | South Korea by 5 |
| Countries with the highest life expectancy at birth2026-11-02 | #3 · 83.8 years | #8 · 82.66 years | South Korea by 5 |
| Countries with the highest rye yields2026-11-02 | #34 · 2.52 tonnes per hectare | #3 · 5.66 tonnes per hectare | Sweden by 31 |
| Countries spending the most on research as a share of GDP2026-11-02 | #3 · 4.94 % of GDP | #4 · 3.6 % of GDP | South Korea by 1 |
| Countries with the highest share of adults with tertiary education2026-11-02 | #3 · 58.3 % | #29 · 30.6 % | South Korea by 26 |
| Countries with the longest life expectancy2026-11-02 | #5 · 84.33 years | #21 · 83.26 years | South Korea by 16 |
| Countries with the highest electric car sales share2026-11-02 | #40 · 11 % | #5 · 61 % | Sweden by 35 |
| Countries with the oldest liberal democracies2026-10-29 | #40 · 1 years | #5 · 104 years | Sweden by 35 |
| Countries with the highest death rates from Alzheimer's and dementias2026-11-02 | #49 · 24.95 per 100,000 people | #5 · 89.54 per 100,000 people | Sweden by 44 |
| Countries with the highest CO₂ emissions from other industry2026-11-02 | #5 · 10.2k thousand tonnes | #17 · 1,686.72 thousand tonnes | South Korea by 12 |
| Countries with the highest primary school completion rates2026-11-02 | #5 · 100 % | #8 · 99.95 % | South Korea by 3 |
| Countries with the highest government procurement spending2026-11-02 | #23 · 13.87 % of GDP | #6 · 17.42 % of GDP | Sweden by 17 |
| Countries using the most coal energy per person2026-11-02 | #6 · 15.4k kWh per person | #38 · 1,585.43 kWh per person | South Korea by 32 |
| Countries with the most students reaching minimum reading level (lower sec.)2026-11-02 | #6 · 85.32 % | #24 · 75.74 % | South Korea by 18 |
| Countries with the largest share of global goods exports2026-11-02 | #6 · 2.8 % | #32 · 0.8 % | South Korea by 26 |
| Countries with the most students reaching minimum maths level (lower sec.)2026-11-02 | #6 · 83.78 % | #22 · 72.78 % | South Korea by 16 |
| Countries with the highest total energy supply2026-11-02 | #7 · 3,603.52 TWh | #46 · 459.59 TWh | South Korea by 39 |
| Countries consuming the most coal2026-11-02 | #8 · 793.18 TWh | #45 · 16.9 TWh | South Korea by 37 |
| Countries generating the most electricity2026-11-02 | #8 · 624.66 TWh | #29 · 170.71 TWh | South Korea by 21 |
| Countries with the largest cumulative CO2 emissions from cement2026-11-02 | #8 · 1,026.22 million tonnes | #50 · 115.41 million tonnes | South Korea by 42 |
| Countries with the most fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people2026-10-29 | #8 · 47.8 per 100 people | #24 · 40.62 per 100 people | South Korea by 16 |
| Countries with the highest manufactured share of exports2026-11-02 | #8 · 87.29 % of merchandise exports | #33 · 72.6 % of merchandise exports | South Korea by 25 |
| Countries with the highest share of people using safely managed sanitation2026-11-02 | #8 · 99.33 % | #23 · 95.35 % | South Korea by 15 |
| Countries with the most planted forest2026-11-02 | #28 · 2,260 thousand hectares | #8 · 8,699 thousand hectares | Sweden by 20 |
| Countries with the most electric car sales2026-11-02 | #9 · 217 thousand cars | #14 · 173 thousand cars | South Korea by 5 |
| Countries with the most electric cars on the road2026-11-02 | #9 · 834 thousand cars | #10 · 800 thousand cars | South Korea by 1 |
| Countries with the most fish and seafood consumption per person2026-11-02 | #9 · 52.82 kg per person per year | #29 · 30.62 kg per person per year | South Korea by 20 |
| Countries with the highest CO2 emissions from coal per person2026-11-02 | #9 · 4.78 tonnes per person | #50 · 0.62 tonnes per person | South Korea by 41 |
| Countries with the highest tomato yields2026-11-02 | #45 · 62.62 tonnes per hectare | #9 · 322.4 tonnes per hectare | Sweden by 36 |
| Countries with the most installed wind energy capacity2026-11-02 | #36 · 2.45 gigawatts | #10 · 17.38 gigawatts | Sweden by 26 |
| Countries with the most installed solar power capacity2026-11-02 | #10 · 34.04 GW | #34 · 5.5 GW | South Korea by 24 |
| Countries with the highest share of births outside marriage2026-11-02 | #39 · 4.72 % | #10 · 57.45 % | Sweden by 29 |
| Countries with the highest share of adults with post-secondary education2026-11-02 | #17 · 49.56 % | #10 · 52.53 % | Sweden by 7 |
| Countries with the highest median daily income2026-11-02 | #12 · 49.8 international-$ per day (2011 prices) | #11 · 50.94 international-$ per day (2011 prices) | Sweden by 1 |
| Countries generating the most hydropower2026-11-02 | #46 · 3.81 TWh | #11 · 68.34 TWh | Sweden by 35 |
| Countries with the most fixed broadband subscriptions2026-11-02 | #11 · 24.72 million subscriptions | #40 · 4.31 million subscriptions | South Korea by 29 |
| Countries with the highest military spending2026-11-02 | #11 · 48.85 billion US dollars | #27 · 14.95 billion US dollars | South Korea by 16 |
| Countries getting the most electricity from nuclear power2026-11-02 | #12 · 29.56 % | #13 · 27.59 % | South Korea by 1 |
| Countries producing the most pig meat2026-11-02 | #12 · 1,455 thousand tonnes | #39 · 246.92 thousand tonnes | South Korea by 27 |
| Countries with the highest wheat yields2026-11-02 | #39 · 3.92 tonnes per hectare | #12 · 6.17 tonnes per hectare | Sweden by 27 |
| Countries with the highest beef yield per animal2026-11-02 | #13 · 332 kilograms per animal | #17 · 325 kilograms per animal | South Korea by 4 |
| Countries emitting the most CO2 from oil2026-11-02 | #13 · 176.14 million tonnes | #50 · 27.15 million tonnes | South Korea by 37 |
| Countries with the highest CO₂ emissions from oil2026-11-01 | #13 · 176.14 million tonnes | #50 · 27.15 million tonnes | South Korea by 37 |
| Countries using the most nitrogen fertilizer per hectare of cropland2026-11-02 | #13 · 139.82 kg per hectare | #45 · 72.76 kg per hectare | South Korea by 32 |
| Countries with the largest share of global CO2 from oil2026-11-02 | #13 · 1.41 % of global total | #50 · 0.22 % of global total | South Korea by 37 |
| Countries with the highest share of people using the internet2026-11-02 | #13 · 97.9 % | #21 · 95.77 % | South Korea by 8 |
| Countries with the highest CO₂ emissions from aviation2026-11-01 | #14 · 14.8k thousand tonnes | #46 · 2,225.78 thousand tonnes | South Korea by 32 |
| Countries with the most adults who drank alcohol in the last year2026-11-02 | #29 · 72.48 % | #14 · 77.53 % | Sweden by 15 |
| Countries with the highest energy use per person2026-11-02 | #15 · 69.75 MWh | #35 · 43.13 MWh | South Korea by 20 |
| Countries with the most nurses and midwives per 1,000 people2026-11-02 | #29 · 9.09 per 1,000 people | #15 · 11.67 per 1,000 people | Sweden by 14 |
| Countries with the largest cumulative CO2 emissions2026-11-02 | #16 · 20.7k million tonnes | #44 · 5,134.55 million tonnes | South Korea by 28 |
| Countries with the largest cumulative CO2 emissions from coal2026-11-02 | #16 · 9,141.67 million tonnes | #37 · 1,528.95 million tonnes | South Korea by 21 |
| Countries generating the most electricity from solar and wind2026-11-02 | #19 · 41.44 TWh | #17 · 43.33 TWh | Sweden by 2 |
| Countries with the largest cumulative CO2 emissions from oil2026-11-02 | #17 · 7,834.82 million tonnes | #29 · 3,373.22 million tonnes | South Korea by 12 |
| Countries with the highest GDP per person employed2026-11-02 | #36 · 99.0k international dollars | #18 · 129.0k international dollars | Sweden by 18 |
| Countries importing the most palm oil2026-11-02 | #18 · 658 thousand tonnes | #40 · 189 thousand tonnes | South Korea by 22 |
| Countries with the largest share of global services exports2026-11-02 | #18 · 1.77 % | #20 · 1.31 % | South Korea by 2 |
| Countries with the highest pre-primary school enrolment2026-11-02 | #22 · 95.6 % | #19 · 96.22 % | Sweden by 3 |
| Countries with the highest share of people using safely managed drinking water2026-11-02 | #30 · 99.28 % | #20 · 99.76 % | Sweden by 10 |
| Countries with the highest pancreatic cancer death rates2026-11-02 | #40 · 6.73 per 100,000 people | #21 · 7.86 per 100,000 people | Sweden by 19 |
| Countries with the highest pneumococcal vaccination coverage in children2026-11-02 | #22 · 97 % | #45 · 95 % | South Korea by 23 |
| Countries with the highest rotavirus vaccination coverage in children2026-11-02 | #22 · 94 % | #39 · 89 % | South Korea by 17 |
| Countries with the highest cereal yields2026-11-02 | #22 · 6.54 tonnes per hectare | #37 · 5.24 tonnes per hectare | South Korea by 15 |
| Countries with the largest cumulative CO2 emissions including land use2026-11-02 | #23 · 20.97 billion tonnes | #46 · 7.56 billion tonnes | South Korea by 23 |
| Countries with the highest foreign investment outflows2026-11-02 | #23 · 2.2 % of GDP | #46 · 1.2 % of GDP | South Korea by 23 |
| Countries with the highest share of people with 4G coverage2026-11-02 | #36 · 99.9 % | #27 · 100 % | Sweden by 9 |
| Countries with the largest current account surpluses relative to GDP2026-11-02 | #33 · 5.28 % of GDP | #28 · 5.92 % of GDP | Sweden by 5 |
| Countries with the most registered vehicles per 1,000 people2026-11-02 | #41 · 500.62 per 1,000 people | #29 · 615.01 per 1,000 people | Sweden by 12 |
| Countries with the highest death rates from Parkinson's disease2026-11-02 | #30 · 8.93 per 100,000 people | #34 · 8.52 per 100,000 people | South Korea by 4 |
| Countries with the most immigrants2026-11-02 | #41 · 1,811.51 thousand people | #35 · 2,272.16 thousand people | Sweden by 6 |
| Countries with the highest second-dose measles vaccination coverage2026-11-02 | #37 · 95 % | #47 · 94 % | South Korea by 10 |
History
Rank history in Countries with the highest plug-in hybrid share of car sales
History appears once this ranking has at least two published snapshots.
Head to head
South Korea vs Sweden, explained
South Korea vs Sweden, head to head across 74 shared rankings. South Korea ranks higher in 49, Sweden ranks higher in 25. On that count South Korea comes out ahead overall, though each ranking measures something different, so the detail below matters more than the tally.
Ranking by ranking: in Countries with the highest plug-in hybrid share of car sales, South Korea is #49 with 0.86 % and Sweden is #1 with 25.74 % (Sweden ahead by 48); in Countries with the most students reaching minimum maths level (primary), South Korea is #1 with 93.42 % and Sweden is #19 with 76.89 % (South Korea ahead by 18); in Countries with the most researchers per million people, South Korea is #2 with 9,471.83 per million people and Sweden is #3 with 8,910.74 per million people (South Korea ahead by 1); in Countries with the highest healthy life expectancy at birth, South Korea is #3 with 72.45 years and Sweden is #8 with 71.12 years (South Korea ahead by 5); in Countries with the highest life expectancy at birth, South Korea is #3 with 83.8 years and Sweden is #8 with 82.66 years (South Korea ahead by 5); in Countries with the highest rye yields, South Korea is #34 with 2.52 tonnes per hectare and Sweden is #3 with 5.66 tonnes per hectare (Sweden ahead by 31).
Within each ranking both entries are measured by the same metric from the same source at the same time, which makes every row a like-for-like comparison. Across rankings the metrics differ, so a lead in one does not cancel out a deficit in another. The rank history chart tracks both entries through every published snapshot of the first shared ranking.
Dates shown next to each ranking are the capture dates of the snapshots used, so you always know how current a comparison is. Each entry also has a profile page listing every ranking it appears in, and each ranking has a quiz if you want to test whether you could have named the top 10.
Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value: each number is fetched from its source, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails the gate, the previous snapshot stays live and the problem is reviewed by a person.
Frequently asked questions
- Who ranks higher, South Korea or Sweden?
- South Korea ranks higher in more shared rankings (49 of 74). In Countries with the highest plug-in hybrid share of car sales, South Korea is #49 and Sweden is #1.
- In how many rankings do South Korea and Sweden both appear?
- 74 current rankings.
- How current is this comparison?
- The newest shared snapshot was captured on 2026-11-02.