Myeongdong, Seoul (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
RIYADH, Nov. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea ranked lowest in life satisfaction according to a new international survey released on October 30, highlighting growing concerns about quality of life in one of Asia’s most developed economies.
The survey, conducted by Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative (FII), polled 50,700 adults across 24 countries between July 15 and 27. Only 39% of South Korean respondents reported being satisfied with their lives, placing the country at the bottom of the list, followed by Turkey (41%) and Japan (43%).
In stark contrast, Saudi Arabia led the satisfaction rankings at 84%, followed by Egypt (81%) and India (76%).
When asked about satisfaction with their country’s current situation, South Korea tied with France and Argentina for the lowest rating at 14%. China (80%), Saudi Arabia (78%), and India (68%) showed the highest levels of national satisfaction.
The survey also revealed significant economic concerns among South Koreans, with 47% citing “cost of living” as their primary concern, ranking fifth highest among surveyed nations. Countries showing even greater concern about living costs included Turkey (64%), Argentina (63%), Mexico (50%), and Indonesia (49%).
By comparison, economic concerns were less prominent in India (20%), Germany (27%), Côte d’Ivoire (28%), Sweden (28%), and Poland (28%).
The survey methodology divided participating nations equally between the “Global North” (primarily developed nations in the northern hemisphere) and the “Global South” (emerging and developing nations near the equator and in the southern hemisphere), with twelve countries selected from each group. Responses were categorized simply as either “satisfied” or “dissatisfied.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
