South Korea vs Taiwan: Productivity vs. educational attainment
South Korea
53.61 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour
in 2023
Taiwan
60.85 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour
in 2023
South Korea rank
25th
Taiwan rank
22nd
Productivity vs. educational attainment over time
- South Korea
- Taiwan
How they compare
Taiwan currently reports 60.85 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour against 53.61 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour in South Korea, a difference of 7.24 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour.
That makes Taiwan's figure about 1.1 times South Korea's.
Across all 70 years both countries report, Taiwan has been ahead every year.
South Korea ranks 25th and Taiwan ranks 22nd of 130 countries.
Taiwan has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | Taiwan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.81 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 3.31 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 1.5 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | Taiwan |
| 1960s | 2.07 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 5.62 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 3.55 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | Taiwan |
| 1970s | 4.63 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 11.15 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 6.52 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | Taiwan |
| 1980s | 8.4 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 18.92 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 10.52 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | Taiwan |
| 1990s | 19.86 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 34.13 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 14.28 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | Taiwan |
| 2000s | 31.72 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 46.95 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 15.23 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | Taiwan |
| 2010s | 42.81 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 50.9 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 8.09 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | Taiwan |
| 2020s | 53.35 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 59.16 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 5.81 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | Taiwan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher productivity vs. educational attainment, South Korea or Taiwan?
- Taiwan, at 60.85 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour against 53.61 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour in South Korea as of 2023.
- What is the difference in productivity vs. educational attainment between South Korea and Taiwan?
- 7.24 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour, with Taiwan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Taiwan?
- 70 years are reported by both, from 1953 to 2023.
- How do South Korea and Taiwan rank globally for productivity vs. educational attainment?
- South Korea ranks 25th and Taiwan ranks 22nd of 130 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Productivity vs. educational attainment. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Productivity is calculated as GDP divided by the total number of hours worked in the economy. This data is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.