South Korea
South Korea is one of the sharpest split profiles in the matrix. Technology is world-class, security is strong by alliance-backed regional standards, and the current demographic snapshot is still surprisingly supportive. But food is weak and energy is the clear system bottleneck. South Korea therefore reads less like a balanced sovereign power than like a highly sophisticated industrial state whose prosperity depends on keeping external supply and alliance systems open.
Quantitative Snapshot
Region: East Asia | Composite: 2.89 / 5.0 | Data: 2026 | Scored floor: Energy (1/5)
| Factor | Display | Continuous | Confidence | Key Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | 2/5 | 31.5 | VERIFIED | Fertilizer import dependency (0.793) |
| Energy | 1/5 | 15.4 | PARTIAL | Fuel import dependency (0.846) |
| Technology | 5/5 | 96.9 | VERIFIED | Economic complexity index (1.562) |
| Demographics | 5/5 | 82.8 | VERIFIED | Working-age ratio (0.707) |
| Security | 4/5 | 74.3 | PARTIAL | Alliance membership (1) |
Reading Path
- Executive Summary
- Energy
- Security
- Food
- Technology
- Demographics
- Framework Assessment
- Investment Implications
Source Baseline
- Food: FAO Food Balance Sheets, FAO Food Balance Sheets (derived), FAOSTAT Fertilizers by Nutrient, WRI Aqueduct
- Energy: World Bank WDI
- Technology: Harvard Growth Lab, Our World in Data / World Bank, World Bank WDI
- Demographics: Our World in Data / UN World Population Prospects
- Security: Fragile States Index, Curated dataset, World Bank WDI