🇨🇳 China vs 🇰🇵 North Korea
25 indicators below, published by both countries and set side by side, with 10 more published for only one of them. They differ most on land area, where China’s figure is 78.0× higher.
Side by Side
Each bar is scaled against the larger of the two values, so the gap is visible rather than only stated.
Bars compare magnitude only. A larger value is not a better one — several of these indicators have no better direction, and for others the lower figure is the favourable one.
Every Shared Indicator
25 indicators published for both countries. Bold marks the larger of the two values — larger is not always better. Ranks are out of the countries that report each indicator.
| Indicator | China | North Korea | China vs North Korea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,406,585,0002nd of 240 | 26,571,03656th of 240 | 1,380,013,964 apart |
| Annual Growth Rate | −0.17%208th of 240 | +0.27%167th of 240 | 0.44 points apart |
| Population Density/km² | 150/km²82nd of 240 | 219/km²69th of 240 | 32% lower |
| Land Areakm² | 9,388,210 km²2nd of 240 | 120,410 km²99th of 240 | 9,267,800 km² apart |
| Urban Population | 66.3%116th of 240 | 64.2%124th of 240 | 3% higher |
| GDP per Capita | $13,862110th of 240 | $1,800205th of 240 | 7.7× higher |
| Life Expectancyyears | 78.0 years83rd of 240 | 73.7 years138th of 240 | 6% higher |
| Fertility Ratebirths per woman | 1.01 births per woman230th of 240 | 1.78 births per woman132nd of 240 | 43% lower |
| Birth Rateper 1,000 | 6.8 per 1,000202nd of 213 | 12.9 per 1,000111th of 213 | 47% lower |
| Death Rateper 1,000 | 7.8 per 1,00087th of 213 | 9.9 per 1,00041st of 213 | 21% lower |
| Infant Mortalityper 1,000 live births | 4.1 per 1,000 live births39th of 194 | 13.3 per 1,000 live births102nd of 194 | 3.2× lower |
| Unemployment Rate | 4.6%76th of 186 | 3.5%60th of 186 | 30% higher |
| Physiciansper 1,000 | 3.11 per 1,00057th of 206 | 3.63 per 1,00040th of 206 | 14% lower |
| Hospital Bedsper 1,000 | 5.63 per 1,00024th of 199 | 12.80 per 1,0005th of 199 | 56% lower |
| Literacy Rate | 96.7%66th of 175 | 100.0%1st of 175 | 3% lower |
| School Enrollmentgross, secondary | 92.3% gross, secondary97th of 207 | 94.3% gross, secondary88th of 207 | 2% lower |
| Renewable Energyof final consumption | 15.2% of final consumption122nd of 211 | 14.7% of final consumption125th of 211 | 3% higher |
| Forest Coverageof land area | 24.0% of land area121st of 211 | 49.6% of land area54th of 211 | 52% lower |
| Internet Penetration | 91.6%51st of 211 | 0.0%208th of 211 | 91.6 points apart |
| Mobile Subscriptionsper 100 people | 131.8 per 100 people54th of 212 | 24.1 per 100 people210th of 212 | 5.5× higher |
| Maternal Mortalityper 100,000 live births | 16 per 100,000 live births62nd of 193 | 67 per 100,000 live births112th of 193 | 4.2× lower |
| Protected Areasof land area | 15.6% of land area119th of 211 | 2.4% of land area195th of 211 | 6.5× higher |
| Median Ageyears | 40.1 years61st of 240 | 36.5 years95th of 240 | 10% higher |
| CO₂ Emissionstonnes per capita | 8.66 tonnes per capita30th of 212 | 2.36 tonnes per capita122nd of 212 | 3.7× higher |
| Obesity Rate | 9.1%174th of 198 | 12.1%153rd of 198 | 25% lower |
Values are each country’s most recent published observation, so the two sides of a row may be from different years — the country pages show the year for each. Bold marks the larger of the two, which is not always the better one.
Not Comparable
Published for one country but not the other, so no comparison is shown.
- GDP Growth — +5.0% for China, not published for North Korea
- Inflation Rate — 0.1% for China, not published for North Korea
- Poverty Rate — 0.0% for China, not published for North Korea
- Gini Index — 36.0 for China, not published for North Korea
- Health Spending — 5.9% of GDP for China, not published for North Korea
- Education Spending — 3.9% of GDP for China, not published for North Korea
- Military Spending — 1.71% of GDP for China, not published for North Korea
- Mean Years of Schooling — 9.0 years for China, not published for North Korea
- Human Development Index — 0.797 for China, not published for North Korea
- Happiness Index — 6.07/ 10 for China, not published for North Korea
Population, 1950–2100
Observed to 2024, then the UN medium-variant projection.
| Series | Year | Value |
|---|---|---|
| China | 1950 | 544M |
| China | 1975 | 916.1M |
| China | 2000 | 1.27B |
| China | 2025 | 1.42B |
| China | 2050 | 1.26B |
| China | 2075 | 934.5M |
| China | 2100 | 633.4M |
| North Korea | 1950 | 11.1M |
| North Korea | 1975 | 17M |
| North Korea | 2000 | 23.7M |
| North Korea | 2025 | 26.6M |
| North Korea | 2050 | 25.8M |
| North Korea | 2075 | 22.8M |
| North Korea | 2100 | 19.5M |
Reading This Comparison
Size is not the same as rate
Totals and per-capita measures answer different questions. A country can have a far larger economy and a far lower GDP per capita at the same time — both facts are in the table.
Mind the vintages
Each value is the latest available for that country, which is not always the same year on both sides. For indicators that move slowly this rarely matters; for inflation or GDP growth it can.