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🇰🇵 North Korea vs 🇰🇷 South Korea

South Korea has 25.1M more people — 51,684,564 against 26,571,036. Below, 25 indicators both countries publish, side by side.

🇰🇵 North Korea
26,571,036
Asia · rank #56 · +0.27%
World Bank, 2025
🇰🇷 South Korea
51,684,564
Asia · rank #29 · −0.13%
World Bank, 2025

Every Shared Indicator

25 indicators published for both countries. Ranks are out of the countries that report each indicator.

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.
IndicatorNorth KoreaSouth Korea
Population26,571,03656th of 24051,684,56429th of 240
Annual Growth Rate+0.27%167th of 240−0.13%202nd of 240
Population Density/km²219/km²69th of 240530/km²27th of 240
Land Areakm²120,410 km²99th of 24097,600 km²107th of 240
Urban Population64.2%124th of 24081.2%62nd of 240
GDP per Capita$1,800205th of 240$36,22754th of 240
Life Expectancyyears73.7 years138th of 24083.6 years14th of 240
Fertility Ratebirths per woman1.78 births per woman132nd of 2400.75 births per woman238th of 240
Birth Rateper 1,00012.9 per 1,000111th of 2134.7 per 1,000212th of 213
Death Rateper 1,0009.9 per 1,00041st of 2137.0 per 1,000118th of 213
Infant Mortalityper 1,000 live births13.3 per 1,000 live births93rd of 1942.3 per 1,000 live births178th of 194
Unemployment Rate3.5%127th of 1862.7%158th of 186
Physiciansper 1,0003.63 per 1,00040th of 2062.61 per 1,00073rd of 206
Hospital Bedsper 1,00012.80 per 1,0005th of 19912.81 per 1,0004th of 199
Literacy Rate100.0%1st of 17598.0%49th of 175
School Enrollmentgross, secondary94.3% gross, secondary88th of 20796.3% gross, secondary78th of 207
Renewable Energyof final consumption14.7% of final consumption125th of 2113.6% of final consumption171st of 211
Forest Coverageof land area49.6% of land area54th of 21164.1% of land area21st of 211
Internet Penetration0.0%208th of 21197.9%14th of 211
Mobile Subscriptionsper 100 people24.1 per 100 people210th of 212172.5 per 100 people18th of 212
Maternal Mortalityper 100,000 live births67 per 100,000 live births79th of 1934 per 100,000 live births172nd of 193
Protected Areasof land area2.4% of land area195th of 21117.7% of land area102nd of 211
Median Ageyears36.5 years95th of 24045.6 years19th of 240
CO₂ Emissionstonnes per capita2.36 tonnes per capita122nd of 21211.29 tonnes per capita21st of 212
Obesity Rate12.1%153rd of 1987.5%182nd of 198

Not Comparable

Published for one country but not the other, so no comparison is shown.

  • GDP Growth — +1.0% for South Korea, not published for North Korea
  • Inflation Rate — 2.1% for South Korea, not published for North Korea
  • Poverty Rate — 15.3% for South Korea, not published for North Korea
  • Gini Index — 32.9 for South Korea, not published for North Korea
  • Health Spending — 8.7% of GDP for South Korea, not published for North Korea
  • Education Spending — 5.4% of GDP for South Korea, not published for North Korea
  • Military Spending — 2.56% of GDP for South Korea, not published for North Korea
  • Mean Years of Schooling — 13.7 years for South Korea, not published for North Korea
  • Human Development Index — 0.937 for South Korea, not published for North Korea
  • Happiness Index — 6.04/ 10 for South Korea, not published for North Korea

Population, 1950–2100

Observed to 2024, then the UN medium-variant projection.

North KoreaSouth Korea
010M20M30M40M50M19501971199320142036205720792100projected →
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024. Values from 2025 onward are projections, not observations.
North Korea and South Korea population, 1950 to 2100
SeriesYearValue
North Korea195011.1M
North Korea197517M
North Korea200023.7M
North Korea202526.6M
North Korea205025.8M
North Korea207522.8M
North Korea210019.5M
South Korea195019.8M
South Korea197535.9M
South Korea200046.8M
South Korea202551.7M
South Korea205045.1M
South Korea207532M
South Korea210021.8M

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.

More Comparisons

All comparisons →North Korea profile →South Korea profile →