Map of North Korea | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: An independent kingdom for much of its long history Korea was occupied by Japan beginning in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist control. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force North Korea (DPRK) under its founder President KIM Il Sung adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic 'self-reliance' as a check against outside influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda and molded political economic and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM Il Sung's son KIM Jong Il was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980 assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. KIM Jong Un was publicly unveiled as his father's successor in September 2010. Following KIM Jong Il's death in December 2011 the regime began to take actions to transfer power to KIM Jong Un and Jong Un has begun to assume his father's former titles and duties. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population. North Korea's history of regional military provocations proliferation of military-related items long-range missile development WMD programs including tests of nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009 and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. The regime has marked 2012 the centenary of KIM Il Sung's birth a banner year; to that end the country has heightened its focus on developing its economy and improv


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Location: Eastern Asia northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan between China and South Korea

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N 127 00 E

Map reference

Area
Rank: 99
Comparative: slightly smaller than Mississippi

Land boundaries

Coastline: 2,495 km

Maritime claims

Climate: temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west discontinuous in east

Elevation

Natural resources: coal lead tungsten zinc graphite magnesite iron ore copper gold pyrites salt fluorspar hydropower

Land use

Irrigated land: 14,600 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 77.1 km³ (1999)

Natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall

Geography
Note: strategic location bordering China South Korea and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated


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Population: 24,589,122 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 49
Growth rate: 0.535% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 149
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality

Ethnic groups: racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese

Languages: Korean

Religions: traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.535% (2012 est.)
Rank: 149

Birth rate: 14.51 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 137

Death rate: 9.12 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 65

Net migration rate: -0.04 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 116

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 76

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 152

Total fertility rate: 2.01 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 130

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 3.29 physicians/1000 population (2003)

Hospital bed density: 13.2 beds/1000 population (2002)

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 20.6% (2004)
Rank: 33

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: Communist state one-man dictatorship

Capital

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do singular and plural) and 2 municipalities (si singular and plural)

Dependent areas

Independence: 15 August 1945 (from Japan)

National holiday: Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) 9 September (1948)

Constitution: adopted 1948; revised several times

Legal system: civil law system based on the Prussian model; system influenced by Japanese traditions and Communist legal theory

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Judicial branch: Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)

Political parties and leaders: major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Un]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under KWP control) Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under KWP control)

International organization participation: ARF FAO G-77 ICAO ICC (NGOs) ICRM IFAD IFRCS IHO IMO IOC IPU ISO ITSO ITU NAM UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNWTO UPU WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
From the us: none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power

Flag description: three horizontal bands of blue (top) red (triple width) and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star; the broad red band symbolizes revolutionary traditions; the narrow white bands stands for purity strength and dignity; the blue bands signify sovereignty peace and friendship; the red star represents socialism

National symbols: red star

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: North Korea one of the world's most centrally directed and least open economies faces chronic economic problems. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment shortages of spare parts and poor maintenance. Large-scale military spending draws off resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Industrial and power output have stagnated for years at a fraction of pre-1990 levels. Frequent weather-related crop failures aggravated chronic food shortages caused by on-going systemic problems including a lack of arable land: collective farming practices poor soil quality insufficient fertilization and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel. Large-scale international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape widespread starvation since famine threatened in 1995 but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Since 2002 the government has allowed private 'farmers' markets' to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming - on an experimental basis - in an effort to boost agricultural output. In December 2009 North Korea carried out a redenomination of its currency capping the amount of North Korean won that could be exchanged for the new notes and limiting the exchange to a one-week window. A concurrent crackdown on markets and foreign currency use yielded severe shortages and inflation forcing Pyongyang to ease the restrictions by February 2010. In response to the sinking of the South Korean destroyer Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island South Korea's government cut off most aid trade and bilateral cooperation activities with the exception of operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. In 2012 KIM Jong Un's first year of leadership the North displayed increased focus on the economy by renewing its commitment to special economic zones with China negotiating a new payment structure to settle its $11 billion Soviet-era debt to Russia and purportedly proposing new agricultural and industrial policies to boost domestic production. The North Korean government often highlights its goal of becoming a 'strong and prosperous' nation and attracting foreign investment a key factor for improving the overall standard of living. Nevertheless firm political control remains the government's overriding concern which likely will inhibit fundamental reforms of North Korea's current economic system.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 103

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 170

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 197

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: rice corn potatoes soybeans pulses; cattle pigs pork eggs

Industries

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 12.2 million
Rank: 44

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -0.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 49

Taxes and other revenues: 11.4% of GDP
Rank: 205

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: NA%

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $4.706 billion (2010 est.)
Rank: 117
Commodities: minerals metallurgical products manufactures (including armaments) textiles agricultural and fishery products
Partners: China 67.2% South Korea 19.4% India 3.6% (2011 est.)

Imports: $2.934 billion (2010 est.)
Rank: 137
Commodities: petroleum coking coal machinery and equipment textiles grain
Partners: China 61.6% South Korea 20% European Union 4% (2011 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $12.5 billion (2001 est.)
Rank: 87

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 20.45 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 71
Consumption: 17.12 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 73
Exports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 213
Imports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 205
Installed generating capacity: 9.5 million kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 58
Generation sources fossil fuels: 47.4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 159
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 119
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 52.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 39
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 143

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 151
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 137
Crude oil imports: 8,432 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 77
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 150

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 9,133 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products production rank: 106
Products consumption: 15,070 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 145
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products exports rank: 189
Products imports: 7,967 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products imports rank: 137

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 148
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 160
Exports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 97
Imports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 87
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 154

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 63.69 million Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 53

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 1.18 million (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 72
Mobile cellular: 1 million (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 155

Telephone system

Broadcast media: no independent media; radios and TVs are pre-tuned to government stations; 4 government-owned TV stations; the Korean Workers' Party owns and operates the Korean Central Broadcasting Station and the state-run Voice of Korea operates an external broadcast service; the government prohibits listening to and jams foreign broadcasts (2008)

Internet
Country code: .kp
Hosts: 8 (2012)
Hosts rank: 227

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: NA

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age (2004)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 81 (2012)
Rank: 71

Heliports: 23 (2012)

Pipelines: oil 154 km (2010)

Railways
Rank: 33

Roadways
Rank: 101

Waterways: 2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2011)
Rank: 38

Merchant marine
Rank: 37

Ports and terminals: Ch'ongjin Haeju Hungnam (Hamhung) Namp'o Senbong Songnim Sonbong (formerly Unggi) Wonsan


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Disputes international: risking arrest imprisonment and deportation tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine economic privation and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km-wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: for years from the 1970s into the 2000s citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK) many of them diplomatic employees of the government were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics including two in Turkey in December 2004; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003