Map of North Korea | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background:


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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: Asia

Area
Total: 120,538 km²
Land: 120,408 km²
Water: 130 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Virginia; slightly smaller than Mississippi
Country comparison total: 1,607 km
Country comparison border countries: (3) China 1,352 km; South Korea 237 km; Russia 18 km

Land boundaries
Total: 1,607 km
Border countries: (3) China 1,352 km; South Korea 237 km; Russia 18 km

Coastline: 2,495 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned

Climate: temperate, with rainfall concentrated in summer; long, bitter winters

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

Elevation
Highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m
Lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
Mean elevation: 600 m

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, precious metals, hydropower

Land use
Agricultural land: 21.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 19.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 1.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 0.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land forest: 46% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land other: 32.2% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 14,600 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 900 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 1.15 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 6.61 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 77.15 billion m³ (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Volcanism: P'aektu-san (2,744 m) (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu, or Changbaishan), on the Chinese border, is considered historically active

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


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Population
Distribution: population concentrated in the plains and lowlands; least populated regions are the mountainous provinces adjacent to the Chinese border; largest concentrations are in the western provinces, particularly the municipal district of Pyongyang, and around Hungnam and Wonsan in the east
Total: 26,298,666
Male: 12,828,269
Female: 13,470,397 (2024 est.)
Growth rate: 0.4% (2024 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Korean(s)
Adjective: Korean

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

Languages: Korean
Major-language samples: 월드 팩트북, 필수적인 기본 정보 제공처 (Korean); Gheos World Guide, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: traditionally Buddhist and Confucian, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
Note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 19.9% (male 2,673,822/female 2,548,775)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 9,054,771/female 9,066,447)
65 years and over: 11.2% (2024 est.) (male 1,099,676/female 1,855,175)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 43.5
Youth dependency ratio: 27.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 16.3
Potential support ratio: 6.1 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 35.9 years (2024 est.)
Male: 34.5 years
Female: 37.4 years

Population growth rate: 0.4% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 13.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 9.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Population distribution: population concentrated in the plains and lowlands; least populated regions are the mountainous provinces adjacent to the Chinese border; largest concentrations are in the western provinces, particularly the municipal district of Pyongyang, and around Hungnam and Wonsan in the east

Urbanization
Urban population: 63.2% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 3.158 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
International agreements party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Law of the Sea

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 41.46 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 28.28 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 18.68 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 107 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 15.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 16.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 13.8 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.5 years (2024 est.)
Male: 70.2 years
Female: 77 years

Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 70.2% (2017)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 97.8% of population
Unimproved rural: 10.9% of population
Unimproved total: 5.5% of population (2020 est.)
Unimproved urban: 2.2% of population

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban: 92.7% of population
Improved rural: 73.1% of population
Improved total: 85.3% of population
Unimproved urban: 7.3% of population
Unimproved rural: 26.9% of population
Unimproved total: 14.7% of population (2020 est.)

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 6.8% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 3.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.12 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 3.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 17.4% (2020 est.)
Male: 34.8% (2020 est.)
Female: 0% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 9.3% (2017)

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 100%
Male: 100%
Female: 100% (2015)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 11 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 11 years (2015)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 7.1% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 6.3% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 female: 7.8% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Conventional short form: North Korea
Local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk
Local short form: Choson; abbreviation: DPRK
Etymology: derived from the Chinese name for Goryeo, which was the Korean dynasty that united the peninsula in the 10th century A.D.; the North Korean name 'Choson' means '[Land of the] Morning Calm'

Government type: dictatorship, single-party communist state

Capital
Name: Pyongyang
Geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E
Time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Note: on 5 May 2018, North Korea reverted to UTC+9, the same time zone as South Korea
Etymology: the name translates as 'flat land' in Korean

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 special administration cities (si, singular and plural); provinces: Chagang, Hambuk (North Hamgyong), Hamnam (South Hamgyong), Hwangbuk (North Hwanghae), Hwangnam (South Hwanghae), Kangwon, P'yongbuk (North Pyongan), P'yongnam (South Pyongan), Ryanggang; special administration cities: Kaesong, Nampo, P'yongyang, Rason
Note: P'yongyang is identified as a directly controlled city, while Kaesong, Nampo, and Rason are designated as special cities

Dependent areas

Independence: 15 August 1945 (from Japan)

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

Constitution
History: previous 1948, 1972; latest adopted 1998 (during KIM Jong-il era)
Amendments: proposed by the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA); passage requires more than two-thirds majority vote of the total SPA membership; revised several times, last in 2023

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
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of North Korea
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: unknown

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch
Chief of state: State Affairs Commission President KIM Jong Un (since 17 December 2011)
Head of government: Supreme People's Assembly President CHOE Ryong Hae (since 11 April 2019)
Cabinet: Cabinet or Naegak members appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly except the Minister of People's Armed Forces
Elections/appointments: chief of state and premier indirectly elected by the Supreme People's Assembly; election last held on 10 March 2019 (next to be held in March 2024)
Election results: 2019: KIM Jong Un reelected unopposed
Note: 3: the head of government functions as the technical head of state and performs related duties, such as receiving ambassadors' credentials

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members directly elected by majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms)
Elections: last held on 10 March 2019 (next to be held in 2024)
Elections results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - KWP 607, KSDP 50, Chondoist Chongu Party 22, General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) 5, religious associations 3; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; composition as of February 2024 - men 566, women 121, percentage women 17.6%
Note: the SPA functions as a rubberstamp legislature; the Korean Workers' Party selects all candidates

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court or Central Court (consists of one judge and 2 'People's Assessors' or, for some cases, 3 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: judges elected by the Supreme People's Assembly for 5-year terms
Subordinate courts: lower provincial courts as determined by the Supreme People's Assembly

Political parties and leaders: major parties:, Korean Workers' Party or KWP (formally known as Workers' Party of Korea) , General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon; under KWP control) , minor parties:, Chondoist Chongu Party (under KWP control), Social Democratic Party or KSDP (under KWP control)

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none
In the us note: North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
From the us embassy: none; the 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 stand for purity, strength, and dignity; the blue bands signify sovereignty, peace, and friendship; the red star represents socialism

National symbols: red star, chollima (winged horse); national colors: red, white, blue

National anthem
Name: 'Aegukka' (Patriotic Song)
Lyrics/music: PAK Se Yong/KIM Won Gyun
Note: adopted 1947; both North Korea's and South Korea's anthems share the same name and have a vaguely similar melody but have different lyrics; the North Korean anthem is also known as 'Ach'imun pinnara' (Let Morning Shine)

National heritage
Total world heritage sites: 2 (both cultural)
Selected world heritage site locales:


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Economy overview: one of the last centrally planned economies; hard hit by COVID-19, crop failures, international sanctions, and isolationist policies; declining growth and trade, and heavily reliant on China; poor exchange rate stability; economic data integrity issues

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $40 billion (2015 est.)
Note: data are in 2015 dollars; North Korea does not publish reliable National Income Accounts data; the data shown are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP estimates that were made by Angus MADDISON in a study conducted for the OECD; his figure for 1999 was extrapolated to 2015 using estimated real growth rates for North Korea's GDP and an inflation factor based on the US GDP deflator; the results were rounded to the nearest $10 billion.

Real gdp growth rate: -1.1% (2015 est.); 1% (2014 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $1,700 (2015 est.); $1,800 (2014 est.)
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Exports of goods and services: 5.9% (2016 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -11.1% (2016 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 22.5% (2017 est.)
Industry: 47.6% (2017 est.)
Services: 29.9% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: maize, rice, vegetables, apples, cabbages, fruits, sweet potatoes, potatoes, beans, soybeans (2022)
Note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

Industries: military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 4.3% (2014 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 15.837 million (2023 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 3% (2023 est.); 2.97% (2022 est.); 3.13% (2021 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 7.1% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 6.3% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 female: 7.8% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices

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: $222 million (2018); $4.582 billion (2017 est.); $2.908 billion (2015 est.)
Partners: China 53%, Senegal 11%, Nigeria 6%, Poland 4%, Netherlands 3% (2022)
Partners note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Commodities: tungsten ore, refined petroleum, iron alloys, electricity, molybdenum ore (2022)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $2.32 billion (2018 est.); $3.86 billion (2016 est.)
Partners: China 98%, Zimbabwe 0%, Netherlands 0%, India 0%, Colombia 0% (2022)
Partners note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Commodities: plastic products, tobacco, soybean oil, rubber tires, packaged medicine (2022)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 54.7% (2022 est.)
Installed generating capacity: 8.277 million kW (2022 est.)
Consumption: 18.24 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 4.033 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 42.1% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 57.6% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

Coal
Production: 21.747 million metric tons (2022 est.)
Consumption: 21.747 million metric tons (2022 est.)
Proven reserves: 10.6 billion metric tons (2022 est.)

Petroleum
Refined petroleum consumption: 17,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions: 61.605 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 58.987 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 2.617 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 25.876 million Btu/person (2022 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 1.18 million (2021 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 5 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 6 million (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 23 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: defense spending is a regime priority; between 2010 and 2020, military expenditures accounted for an estimated 20-30% of North Korea's GDP annually; spending estimates ranged from $7 billion to $11 billion annually; in 2023, North Korea announced that it would spend nearly 16% of state expenditures on defense; North Korea in the 2010s and 2020s has increasingly relied on illicit activities — including cybercrime — to generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs to evade US and UN sanctions

Military and security forces: Korean People's Army (KPA): KPA Ground Forces, KPA Navy, KPA Air Force and Air Defense Forces, KPA Strategic Forces (missile forces), KPA Special Forces (special operations forces); Security Guard Command (aka Bodyguard Command); Military Security Command; Ministry of Social Security (formerly Ministry of Public Security): Border Guard General Bureau, civil security forces; Ministry of State Security: internal security, investigations (2024)
Note 1: North Korea employs a systematic and intentional overlap of powers and responsibilities among its multiple internal security organizations to prevent any potential subordinate consolidation of power and assure that each unit provided a check and balance on the other
Note 2: Kim Jong Un is the KPA supreme commander, while operational control of the armed forces resides in the General Staff Department (GSD), which reports directly to Kim; the GSD maintains overall control of all military forces and is charged with turning Kim’s directives into operational military orders; the Ministry of National Defense (MND) is responsible for administrative control of the military and external relations with foreign militaries
Note 3: the Security Guard Command protects the Kim family, other senior leadership figures, and government facilities
Note 4: the North also has a large paramilitary/militia force organized into the Worker Peasant Red Guard and Red Youth Guard; these organizations are present at all levels of government (province, county, ward) and are under the control of the Korean Workers' Party in peacetime, but revert to KPA control in crisis or war; they are often mobilized for domestic projects, such as road building and agricultural support

Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for compulsory military service for men and women; service obligation varies from 5-13 years; reportedly up to 10 years (7 for women) for those serving in combat units and 13 years (7 for women) for specialized combat units, such as missile forces (2024)
Note: the bulk of the KPA is made up of conscripts; as many as 20% of North Korean males between the ages of 16 and 54 are in the military at a given time and possibly up to 30 percent of males between the ages of 18 and 27, not counting the reserves or paramilitary units; women comprise about 20% of the military by some estimates

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 4
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 103,560 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 250,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: P

Airports: 83 (2024)

Heliports: 8 (2024)

Pipelines: 6 km oil (2013)

Railways

Roadways
Total: 25,554 km
Paved: 724 km
Unpaved: 24,830 km (2006)

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

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Idps: undetermined (2021)

Illicit drugs: at present there is insufficient information to determine the current level of involvement of government officials in the production or trafficking of illicit drugs, but for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of North Korea , many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics; police investigations in Taiwan, Japan and Australia during that period have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine