Background: The first recorded kingdom (Choson) on the Korean Peninsula dates from approximately 2,300 B.C. Over the subsequent centuries, three main kingdoms -- Kogoryo, Paekche, and Silla -- were established on the Peninsula. By the 5th century A.D., Kogoryo emerged as the most powerful, with control over much of the Peninsula and part of Manchuria (modern-day northeast China). However, Silla allied with the Chinese to create the first unified Korean state in 688. Following the collapse of Silla in the 9th century, Korea was unified under the Koryo (Goryeo; 918-1392) and the Chosen (Joseon; 1392-1910) dynasties. Korea became the object of intense imperialistic rivalry among the Chinese (its traditional benefactor), Japanese, and Russian empires in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), Korea was occupied by Imperial Japan. In 1910, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. After World War II, the northern half came under Soviet-sponsored communist control. In 1948, North Korea (formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK) was founded under President KIM Il Sung, who consolidated power and cemented autocratic one-party rule under the Korean Worker's Party (KWP). North Korea failed to conquer UN-backed South Korea (formally the Republic of Korea or ROK) during the Korean War (1950-53), after which a demilitarized zone separated the two Koreas. KIM's authoritarian rule included tight control over North Korean citizens and the demonization of the US as the central threat to North Korea's political and social system. In addition, he molded the country's economic, military, and political policies around the core objective of unifying Korea under Pyongyang's control. North Korea also declared a central ideology of juche ('self-reliance') as a check against outside influence, while continuing to rely heavily on China and the Soviet Union for economic support. KIM Il Sung's son, KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, and he assumed a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. Under KIM Jong Il's reign, North Korea continued developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. KIM Jong Un was publicly unveiled as his father's successor in 2010. Following KIM Jong Il's death in 2011, KIM Jong Un quickly assumed power and has since occupied the regime's highest political and military posts. After the end of Soviet aid in 1991, North Korea faced serious economic setbacks that exacerbated decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation. Since the mid-1990s, North Korea has faced chronic food shortages and economic stagnation. In recent years, the North's domestic agricultural production has improved but still falls far short of producing sufficient food for its population. Starting in 2002, North Korea began to tolerate semi-private markets but has made few other efforts to meet its goal of improving the overall standard of living. New economic development plans in the 2010s failed to meet government-mandated goals for key industrial sectors, food production, or overall economic performance. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, North Korea instituted a nationwide lockdown that severely restricted its economy and international engagement. Since then, KIM has repeatedly expressed concerns with the regime's economic failures and food problems, but in 2021, he vowed to continue 'self-reliant' policies and has reinvigorated his pursuit of greater regime control of the economy. As of 2024, despite slowly renewing cross-border trade with China, North Korea remained one of the world's most isolated countries and one of Asia's poorest. In 2024, Pyongyang announced it was ending all economic cooperation with South Korea. The move followed earlier proclamations that it was scrapping a 2018 military pact with South Korea to de-escalate tensions along their militarized border, abandoning the country’s decades-long pursuit of peaceful unification with South Korea, and designating the South as North Korea’s “principal enemy.”

Area
Total: 120,538 km²
Land: 120,408 km²
Water: 130 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Virginia; slightly smaller than Mississippi

Land boundaries
Total: 1,607 km
Border countries (3): (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

Land use
Agricultural land: 21.6% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 19.1% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 2.1% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 0.4% (2023 est.)
Forest: 64% (2023 est.)
Other: 14.5% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 14,600 km² (2012)

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

Population
Total: 26,298,666 (2024 est.)
Male: 12,828,269
Female: 13,470,397
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
Growth rate: 0.4% (2024 est.)

Languages: Korean
Major-language sample(s): ; 월드 팩트북, 필수적인 기본 정보 제공처 (Korean); The World Factbook, 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

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: 45.1 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 28.8 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 16.3 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 6.1 (2024 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.)

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)

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.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 67 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 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.)

Drinking water source
Urban: 3.1% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 11.2% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 6.1% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 7.3% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 26.9% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 14.6% of population (2022 est.)

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

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 2.9% (2024 est.); 2.9% (2023 est.); 2.9% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Capital
Name: Pyongyang
Geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E
Time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Time zone 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 considered a directly controlled city; Kaesong, Nampo, and Rason are designated as special cities

Legal system: civil law system based on the Prussian model; 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

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
Election/appointment process: chief of state and premier indirectly elected by the Supreme People's Assembly
Most recent election date: 11 April 2019
2019: KIM Jong Un reelected unopposed
Expected date of next election: March 2024
Note 1: KIM Jong Un's titles include general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (KWP), chairman of the KWP Central Military Commission, president of the State Affairs Commission, and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army
Note 2: in the North Korean system, KIM Jong Un's role as chief of state is secondary to his role as general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party; chief of state is used to engage with non-communist countries such as the US; North Korea revised its constitution in 2019 to define 'the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission' as 'the supreme leader who represents the state'; functions as the commander-in-chief and chief executive; the specific titles associated with this office have changed multiple times under KIM's tenure, but KIM Jong Un has been supreme leader since his father's death in 2011
Note 3: the head of government functions as the technical head of state and performs related duties, such as receiving ambassadors' credentials

Legislative branch
Legislature name: Supreme People's Assembly (Choe Go In Min Hoe Ui)
Legislative structure: unicameral
Number of seats: 687 (all directly elected)
Electoral system: plurality/majority
Scope of elections: full renewal
Term in office: 5 years
Most recent election date: 3/10/2019
Percentage of women in chamber: 17.6%
Expected date of next election: December 2025
Note: the SPA functions as a rubberstamp legislature; the Korean Workers' Party selects all candidates

Flag description: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple-width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the left side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star

National anthem
Title: 'Aegukka' (Patriotic Song)
Lyrics/music: PAK Se Yong/KIM Won Gyun
History: adopted 1947; North Korea's and South Korea's anthems have the same name and a similar melody, but 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, one mixed)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

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

Labor force: 17.637 million (2024 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 2.9% (2024 est.); 2.9% (2023 est.); 2.9% (2022 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 2.9% (2024 est.); 2.9% (2023 est.); 2.9% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Exports
Commodities: fake hair, iron alloys, tungsten ore, electricity, cars (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports
Commodities: processed hair, plastic products, garments, fabric, soybean oil (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 8.357 million kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 22.448 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 4.101 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 54.7% (2022 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 36.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 62.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal
Production: 21.928 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Consumption: 22.105 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 10.6 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Refined petroleum consumption: 18,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 55.744 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 52.985 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 2.759 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 23.83 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 1.18 million (2021 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 6 million (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 23 (2021 est.)

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 2024, 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

Airports: 81 (2025)

Heliports: 8 (2025)

Railways
Total: 7,435 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 7,435 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (5,400 km electrified)
Note: figures are approximate; some narrow-gauge railway also exists

Merchant marine
Total: 264 (2023)
By type: bulk carrier 10, container ship 5, general cargo 191, oil tanker 29, other 29