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North Korea · data for latest available · data as of 26 October 2026 · printed 27 Oct 2026
NationsTree / Countries / North Korea
2025
Flag of North Korea

North Korea

East Asia & Pacific Capital Pyongyang Low income Nation age 2,082 years (since 57 BC) i PRK · KP
NationsTree Index 2025 i42.4118th of 196 Tree height i—see ranking Military strength i—percentile
Population i26.6 m56th of 217 Area i120,540 km²100th of 216 GDP i— GDP (PPP) i— GDP per person (PPP) i— Life expectancy i73.7 years119th of 217
Index pillars
Foundations · roots i33
Strength · trunk i69
Quality of life · crown i—
Problems (higher = fewer) · dry branches i39
Direction (5-year change) · new shoots i22
CSV

In short

North Korea is 118th of 196 countries in the NationsTree Index, with a score of 42.4 out of 100; its tree is — tall.

Its strongest positions: DPT immunization (1st of 193), Unemployment (60th of 187) and CO₂ emissions per person (98th of 203).

Its weakest positions: Regulatory quality (204th of 205), Voice & accountability (203rd of 205) and Control of corruption (201st of 207).

Over five years it fell from 74th to 118th in the index.

All data

Data as of 26 October 2026

Latest available value for each indicator, with its year. World rank is among countries with recent data (last 5 years of the series).

Land & people

55
Surface area ikm² 120,540 100th/216
Land area ikm² 120,410 98th/216
Population ipeople 26.6 m 56th/217
Population growth i% 0.27% 155th/217
Population density ipeople/km² 220.1 63rd/216
Urban population i% 64.2% 109th/217
Population aged 0–14 i% 18.9% 132nd/217
Population aged 65+ i% 12.7% 78th/217

Economy

68
Unemployment i% 3.5% 60th/187

Natural resources

62
Arable land i% of land area 19.1% 57th/206
Renewable freshwater per person im³ 2,545 90th/183

Society & health

64
Life expectancy iyears 73.7 119th/217
Under-5 mortality iper 1,000 births 16.7 108th/196
Physicians iper 1,000 people 3.632017
Hospital beds iper 1,000 people 12.82018
DPT immunization i% of children 12–23 months 99% 1st/193
Secondary enrolment i% gross 94.3%2015
Old-age dependency ratio i% of working-age population 18.6% 79th/217
Adult literacy i% 100.0%2008
Tertiary enrolment i% gross 26.7%2018

Infrastructure & digital

14
Access to electricity i% of population 61.4% 185th/215
Safely managed drinking water i% of population 66.6% 92nd/150
Internet users i% of population 0.0%2004
Mobile subscriptions iper 100 people 24 209th/210
Rail lines iroute-km 5,2141999
Air passengers carried ipassengers 3,690 155th/161

Environment & energy

49
CO₂ emissions per person it CO₂e 2.50 98th/203
Renewable energy i% of final energy use 14.7% 125th/212
Air pollution (PM2.5) iµg/m³ 21.8 126th/200
Forest area i% of land area 64.1% 24th/214
Energy use per person ikg oil eq. 714 109th/149

Institutions & safety

11
Government effectiveness iscore 0–100 25.2 190th/205
Control of corruption iscore 0–100 16.7 201st/207
Rule of law iscore 0–100 34.1 192nd/207
Political stability iscore 0–100 67.1 112th/207
Regulatory quality iscore 0–100 21.3 204th/205
Voice & accountability iscore 0–100 18.7 203rd/205

Military

82
Military expenditure iUSD $1.60 bn2018
Armed forces personnel ipeople 1.5 m 3rd/170
Armed forces personnel i% of labour force 8.62% 2nd/168
Arms imports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 1.0 m2010
Arms exports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 44.0 m 34th/65

Science & innovation

66
Patent applications by residents iapplications 6,936 13th/137
Scientific articles iarticles 269 118th/197

Sources

Figures on this page come from: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank — Worldwide Governance Indicators . Nation age: Three Kingdoms of Korea (shared Korean statehood) (source). Every value is stored with its year and source series; see Sources & licences and Methodology.

Cite as: NationsTree (2026). North Korea — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/north-korea. Data as of 26 October 2026.

All figures come from official statistics published by public institutions (World Bank WDI and WGI, compiling UN agencies, IMF, WHO and national statistical offices). Each value carries its year; ranks are positions among countries with data.
Cite as: NationsTree (2026). North Korea — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/north-korea. Data as of 26 October 2026.
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