World Factbook
North Korea
Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
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
Sex ratio
at birth
1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1 male(s)/female
total population
0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.59 male(s)/female
Birth rate
12.99 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
9.01 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
34.5 years
total
36.2 years (2025 est.)
female
37.4 years
Population
male
12,884,269
total
26,402,841 (2025 est.)
female
13,518,572
Nationality
noun
Korean(s)
adjective
Korean
Tobacco use
male
32.6% (2025 est.)
total
16% (2025 est.)
female
0% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
63.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
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)
Ethnic groups
racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Child marriage
men married by age 18
0% (2017)
women married by age 15
0% (2017)
women married by age 18
0.1% (2017)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
45.6 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
28.8 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
6 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
16.8 (2025 est.)
Physician density
3.63 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Net migration rate
-0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.8 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 88.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 93.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 96.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 11.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 6.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 3.1% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
14.6% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
16.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total
14.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
13.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.4% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.87 (2025 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
Life expectancy at birth
male
70.2 years
female
77 years
total population
73.5 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
67 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 73.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 85.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 92.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 26.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 14.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 7.3% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.12 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
3.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
3.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
3.158 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
6.8% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
68.2% (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
9.3% (2017 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
12 years (2018 est.)
total
12 years (2018 est.)
female
12 years (2018 est.)