East Asia & Pacific · Low income
North Korea: the economy in numbers
Population: 26.6 million (2025).
Population
1960: 11.7 million · 2025: 26.6 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 2.8% · 2025: 3.5%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 55.8 years · 2024: 73.7 years.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 26.6M | 3.5% | |
| 2024 | 26.5M | 3.5% | 73.7 |
| 2023 | 26.4M | 3.5% | 73.6 |
| 2022 | 26.3M | 3.5% | 73.6 |
| 2021 | 26.2M | 3.7% | 73.4 |
| 2020 | 26.1M | 3.6% | 72.8 |
| 2019 | 26M | 3.4% | 72.9 |
| 2018 | 25.9M | 3.4% | 73.0 |
| 2017 | 25.8M | 3.5% | 73.0 |
| 2016 | 25.7M | 3.6% | 73.0 |
| 2015 | 25.6M | 3.5% | 72.8 |
| 2014 | 25.5M | 3.5% | 72.5 |
| 2013 | 25.3M | 3.6% | 71.9 |
| 2012 | 25.2M | 3.5% | 71.3 |
| 2011 | 25.1M | 3.5% | 70.8 |
| 2010 | 25M | 3.4% | 70.2 |
| 2009 | 24.9M | 3.5% | 69.7 |
| 2008 | 24.8M | 3.5% | 69.3 |
| 2007 | 24.6M | 3.5% | 69.0 |
| 2006 | 24.5M | 3.5% | 69.1 |
| 2005 | 24.4M | 3.6% | 69.2 |
| 2004 | 24.3M | 3.6% | 69.3 |
| 2003 | 24.1M | 3.7% | 69.4 |
| 2002 | 23.9M | 3.6% | 60.9 |
| 2001 | 23.8M | 3.7% | 60.9 |
| 2000 | 23.7M | 3.7% | 60.9 |
| 1999 | 23.5M | 3.7% | 60.9 |
| 1998 | 23.3M | 3.5% | 60.9 |
| 1997 | 23.1M | 3.3% | 60.9 |
| 1996 | 22.9M | 3.2% | 60.8 |
| 1995 | 22.7M | 3.1% | 60.8 |
| 1994 | 22.4M | 3.1% | 70.5 |
| 1993 | 22.1M | 3.0% | 70.8 |
| 1992 | 21.8M | 2.9% | 71.0 |
| 1991 | 21.4M | 2.8% | 70.7 |
| 1990 | 21.1M | 70.5 | |
| 1989 | 20.8M | 70.3 | |
| 1988 | 20.5M | 70.1 | |
| 1987 | 20.2M | 69.8 | |
| 1986 | 19.9M | 69.5 | |
| 1985 | 19.6M | 69.2 | |
| 1984 | 19.3M | 68.9 | |
| 1983 | 19.1M | 68.5 | |
| 1982 | 18.8M | 68.1 | |
| 1981 | 18.5M | 67.7 | |
| 1980 | 18.2M | 67.2 | |
| 1979 | 18M | 66.7 | |
| 1978 | 17.7M | 66.3 | |
| 1977 | 17.5M | 65.8 | |
| 1976 | 17.2M | 65.3 | |
| 1975 | 17M | 64.8 | |
| 1974 | 16.7M | 64.3 | |
| 1973 | 16.4M | 63.8 | |
| 1972 | 16M | 63.3 | |
| 1971 | 15.6M | 62.7 | |
| 1970 | 15.2M | 62.0 | |
| 1969 | 14.8M | 61.4 | |
| 1968 | 14.4M | 60.8 | |
| 1967 | 14M | 60.1 | |
| 1966 | 13.6M | 59.4 | |
| 1965 | 13.2M | 58.8 | |
| 1964 | 12.9M | 58.2 | |
| 1963 | 12.6M | 57.6 | |
| 1962 | 12.3M | 57.0 | |
| 1961 | 12M | 56.4 | |
| 1960 | 11.7M | 55.8 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast.
Nearby economies in East Asia & Pacific
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
American Samoa · Australia · Brunei · Cambodia · China · Fiji · French Polynesia · Guam · Hong Kong · Indonesia · Japan · Kiribati · Laos · Macao · Malaysia · Marshall Islands · Micronesia · Mongolia · Myanmar · Nauru · New Caledonia · New Zealand · North Korea · Northern Mariana Islands · Palau · Papua New Guinea · Philippines · Samoa · Singapore · Solomon Islands · South Korea · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Tonga · Tuvalu · Vanuatu · Vietnam
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)