Korea North People - 2024

Population

26,072,217 (2023 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 sample(s):
월드 팩트북, 필수적인 기본 정보 제공처 (Korean)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Korean audio sample:

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: 20.24% (male 2,696,287/female 2,580,346)

15-64 years: 69.16% (male 8,992,254/female 9,040,025)

65 years and over: 10.6% (2023 est.) (male 992,424/female 1,770,881)

2023 population pyramid:

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: 35.6 years (2023 est.)

male: 34.2 years

female: 37.1 years

Population growth rate

0.4% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

13.4 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

9.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.56 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

107 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 16.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 17.9 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 14.5 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.9 years (2023 est.)

male: 69.5 years

female: 76.5 years

Total fertility rate

1.82 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

0.88 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

70.2% (2017)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 97.8% of population

rural: 89.1% of population

total: 94.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.2% of population

rural: 10.9% of population

total: 5.5% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

N/A

Physicians density

3.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 92.7% of population

rural: 73.1% of population

total: 85.3% of population

unimproved: urban: 7.3% of population

rural: 26.9% of population

total: 14.7% of population (2020 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

6.8% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 3.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0.12 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 3.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

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)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

69.7% (2023 est.)

Child marriage

women married by age 18: 0.1% (2017 est.)

Education expenditures

N/A

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)