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South Korea vs. North Korea

Demographics

South KoreaNorth Korea
Population51,715,162 (July 2021 est.)25,831,360 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 12.02% (male 3,191,584/female 3,025,029)

15-24 years: 10.75% (male 2,900,013/female 2,658,057)

25-54 years: 44.83% (male 12,106,860/female 11,077,642)

55-64 years: 15.66% (male 3,958,718/female 4,142,322)

65 years and over: 16.74% (male 3,766,138/female 4,888,799) (2021 est.)
0-14 years: 20.33% (male 2,680,145/female 2,571,334)

15-24 years: 14.39% (male 1,873,814/female 1,842,269)

25-54 years: 43.77% (male 5,671,900/female 5,633,861)

55-64 years: 11.77% (male 1,454,000/female 1,585,830)

65 years and over: 9.75% (male 878,176/female 1,640,031) (2021 est.)
Median agetotal: 43.2 years

male: 41.6 years

female: 45 years (2020 est.)
total: 34.6 years

male: 33.2 years

female: 36.2 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate0.26% (2021 est.)0.49% (2021 est.)
Birth rate6.89 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)14.35 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate6.96 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)9.39 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.1 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.08 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.53 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 2.91 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 3.12 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 2.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 22.42 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 25.2 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 19.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 82.78 years

male: 79.66 years

female: 86.06 years (2021 est.)
total population: 71.65 years

male: 67.79 years

female: 75.74 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.09 children born/woman (2021 est.)1.91 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rateNANA
Nationalitynoun: Korean(s)

adjective: Korean
noun: Korean(s)

adjective: Korean
Ethnic groupshomogeneousracially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDSNANA
ReligionsProtestant 19.7%, Buddhist 15.5%, Catholic 7.9%, none 56.9% (2015 est.)

note: many people also carry on at least some Confucian traditions and practices
traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, 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
HIV/AIDS - deathsNANA
LanguagesKorean, English (widely taught in elementary, junior high, and high school)

major-language sample(s):
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The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Korean

major-language sample(s):
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The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write (2019)

total population: 98% (2019)

male: 99.2%

female: 96.6%
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: 17 years

male: 17 years

female: 16 years (2018)
total: 11 years

male: 11 years

female: 11 years (2015)
Education expenditures4.3% of GDP (2016)NA
Urbanizationurban population: 81.4% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.31% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 62.6% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 97.2% of population

rural: 90.2% of population

total: 94.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.8% of population

rural: 9.8% of population

total: 5.5% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 91.9% of population

rural: 72.3% of population

total: 84.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 8.1% of population

rural: 27.7% of population

total: 15.5% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population9.968 million SEOUL (capital), 3.466 million Busan, 2.818 million Incheon, 2.191 million Daegu (Taegu), 1.569 million Daejon (Taejon), 1.524 million Gwangju (Kwangju) (2021)3.108 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate11 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)89 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight0.7% (2010)9.3% (2017)
Physicians density2.36 physicians/1,000 population (2017)3.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Hospital bed density12.3 beds/1,000 population (2017)13.2 beds/1,000 population (2012)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate4.7% (2016)6.8% (2016)
Contraceptive prevalence rate82.3% (2018)

note: percent of women aged 20-49
70.2% (2017)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 39.5

youth dependency ratio: 17.5

elderly dependency ratio: 22

potential support ratio: 4.5 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 41.2

youth dependency ratio: 28

elderly dependency ratio: 13.2

potential support ratio: 7.6 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook