Home

China vs. North Korea

Demographics

ChinaNorth Korea
Population1,397,897,720 (July 2021 est.)25,831,360 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 17.29% (male 129,296,339/female 111,782,427)

15-24 years: 11.48% (male 86,129,841/female 73,876,148)

25-54 years: 46.81% (male 333,789,731/female 318,711,557)

55-64 years: 12.08% (male 84,827,645/female 83,557,507)

65 years and over: 12.34% (male 81,586,490/female 90,458,292) (2020 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: 38.4 years

male: 37.5 years

female: 39.4 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 rate11.3 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)14.35 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)9.39 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.11 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.16 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.17 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female

total population: 1.06 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: 11.15 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 11.6 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 10.64 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: 76.31 years

male: 74.23 years

female: 78.62 years (2021 est.)
total population: 71.65 years

male: 67.79 years

female: 75.74 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.6 children born/woman (2021 est.)1.91 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rateNANA
Nationalitynoun: Chinese (singular and plural)

adjective: Chinese
noun: Korean(s)

adjective: Korean
Ethnic groupsHan Chinese 91.6%, Zhuang 1.3%, other (includes Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) 7.1% (2010 est.)

note: the Chinese Government officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups
racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDSNANA
Religionsfolk religion 21.9%, Buddhist 18.3%, Christian 5.2%, Muslim 2%, Hindu < 0.1%, Jewish < 0.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 51.8% (2020 est.)

note: officially atheist
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
LanguagesStandard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry); note - Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uygur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)

major-language sample(s):
????  -  ??????????? (Mandarin)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Korean

major-language sample(s):
?? ???, ???? ?? ?? ??? (Korean)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 96.8%

male: 98.5%

female: 95.2% (2018)
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: 14 years

male: 14 years

female: 14 years (2015)
total: 11 years

male: 11 years

female: 11 years (2015)
Education expendituresNANA
Urbanizationurban population: 62.5% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data do not include Hong Kong and Macau
urban population: 62.6% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 97.7% of population

rural: 87.8% of population

total: 92.8% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.3% of population

rural: 12.2% of population

total: 7.2% 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: urban: 97.1% of population

rural: 82% of population

total: 90.7% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.4% of population

rural: 18% of population

total: 9.3% 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 - population27.796 million Shanghai, 20.897 million BEIJING (capital), 16.382 million Chongqing, 13.794 million Tianjin, 13.635 million Guangzhou, 12.592 million Shenzhen (2021)3.108 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate29 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)89 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight2.4% (2013)9.3% (2017)
Physicians density1.98 physicians/1,000 population (2017)3.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Hospital bed density4.3 beds/1,000 population (2017)13.2 beds/1,000 population (2012)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate6.2% (2016)6.8% (2016)
Contraceptive prevalence rate84.5% (2017)70.2% (2017)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 42.2

youth dependency ratio: 25.2

elderly dependency ratio: 17

potential support ratio: 5.9 (2020 est.)

data do not include Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan
total dependency ratio: 41.2

youth dependency ratio: 28

elderly dependency ratio: 13.2

potential support ratio: 7.6 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook