North Korea vs. South Korea
Demographics
| North Korea | South Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 25,831,360 (July 2021 est.) | 51,715,162 (July 2021 est.) |
| Age structure | 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.) | 0-14 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.) |
| Median age | total: 34.6 years male: 33.2 years female: 36.2 years (2020 est.) | total: 43.2 years male: 41.6 years female: 45 years (2020 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.49% (2021 est.) | 0.26% (2021 est.) |
| Birth rate | 14.35 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) | 6.89 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Death rate | 9.39 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) | 6.96 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) | 2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Sex ratio | 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.) | at 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.) |
| Infant mortality rate | 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.) | total: 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.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.65 years male: 67.79 years female: 75.74 years (2021 est.) | total population: 82.78 years male: 79.66 years female: 86.06 years (2021 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.91 children born/woman (2021 est.) | 1.09 children born/woman (2021 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | NA | NA |
| Nationality | noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean | noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean |
| Ethnic groups | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese | homogeneous |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | NA | NA |
| Religions | 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 | Protestant 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 |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | NA | NA |
| Languages | Korean major-language sample(s): ?? ???, ???? ?? ?? ??? (Korean) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. | Korean, English (widely taught in elementary, junior high, and high school) major-language sample(s): ?? ???, ???? ?? ?? ??? (Korean) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2015) | definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2019) total population: 98% (2019) male: 99.2% female: 96.6% |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 11 years male: 11 years female: 11 years (2015) | total: 17 years male: 17 years female: 16 years (2018) |
| Education expenditures | NA | 4.3% of GDP (2016) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 62.6% of total population (2021) rate of urbanization: 0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) | urban population: 81.4% of total population (2021) rate of urbanization: 0.31% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Drinking water source | 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.) | improved: total: 100% of population unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | 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.) | improved: total: 100% of population unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.) |
| Major cities - population | 3.108 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2021) | 9.968 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) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 89 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) | 11 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 9.3% (2017) | 0.7% (2010) |
| Physicians density | 3.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017) | 2.36 physicians/1,000 population (2017) |
| Hospital bed density | 13.2 beds/1,000 population (2012) | 12.3 beds/1,000 population (2017) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 6.8% (2016) | 4.7% (2016) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 70.2% (2017) | 82.3% (2018) note: percent of women aged 20-49 |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 41.2 youth dependency ratio: 28 elderly dependency ratio: 13.2 potential support ratio: 7.6 (2020 est.) | total dependency ratio: 39.5 youth dependency ratio: 17.5 elderly dependency ratio: 22 potential support ratio: 4.5 (2020 est.) |
Source: CIA Factbook
