Dem. People's Rep. Korea - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Dem. People's Rep. Korea was 25,778,820 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 25,778,820 in 2020 and a minimum value of 11,424,190 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 11,424,190
1961 11,665,590
1962 11,871,730
1963 12,065,470
1964 12,282,420
1965 12,547,520
1966 12,864,950
1967 13,222,700
1968 13,609,980
1969 14,010,340
1970 14,410,390
1971 14,809,520
1972 15,207,770
1973 15,593,350
1974 15,952,080
1975 16,274,740
1976 16,554,740
1977 16,796,570
1978 17,015,980
1979 17,235,670
1980 17,472,140
1981 17,731,230
1982 18,008,570
1983 18,298,210
1984 18,590,140
1985 18,877,230
1986 19,156,790
1987 19,431,990
1988 19,708,320
1989 19,993,760
1990 20,293,060
1991 20,609,150
1992 20,937,410
1993 21,265,830
1994 21,577,980
1995 21,862,300
1996 22,113,430
1997 22,335,260
1998 22,536,750
1999 22,731,470
2000 22,929,080
2001 23,132,980
2002 23,339,450
2003 23,542,430
2004 23,732,740
2005 23,904,170
2006 24,054,870
2007 24,188,330
2008 24,310,140
2009 24,428,340
2010 24,548,840
2011 24,673,390
2012 24,800,640
2013 24,929,500
2014 25,057,790
2015 25,183,830
2016 25,307,660
2017 25,429,820
2018 25,549,610
2019 25,666,160
2020 25,778,820

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population