| Population | 25,831,360 (July 2021 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): ?? ???, ???? ?? ?? ??? (Korean) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. |
| 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 |
| 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.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 41.2 youth dependency ratio: 28 elderly dependency ratio: 13.2 potential support ratio: 7.6 (2020 est.) |
| Median age | total: 34.6 years male: 33.2 years female: 36.2 years (2020 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.49% (2021 est.) |
| Birth rate | 14.35 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Death rate | 9.39 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 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: 62.6% of total population (2021) rate of urbanization: 0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major cities - population | 3.108 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2021) |
| 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.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 89 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 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.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.65 years male: 67.79 years female: 75.74 years (2021 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.91 children born/woman (2021 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 70.2% (2017) |
| 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.) |
| Physicians density | 3.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017) |
| Hospital bed density | 13.2 beds/1,000 population (2012) |
| 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.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | NA |
| Food insecurity | widespread lack of access: due to low food consumption levels, poor dietary diversity, and economic downturn - a large portion of the population suffers from low levels of food consumption and very poor dietary diversity; the economic constraints, particularly resulting from the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, have increased the population’s vulnerability to food insecurity; the food gap is estimated at about 860,000 mt in the 2020/21 marketing year (November/October); if this gap is not adequately covered through commercial imports and/or food aid, households could experience a harsh lean period, particularly from August until October, when the 2021 main season grain crops are expected to be available for consumption (2021) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 6.8% (2016) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 9.3% (2017) |
| Education expenditures | NA |
| 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) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
