Korea North People 2024, CIA World Factbook
Population
26,072,217 (2023 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):
월드 팩트북, 필수적인 기본 정보 제공처 (Korean)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Korean audio sample:
Religions
traditionally Buddhist and Confucian, 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: 20.24% (male 2,696,287/female 2,580,346)
15-64 years: 69.16% (male 8,992,254/female 9,040,025)
65 years and over: 10.6% (2023 est.) (male 992,424/female 1,770,881)
2023 population pyramid: 
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 43.5
youth dependency ratio: 27.2
elderly dependency ratio: 16.3
potential support ratio: 6.1 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 35.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 34.2 years
female: 37.1 years
Population growth rate
0.4% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
13.4 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
9.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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: 63.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
3.158 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2023)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.56 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
107 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 16.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 17.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 72.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 69.5 years
female: 76.5 years
Total fertility rate
1.82 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.88 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
70.2% (2017)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 97.8% of population
rural: 89.1% of population
total: 94.5% of population
unimproved: urban: 2.2% of population
rural: 10.9% of population
total: 5.5% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
N/A
Physicians density
3.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 92.7% of population
rural: 73.1% of population
total: 85.3% of population
unimproved: urban: 7.3% of population
rural: 26.9% of population
total: 14.7% of population (2020 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
6.8% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 3.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.12 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 3.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 17.4% (2020 est.)
male: 34.8% (2020 est.)
female: 0% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
9.3% (2017)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
69.7% (2023 est.)
Child marriage
women married by age 18: 0.1% (2017 est.)
Education expenditures
N/A
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)
NOTE: The information regarding Korea North on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Korea North 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Korea North 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.