Country profile · East Asia & Pacific · LIC
🇰🇵 Korea, Dem. People's Rep.
Low income. Capital Pyongyang. Mid-pack GDP/cap (LIC · LONG) across 29 World Bank / WHO / ILO measures.
- 26.5 million
- Population
- N/A
- GDP
- -
- GDP / capita
- 73.7 years
- Life expectancy
Mid-pack GDP/cap · LONG
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. ranks 119th for life expectancy - a low income economy in East Asia & Pacific.
- #119
- Life-expectancy rank
- #56
- Population rank
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. sits in the middle third of GDP/cap (# - of 217) as a LIC economy with LONG longevity.
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. on the global income map
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. (PRK) mid GDP/cap pack - GDP per capita × life expectancy vs largest peers; gold rings = OECD.
- India: GDP per capita $2,695 (2024), life expectancy 72.2 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- China: GDP per capita $13,303 (2024), life expectancy 78.0 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- United States: GDP per capita $84,534 (2024), life expectancy 78.9 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Indonesia: GDP per capita $4,925 (2024), life expectancy 71.3 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Pakistan: GDP per capita $1,479 (2024), life expectancy 67.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Nigeria: GDP per capita $1,084 (2024), life expectancy 54.6 years (2024), low income.
- Brazil: GDP per capita $10,311 (2024), life expectancy 76.0 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Bangladesh: GDP per capita $2,593 (2024), life expectancy 74.9 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Russian Federation: GDP per capita $14,889 (2024), life expectancy 73.4 years (2024), high income.
- Ethiopia: GDP per capita $1,134 (2024), life expectancy 67.6 years (2024), low income.
- Mexico: GDP per capita $14,186 (2024), life expectancy 75.3 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Japan: GDP per capita $32,487 (2024), life expectancy 84.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Egypt, Arab Rep.: GDP per capita $3,338 (2024), life expectancy 71.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Philippines: GDP per capita $3,985 (2024), life expectancy 69.9 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Congo, Dem. Rep.: GDP per capita $693 (2024), life expectancy 62.1 years (2024), low income.
- Viet Nam: GDP per capita $4,717 (2024), life expectancy 74.7 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Iran, Islamic Rep.: GDP per capita $5,190 (2024), life expectancy 77.9 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Turkiye: GDP per capita $15,893 (2024), life expectancy 77.4 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Germany: GDP per capita $56,104 (2024), life expectancy 80.8 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Thailand: GDP per capita $7,387 (2024), life expectancy 76.6 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- United Kingdom: GDP per capita $53,246 (2024), life expectancy 81.4 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Tanzania: GDP per capita $1,193 (2024), life expectancy 67.2 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- France: GDP per capita $46,103 (2024), life expectancy 83.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- South Africa: GDP per capita $6,267 (2024), life expectancy 66.3 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Italy: GDP per capita $40,385 (2024), life expectancy 84.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Kenya: GDP per capita $2,133 (2024), life expectancy 63.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Myanmar: GDP per capita $1,359 (2024), life expectancy 67.1 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Colombia: GDP per capita $7,951 (2024), life expectancy 77.9 years (2024), upper-middle income, OECD member.
- Korea, Rep.: GDP per capita $36,239 (2024), life expectancy 83.6 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Sudan: GDP per capita $985 (2024), life expectancy 66.5 years (2024), low income.
Overview
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. has a population of 26.5 million, making it the 56th-most populous country out of 217 tracked in East Asia & Pacific.
Life expectancy at birth is 73.7 years (ranked 119th globally), reflecting overall health outcomes as measured by the World Bank.
The capital is Pyongyang.
👥 Demographics
💰 Economy
🏥 Health
📚 Education
🌍 Environment
🏗️ Infrastructure
⚖️ Social
🌐 Livability Score
One composite verdict from 4 of 5 World Bank series (life expectancy, under-5 mortality, electricity access, clean-water access, homicide rate), each benchmarked against every country tracking that series. A missing series never silently drags the score down: its weight redistributes across the series Korea, Dem. People's Rep. does report.
All indicators for Korea, Dem. People's Rep.
29 latest observations from World Bank WDI, WHO GHO, and ILO ILOSTAT (vintage through 2026-08-14). Values match the topic cards above; this table is the machine-readable export view analysts expect on a country profile.
🫀 Disease Burden
Among external causes, Korea, Dem. People's Rep. stamps a suicide rate of 128.0 per 100,000 (fleet midpoint 23.3) - higher relative to peers than its NCD strip. Summary metrics use 2021 data; cause-specific cards show their own observation year.
Non-communicable Diseases
Injuries & External Causes
Sources: WHO Global Health Observatory. NCD mortality rate: 2021. Rates are age-standardized per 100,000 population. Premature NCD risk covers cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease.
Compare Korea, Dem. People's Rep. with near GDP/cap peers
Side-by-side pages for the closest ABS GDP/cap neighbours - not a full-roster dropdown.
Open compare hubRead with Korea, Dem. People's Rep.
Nearest GDP/cap peers and LE poles for Korea, Dem. People's Rep. (LIC · LONG), replacing the old fixed guide and region clone strip.
LIC LONG
What the data says about Korea, Dem. People's Rep.
Statistical infrastructure in low-income economies like Korea, Dem. People's Rep. typically relies more heavily on household surveys and modeled estimates than on continuous administrative registration, so several figures on this profile carry a wider margin of uncertainty and a longer lag between the reference year and today than a high-income country's data would. With a small population, a single survey round or a change in methodology can shift Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s reported figures noticeably from one release to the next, independent of any real change on the ground. Where a field on this page reads "N/A," it usually means the relevant international agency has not yet published a recent estimate for Korea, Dem. People's Rep., not that the underlying condition doesn't exist.
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. sits in the middle third of GDP/cap (# - of 217) as a LIC economy with LONG longevity.
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. holds 26.5 million people and N/A GDP (mid-ranked) at N/A per person - mid GDP/cap band, LIC, LE 73.7 years (119th, LONG). 29 WDI/WHO/ILO cells fill the topic blocks.
Use the topic tables and GDP/cap leaderboard to track vintages; "N/A" means the upstream agency has not published that cell for Korea, Dem. People's Rep. - we do not invent it.
What to do with Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s numbers
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. is classified LIC with LONG. Use that context before comparing any single figure to another country.
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Figures above are sourced from World Bank, WHO, and ILO (OECD where applicable) as cited below; always verify against the primary source before citing a specific number.
Source: World Bank Open Data, Source: WHO Global Health Observatory, Source: ILO ILOSTAT. World Bank and ILO data licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Disclaimer: This information is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, financial, or legal advice. See our full disclaimer and editorial policy.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced and computed.