placestats

Last European coloniser: Never a European colony · Largest religious group: Religiously Unaffiliated. These are labels that describe the country, not numbers, so they are never compared with other measures. The numbers behind them, such as population shares, are.

Korea, Dem. People's Rep.

Against low income countries, Korea, Dem. People's Rep. ranks 1st of 25 on health and 25th of 25 on environment. Each ranking counts only the countries that report that score, so the totals differ and the two ranks can’t be compared directly. Both compare Korea, Dem. People's Rep. with countries of similar wealth. That is the only kind of ranking that tells you something a ranking by income does not already show.

How it has changed

Every measure Korea, Dem. People's Rep. reports, over all the years it has been published. Pick one. Hover or use the arrow keys to read a year. Gaps in a line are years with no data. They are left open, not filled in.

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Scores by area

Each score averages the measures in one area, such as health. Each measure is first put on a common scale and turned so that higher is always better. Zero is the average country in an average year. One point is a typical gap between countries (a standard deviation), so +1 means about one typical gap above average. These are summaries, not measurements. See how the country scores are built and how the topic scores compare with each other.

ScoreValueRank, all countriesRank, similar incomeMostly income?
Governance score 2025-1.37175 of 17923 of 25moderate +0.53
Health score 2023+0.5717 of 1931 of 25moderate +0.32
Infrastructure score 2022-0.33194 of 21010 of 25proxy +0.90
Gender score 2020-0.96182 of 18623 of 25moderate +0.37
Environment score 2024-0.74191 of 21325 of 25moderate -0.33
Labour score 2025+0.02107 of 1951 of 25high +0.79

The last column shows how closely each score just tracks national income. The number is its link with GDP per person (the value of everything a country produces, divided by its people), from −1 to +1. A score marked proxy is mostly a measure of how rich the country is. Its rank among all countries says little that GDP per person does not. That is why the rank among similar-income countries sits beside it.

The measures behind them

Every measure reported for Korea, Dem. People's Rep., grouped by area. Some measures have no agreed better direction, such as population growth, inflation and military spending. They are listed here but left out of every score, since there is no fair way to say which way is better. Some names use technical terms: PPP means adjusted for what money buys in each country, HDI is a United Nations score combining life expectancy, schooling and income, and a Gini indexmeasures how unequally income is shared. Each measure’s own page explains it.

crime

Conflict deaths0per 100,000 people2025higher is worse
Armed conflict present01 if any conflict, else 02025higher is worse

culture

Religiously unaffiliated72.9%% of population2020no agreed direction
Christian share0.384%% of population2020no agreed direction
Muslim share0.01%% of population2020no agreed direction
Women in a union68.2%% of women aged 15-492017no agreed direction

demography

Median age36years2023no agreed direction
Age at childbearing28.8years2023no agreed direction
Population26,571,036people2025no agreed direction
Population growth0.272%% per year2025no agreed direction
Urbanization64.2%% of population2025no agreed direction
Population 65+12.7%% of population2025no agreed direction
Population 0-1418.9%% of population2025no agreed direction
Fertility rate1.78births per woman2024no agreed direction
Birth rate12.9per 1,000 people2024no agreed direction
Net migration-2,787people2025no agreed direction
Migrant share of population0.2%% of population2024no agreed direction

economy

Employment in agriculture54.1%% of employment2025no agreed direction

education

Expected schooling12.2years2023higher is better
Primary enrollment92.1%% gross2018higher is better
Secondary enrollment94.3%% gross2015higher is better
Tertiary enrollment26.7%% gross2018higher is better
Compulsory schooling12years2025no agreed direction
Pupil-teacher ratio20.3pupils per teacher2018higher is worse

environment

CO2 per capita2.5t CO2e per capita2024higher is worse
Forest area49.6%% of land area2023higher is better
Agricultural land21.6%% of land area2023no agreed direction
Protected land2.4%% of land area2025higher is better

gender

Women's political empowerment0.29index (0-1)2025higher is better
Women ministers0%% of ministers2020higher is better
Women in parliament17.6%% of seats2025higher is better
Married by 180.1%% of women aged 20-242017higher is worse

governance

Corruption Perceptions Index15index (0-100, higher = cleaner)2024higher is better
Political rights (FH)7rating (1-7, 1 = most free)2025higher is worse
Civil liberties (FH)7rating (1-7, 1 = most free)2025higher is worse
Refugees originating1.07per 100,000 people2024higher is worse
Electoral democracy0.083index (0-1)2025higher is better
Liberal democracy0.014index (0-1)2025higher is better
Participatory democracy0.044index (0-1)2025higher is better
Free and fair elections0.122index (0-1)2025higher is better
Regime type0regime category (0-3)2025higher is better
Political corruption0.67index (0-1)2025higher is worse
Freedom of expression0.013index (0-1)2025higher is better
Freedom of association0.025index (0-1)2025higher is better
Political civil liberties0.015index (0-1)2025higher is better
Civil society participation0.028index (0-1)2025higher is better
Control of corruption-1.56index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Rule of law-1.53index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Government effectiveness-1.27index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Regulatory quality-1.87index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Voice and accountability-1.99index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Political stability0.322index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better

health

Life expectancy73.7years2024higher is better
Infant mortality13.3per 1,000 live births2024higher is worse
Under-5 mortality16.7per 1,000 live births2024higher is worse
Suicide rate9.31per 100,0002021higher is worse
Hospital beds12.8per 1,000 people2018no agreed direction
Basic water access93.9%% of population2023higher is better
Basic sanitation84.8%% of population2023higher is better
Child stunting16.6%% of children under 52024higher is worse
Adolescent fertility0.505births per 1,000 women aged 15-192024higher is worse
Maternal mortality67per 100,000 live births2023higher is worse
Skilled birth attendance99.5%% of births2017higher is better
Alcohol consumption3.87litres per adult per year2020no agreed direction
Tobacco use15.6%% of adults2024higher is worse
Road traffic deaths24.2per 100,000 population2019higher is worse
Physicians3.63per 1,000 people2017higher is better
DTP3 immunisation99%% of children aged 12-23 months2024higher is better
Premature NCD mortality23.7%% probability, ages 30-702021higher is worse
Anaemia in women27.5%% of women aged 15-492023higher is worse
Undernourishment47%% of population2018higher is worse
Adult obesity12%% of adults2024higher is worse
Health coverage index77index, 0 to 1002023higher is better

infrastructure

Mobile subscriptions24.1per 100 people2022higher is better
Electricity access61.4%% of population2024higher is better
Slum share of urban population23%% of urban population2022higher is worse

labor

Unemployment3.54%% of labor force2025higher is worse
Female labor participation77.7%% of women 15+2025no agreed direction
Male labor participation86.8%% of men 15+2025no agreed direction
Vulnerable employment56.8%% of employment2025higher is worse

Values are the most recent in 2010–2025, and different measures can come from different years. The year is shown beside each. Nothing here ranks countries by merit. An area score averages whatever measures its publishers happen to collect, and the choice of what to collect is itself a judgement made by someone else. All countries · How the country data works

Countries to compare with Korea, Dem. People's Rep.

Also in East Asia & Pacific: American Samoa, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hong Kong SAR, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Rep., Lao PDR, Macao SAR, China, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Fed. Sts., Mongolia, Myanmar, Naoero, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Viet Nam.

Also low income, in other regions: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Dem. Rep., Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, The, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Fed. Rep., South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Uganda, Yemen, Rep..