North Korea

GDP/capita CAGR

n/a

Unemployment (2025)

3.5%

Gini index (n/a)

n/a

CO2/capita (2024)

2.5 t

North Korea: too little GDP data to measure long-run growth

One of the world's most isolated command economies, North Korea suffered a devastating famine in the 1990s after Soviet aid ended, and international sanctions over its nuclear program have since left it heavily dependent on trade with China; the World Bank publishes very little economic data for it. North Korea's GDP-per-capita trajectory since 1980 cannot be fully reconstructed from available World Bank data. Sector-composition data for North Korea is incomplete over the full period. On human development, life expectancy rose from 67.2 to 73.7 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 30.1% to 26.7%, while the urban population share grew from 56.9% to 63.9%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions fell from 6.46 to 2.50 tonnes CO2e per person.

Events shaping this economy

Leading companies in North Korea

Air Koryo · Airlines Korea Computer Center · Technology

Macroeconomic

GDP growth

% annual

Data not available for North Korea

GDP per capita

current US$

Data not available for North Korea

Inflation (CPI)

% annual

Data not available for North Korea

Unemployment

% of labor force

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Government debt

% of GDP

Data not available for North Korea

Exports

% of GDP

Data not available for North Korea

Imports

% of GDP

Data not available for North Korea

Foreign direct investment, net inflows

% of GDP

Data not available for North Korea

Current account balance

% of GDP

Data not available for North Korea

Government expenditure

% of GDP

Data not available for North Korea

Structural & Microeconomic

Agriculture, value added

% of GDP

Data not available for North Korea

Industry, value added

% of GDP

Data not available for North Korea

Services, value added

% of GDP

Data not available for North Korea

Labor force participation

% of population 15+

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Gini index (inequality)

index (0-100)

Data not available for North Korea

Poverty headcount ratio

% of population

Data not available for North Korea

Education & Development

Tertiary school enrollment

% gross

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Adult literacy rate

% of people 15+

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Education spending

% of GDP

Data not available for North Korea

Primary pupil-teacher ratio

pupils per teacher

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Life expectancy at birth

years

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Urban population

% of total

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Total population

people

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Environmental Cost

CO2 emissions per capita

t CO2e per capita

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