Life in Korea, Dem. People's Rep.
East Asia & Pacific · low-income · capital Pyongyang
World Bank country code PRK · ISO KP · Data sources
Live a life in Korea, Dem. People's Rep.
Start from this country's own statistics — its mortality curve, its income level, its school system — and play the years out: what happens if you leave school at fifteen, or take the job that is offered, or move to the capital.
Start a life in Korea, Dem. People's Rep.The statistics behind the simulation
Each figure shows the year it was observed. A missing row means the World Bank does not report that indicator for Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — not that the value is zero.
| Indicator | Value | Year |
|---|---|---|
Life expectancy at birth The average number of years a newborn would live if the year's mortality rates held for their whole life. | 73.7 years | 2024 |
Infant mortality Babies who die before their first birthday, per 1,000 live births. | 13.3 per 1,000 | 2024 |
Under-5 mortality Children who die before their fifth birthday, per 1,000 live births. | 16.7 per 1,000 | 2024 |
Fertility rate The average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime. | 1.78 | 2024 |
Urban population The share of people living in urban areas. | 63.9% | 2024 |
Youth unemployment The share of the labour force aged 15–24 that is without work and looking for it. | 3.5% | 2024 |
Population Total population. | 26,498,823 | 2024 |
Birth rate Crude birth rate: births per 1,000 population per year. | 12.9 | 2024 |
Female labour force participation The share of women aged 15 and over in work or actively looking for work. | 77.7% | 2024 |
Maternal mortality Deaths during pregnancy and childbirth per 100,000 live births. | 67 per 100,000 | 2023 |
What these numbers mean
A newborn in Korea, Dem. People's Rep. can expect to live 73.7 years, close to the dataset median of 74.7 years. Infant mortality runs at 13.3 deaths per 1,000 live births (2024), so roughly 13 in every thousand babies do not reach their first birthday. The fertility rate is 1.78 births per woman (2024) — below replacement level, so the simulation's households tend to be small. 63.9% of people live in urban areas (2024), so where you start — village, town, city or capital — is a real difference in what the same life can offer.
Other countries in East Asia & Pacific
Where Korea, Dem. People's Rep. sits within East Asia & Pacific
Of the 37 countries in East Asia & Pacific that report life expectancy, Korea, Dem. People's Rep. sits above the regional median, at 73.7 years against a regional median of 73.0. 16 countries report a higher figure and 20 report a lower one.
| Indicator | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | East Asia & Pacific median | East Asia & Pacific range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 73.7 | 73.0 | 62.3 – 85.4 |
| Infant mortality | 13.3 | 13.9 | 1.8 – 38.8 |
| Fertility rate | 1.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 – 3.8 |
| Urban population | 63.9% | 64.7% | 15.4% – 100.0% |
Ranges cover every country in the region that reports the indicator, in the year each country last reported it. Medians are unweighted, so a large country and a small one count the same.
Where Korea, Dem. People's Rep. shows up in the topics
These pages put Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s figures next to the other 216 countries, for the indicators that shape the decisions in the simulation.
- Child marriage around the worldFertility rate · Secondary school enrolment · Female labour-force participation
- Gender and schooling around the worldAdult literacy rate · Secondary school enrolment · Female labour-force participation
- Fertility and family size by countryFertility rate · Birth rate · Maternal mortality
- Marriage and family life by countryFertility rate · Female labour-force participation · Life expectancy at birth
- Pensions and retirement incomeLife expectancy at birth · Government health spending · Population
- Ageing and elder careLife expectancy at birth · Fertility rate · Government health spending
About these figures
The statistics above are national averages from the World Bank Open Data, retrieved 2026-11-01 and released under World Bank data is released under CC BY 4.0. National averages do not describe any individual life, and this page does not rank Korea, Dem. People's Rep. against other countries. Life expectancy reflects a country's mortality conditions as a whole, which include healthcare access, income distribution, nutrition, sanitation and public safety — the simulation uses it as a risk curve, not as a measure of the people who live there.