China vs North Korea
China is 79.6 times larger than North Korea. North Korea would fit into China about 80 times.
ChinaNorth KoreaChina moved onto North Korea · Equal-area projection
79.6×
China is 79.6× the area of North Korea.
 China |  North Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaChina: 79.6× the area | 9,596,961 km²#4 of 194 | 120,540 km²#96 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 16 | 3 |
| People | ||
| PopulationChina: 52.9× the population | 1,406,585,000#2 of 194 · 2025 | 26,571,036#56 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNorth Korea: 1.5× the density | 147 / km²#62 of 194 | 220 / km²#45 of 194 |
| Urban populationChina: 1.03× the urban share | 66%#84 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#91 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNorth Korea: 1.76× the births per woman | 1.01 per woman#188 of 192 · 2024 | 1.78 per woman#110 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthNorth Korea: 0.44 points higher | −0.17%#169 of 192 · 2025 | +0.27%#145 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNorth Korea: 1.9× the birth rate | 6.8 per 1,000#184 of 192 · 2024 | 12.9 per 1,000#106 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNorth Korea: 1.27× the death rate | 7.8 per 1,000#76 of 192 · 2024 | 9.9 per 1,000#37 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15North Korea: 3.5 points higher | 15.4%#158 of 192 · 2025 | 18.9%#122 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65China: 2.2 points higher | 14.9%#55 of 192 · 2025 | 12.7%#64 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationNorth Korea: 0.1 per 1,000 higher | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 | −0.1 per 1,000#78 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadChina: 11× the refugees for its size | 0.11 per 1,000#116 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyChina: 4.3 years longer | 78.0 years#53 of 192 · 2024 | 73.7 years#98 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNorth Korea: 3.24× the infant mortality | 4.1 per 1,000 births#150 of 191 · 2024 | 13.3 per 1,000 births#92 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 3.11 per 1,000#56 of 178 · 2022 | — |
| University enrolment | 76.9%#33 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development Index | 0.797#77 of 190 · 2023 | — |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $14,230#65 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDP | $19.5T2025 | — |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $29,333#69 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growth | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 | — |
| Inflation | +0.1%#161 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentChina: 1.31× the unemployment | 4.6%#102 of 178 · 2025 | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2022 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 36.0#63 of 149 · 2022 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureNorth Korea: 32.4 points higher | 21.7% of jobs#81 of 178 · 2025 | 54.1% of jobs#20 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryChina: 9.4 points higher | 31.8% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 | 22.4% of jobs#62 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesChina: 23.0 points higher | 46.5% of jobs#132 of 178 · 2025 | 23.5% of jobs#172 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | 0.4% of GDP#150 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Exports | 21.1% of GDP#132 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spending | 1.7% of GDP#77 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet users | 92%#46 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsChina: 5.5× the mobile subscriptions | 132 per 100#49 of 191 · 2024 | 24 per 100#190 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaNorth Korea: 2.67× the forest share | 24% of land#112 of 192 · 2024 | 64% of land#20 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personChina: 3.73× the CO₂ per person | 9.32 t a year#19 of 185 · 2024 | 2.50 t a year#94 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyChina: 0.5 points higher | 15.2%#121 of 190 · 2021 | 14.7%#124 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityChina: 38.6 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 61.4%#162 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)China: 1.47× the air pollution | 32.0 µg/m³#43 of 191 · 2023 | 21.8 µg/m³#73 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landChina: 13.2 points higher | 15.6% of land#111 of 191 · 2025 | 2.4% of land#178 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNorth Korea: 7.5 points higher | 11.6% of land#86 of 190 · 2024 | 19.1% of land#56 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressChina: 1.5× the water stress | 41.5%#43 of 176 · 2022 | 27.7%#59 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationNorth Korea: 1.63× the rain and snow | 645 mm#122 of 180 · 2022 | 1,054 mm#88 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityNorth Korea: 0.06 higher | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 | +0.08#100 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionChina: 1.62 higher | +0.07#79 of 193 · 2025 | −1.55#186 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2020 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party statecommunist party-led state | One-party statedictatorship, single-party communist state |
| Member of | G20, BRICS | — |
| Capital | Beijing | Pyongyang |
| Currency | Chinese yuan (renminbi) (CNY) | North Korean won (KPW) |
| Official languages | Standard Chinese | Korean, North Korean standard language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+8 · UTC+6 to UTC+8, 2 time zones | UTC+9 |
| Calling code | +86 | +850 |
| Region | Eastern Asia, Asia | Eastern Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. China sits at about 37° N and is stretched to 1.56× its true area; North Korea at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is China bigger than North Korea?
- Yes. China is 79.6 times larger than North Korea. China covers 9,596,961 km² and North Korea covers 120,540 km².
- How many times does North Korea fit into China?
- About 80 times: China has 79.6× the area of North Korea.
- Why do China and North Korea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. China is drawn about 1.56× its true area there and North Korea about 1.71×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, China or North Korea?
- China: 1,406,585,000 people against 26,571,036. Density: China 147 per km², North Korea 220 per km².
- Where do people live longer, China or North Korea?
- In China: life expectancy at birth is 78.0 years, against 73.7 — 4.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do China and North Korea have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: one-party state (CIA World Factbook).