Greece vs North Korea
Greece is 9% larger than North Korea.
GreeceNorth KoreaGreece moved onto North Korea · Equal-area projection
1.09×
Greece is 1.09× the area of North Korea.
 Greece |  North Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaGreece: 1.09× the area | 131,957 km²#95 of 194 | 120,540 km²#96 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 4 | 3 |
| People | ||
| PopulationNorth Korea: 2.55× the population | 10,413,962#94 of 194 · 2025 | 26,571,036#56 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNorth Korea: 2.79× the density | 79 / km²#105 of 194 | 220 / km²#45 of 194 |
| Urban populationGreece: 1.23× the urban share | 79%#47 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#91 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNorth Korea: 1.44× the births per woman | 1.24 per woman#174 of 192 · 2024 | 1.78 per woman#110 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthNorth Korea: 0.19 points higher | +0.08%#152 of 192 · 2025 | +0.27%#145 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNorth Korea: 1.95× the birth rate | 6.6 per 1,000#185 of 192 · 2024 | 12.9 per 1,000#106 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateGreece: 1.22× the death rate | 12.1 per 1,000#16 of 192 · 2024 | 9.9 per 1,000#37 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15North Korea: 6.0 points higher | 12.9%#182 of 192 · 2025 | 18.9%#122 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Greece: 11.7 points higher | 24.4%#5 of 192 · 2025 | 12.7%#64 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationGreece: 1.7 per 1,000 higher | +1.6 per 1,000#42 of 192 · 2025 | −0.1 per 1,000#78 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadAbout as many refugees for its size | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyGreece: 8.1 years longer | 81.8 years#32 of 192 · 2024 | 73.7 years#98 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNorth Korea: 4.16× the infant mortality | 3.2 per 1,000 births#163 of 191 · 2024 | 13.3 per 1,000 births#92 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 6.58 per 1,000#4 of 178 · 2022 | — |
| University enrolment | 165.1%#1 of 145 · 2023 | — |
| Human Development Index | 0.908#33 of 190 · 2023 | — |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $25,360#45 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDP | $280.64B2025 | — |
| Income group | High income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $45,264#49 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growth | +2.1%#127 of 187 · 2025 | — |
| Inflation | +2.5%#99 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentGreece: 2.43× the unemployment | 8.5%#45 of 178 · 2025 | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 0.6%#102 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 33.4#90 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureNorth Korea: 43.4 points higher | 10.7% of jobs#108 of 178 · 2025 | 54.1% of jobs#20 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryNorth Korea: 6.1 points higher | 16.3% of jobs#125 of 178 · 2025 | 22.4% of jobs#62 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesGreece: 49.5 points higher | 73.0% of jobs#38 of 178 · 2025 | 23.5% of jobs#172 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | 4.8% of GDP#39 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Exports | 39.5% of GDP#76 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spending | 3.0% of GDP#32 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet users | 86%#73 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsGreece: 4.75× the mobile subscriptions | 114 per 100#99 of 191 · 2024 | 24 per 100#190 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaNorth Korea: 1.74× the forest share | 37% of land#75 of 192 · 2024 | 64% of land#20 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personGreece: 2.02× the CO₂ per person | 5.05 t a year#49 of 185 · 2024 | 2.50 t a year#94 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyGreece: 6.8 points higher | 21.5%#101 of 190 · 2021 | 14.7%#124 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityGreece: 38.6 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 61.4%#162 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)North Korea: 1.55× the air pollution | 14.1 µg/m³#124 of 191 · 2023 | 21.8 µg/m³#73 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landGreece: 32.6 points higher | 35.0% of land#23 of 191 · 2025 | 2.4% of land#178 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNorth Korea: 4.9 points higher | 14.2% of land#76 of 190 · 2024 | 19.1% of land#56 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressNorth Korea: 1.36× the water stress | 20.3%#67 of 176 · 2022 | 27.7%#59 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationNorth Korea: 1.62× the rain and snow | 652 mm#121 of 180 · 2022 | 1,054 mm#88 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityGreece: 0.20 higher | +0.28#81 of 193 · 2025 | +0.08#100 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionGreece: 1.80 higher | +0.25#71 of 193 · 2025 | −1.55#186 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 0.8 per 100,000#117 of 146 · 2023 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republic | One-party statedictatorship, single-party communist state |
| Member of | EU, NATO, Euro area, Schengen Area, OECD | — |
| Capital | Athens | Pyongyang |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | North Korean won (KPW) |
| Official languages | Greek | Korean, North Korean standard language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2, summer time UTC+3 | UTC+9 |
| Calling code | +30 | +850 |
| Region | Southern Europe, Europe | 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. Greece sits at about 39° N and is stretched to 1.66× 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 Greece bigger than North Korea?
- Yes. Greece is 9% larger than North Korea. Greece covers 131,957 km² and North Korea covers 120,540 km².
- How many times does North Korea fit into Greece?
- About 1.1 times: Greece has 1.09× the area of North Korea.
- Why do Greece and North Korea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Greece is drawn about 1.66× 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, Greece or North Korea?
- North Korea: 26,571,036 people against 10,413,962. Density: Greece 79 per km², North Korea 220 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Greece or North Korea?
- In Greece: life expectancy at birth is 81.8 years, against 73.7 — 8.1 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Greece and North Korea have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Greece: parliamentary republic; North Korea: one-party state.