Liberia vs North Korea
North Korea is 8% larger than Liberia.
LiberiaNorth KoreaLiberia moved onto North Korea · Equal-area projection
0.92×
Liberia is 0.92× the area of North Korea. Put the other way, North Korea is 1.08× the size of Liberia.
 Liberia |  North Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaNorth Korea: 1.08× the area | 111,369 km²#102 of 194 | 120,540 km²#96 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 3 |
| People | ||
| PopulationNorth Korea: 4.64× the population | 5,731,206#116 of 194 · 2025 | 26,571,036#56 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNorth Korea: 4.28× the density | 51 / km²#133 of 194 | 220 / km²#45 of 194 |
| Urban populationNorth Korea: 1.14× the urban share | 56%#117 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#91 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateLiberia: 2.17× the births per woman | 3.86 per woman#29 of 192 · 2024 | 1.78 per woman#110 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthLiberia: 1.82 points higher | +2.09%#43 of 192 · 2025 | +0.27%#145 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateLiberia: 2.37× the birth rate | 30.6 per 1,000#27 of 192 · 2024 | 12.9 per 1,000#106 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNorth Korea: 1.24× the death rate | 8.0 per 1,000#70 of 192 · 2024 | 9.9 per 1,000#37 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Liberia: 20.2 points higher | 39.1%#28 of 192 · 2025 | 18.9%#122 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65North Korea: 9.4 points higher | 3.3%#158 of 192 · 2025 | 12.7%#64 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationNorth Korea: 1.6 per 1,000 higher | −1.7 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2025 | −0.1 per 1,000#78 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadLiberia: 89× the refugees for its size | 0.89 per 1,000#63 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyNorth Korea: 11.4 years longer | 62.3 years#177 of 192 · 2024 | 73.7 years#98 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityLiberia: 4.75× the infant mortality | 63.2 per 1,000 births#5 of 191 · 2024 | 13.3 per 1,000 births#92 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 0.18 per 1,000#153 of 178 · 2022 | — |
| Human Development Index | 0.510#174 of 190 · 2023 | — |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $830#174 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDP | $5.25B2025 | — |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $1,981#177 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growth | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 | — |
| Inflation | +8.3%#27 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentNorth Korea: 1.21× the unemployment | 2.9%#144 of 178 · 2025 | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 33.6%#27 of 149 · 2016 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 35.3#70 of 149 · 2016 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureNorth Korea: 13.0 points higher | 41.1% of jobs#39 of 178 · 2025 | 54.1% of jobs#20 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryNorth Korea: 14.1 points higher | 8.3% of jobs#163 of 178 · 2025 | 22.4% of jobs#62 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesLiberia: 27.0 points higher | 50.5% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 | 23.5% of jobs#172 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | 9.5% of GDP#20 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Military spending | 0.8% of GDP#125 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet users | 32%#163 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsLiberia: 1.33× the mobile subscriptions | 32 per 100#189 of 191 · 2022 | 24 per 100#190 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaLiberia: 1.03× the forest share | 66% of land#18 of 192 · 2024 | 64% of land#20 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personNorth Korea: 16.7× the CO₂ per person | 0.15 t a year#174 of 185 · 2024 | 2.50 t a year#94 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyLiberia: 78.1 points higher | 92.8%#3 of 190 · 2022 | 14.7%#124 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityNorth Korea: 26.5 points higher | 34.9%#184 of 192 · 2024 | 61.4%#162 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)North Korea: 1.22× the air pollution | 17.9 µg/m³#98 of 191 · 2023 | 21.8 µg/m³#73 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landLiberia: 1.6 points higher | 4.0% of land#171 of 191 · 2025 | 2.4% of land#178 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNorth Korea: 13.9 points higher | 5.2% of land#128 of 190 · 2024 | 19.1% of land#56 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressNorth Korea: 92.3× the water stress | 0.3%#168 of 176 · 2022 | 27.7%#59 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationLiberia: 2.27× the rain and snow | 2,391 mm#15 of 180 · 2022 | 1,054 mm#88 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityNorth Korea: 0.22 higher | −0.14#113 of 193 · 2025 | +0.08#100 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionLiberia: 0.59 higher | −0.96#152 of 193 · 2025 | −1.55#186 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | One-party statedictatorship, single-party communist state |
| Capital | Monrovia | Pyongyang |
| Currency | Liberian dollar (LRD) | North Korean won (KPW) |
| Official languages | English | Korean, North Korean standard language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC+9 |
| Calling code | +231 | +850 |
| Region | Western Africa, Africa | 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. Liberia sits at about 6° N and is stretched to 1.01× its true area; North Korea at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. That difference is why North Korea looks so much bigger than it is next to Liberia. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Liberia bigger than North Korea?
- No. Liberia is 8% smaller than North Korea. Liberia covers 111,369 km² and North Korea covers 120,540 km².
- How many times does Liberia fit into North Korea?
- About 1.1 times: North Korea has 1.08× the area of Liberia.
- Why do Liberia and North Korea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Liberia is drawn about 1.01× its true area there and North Korea about 1.71×. That is why North Korea looks so much bigger than it really is next to Liberia. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Liberia or North Korea?
- North Korea: 26,571,036 people against 5,731,206. Density: Liberia 51 per km², North Korea 220 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Liberia or North Korea?
- In North Korea: life expectancy at birth is 73.7 years, against 62.3 — 11.4 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Liberia and North Korea have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Liberia: presidential republic; North Korea: one-party state.