North Korea vs South Korea
North Korea is 20% larger than South Korea.
North KoreaSouth KoreaNorth Korea moved onto South Korea · Equal-area projection
1.2×
North Korea is 1.2× the area of South Korea.
 North Korea |  South Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaNorth Korea: 1.2× the area | 120,540 km²#96 of 194 | 100,295 km²#107 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 1 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Korea: 1.95× the population | 26,571,036#56 of 194 · 2025 | 51,684,564#29 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Korea: 2.34× the density | 220 / km²#45 of 194 | 515 / km²#16 of 194 |
| Urban populationSouth Korea: 1.26× the urban share | 64%#91 of 192 · 2025 | 81%#39 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNorth Korea: 2.37× the births per woman | 1.78 per woman#110 of 192 · 2024 | 0.75 per woman#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthNorth Korea: 0.40 points higher | +0.27%#145 of 192 · 2025 | −0.13%#165 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNorth Korea: 2.74× the birth rate | 12.9 per 1,000#106 of 192 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000#191 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNorth Korea: 1.41× the death rate | 9.9 per 1,000#37 of 192 · 2024 | 7.0 per 1,000#102 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15North Korea: 8.7 points higher | 18.9%#122 of 192 · 2025 | 10.2%#192 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Korea: 7.6 points higher | 12.7%#64 of 192 · 2025 | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Korea: 1.4 per 1,000 higher | −0.1 per 1,000#78 of 192 · 2025 | +1.3 per 1,000#44 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Korea: 9.9 years longer | 73.7 years#98 of 192 · 2024 | 83.6 years#11 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNorth Korea: 5.78× the infant mortality | 13.3 per 1,000 births#92 of 191 · 2024 | 2.3 per 1,000 births#175 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 2.61 per 1,000#71 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 111.9%#3 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development Index | — | 0.937#19 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $37,880#29 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $1.87T2025 |
| Income group | Low income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $63,125#29 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +1.0%#156 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentNorth Korea: 1.3× the unemployment | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 | 2.7%#149 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2021 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 32.9#95 of 149 · 2021 |
| Jobs in agricultureNorth Korea: 49.0 points higher | 54.1% of jobs#20 of 178 · 2025 | 5.1% of jobs#130 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Korea: 1.0 points higher | 22.4% of jobs#62 of 178 · 2025 | 23.4% of jobs#51 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Korea: 48.0 points higher | 23.5% of jobs#172 of 178 · 2025 | 71.5% of jobs#46 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 0.8% of GDP#137 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 45.8% of GDP#54 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 2.6% of GDP#38 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet users | — | 98%#13 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Korea: 7.21× the mobile subscriptions | 24 per 100#190 of 191 · 2022 | 173 per 100#13 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaAbout the same forest share | 64% of land#20 of 192 · 2024 | 64% of land#19 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Korea: 4.54× the CO₂ per person | 2.50 t a year#94 of 185 · 2024 | 11.4 t a year#15 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyNorth Korea: 11.1 points higher | 14.7%#124 of 190 · 2021 | 3.6%#161 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySouth Korea: 38.6 points higher | 61.4%#162 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)About the same air pollution | 21.8 µg/m³#73 of 191 · 2023 | 21.9 µg/m³#71 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSouth Korea: 15.3 points higher | 2.4% of land#178 of 191 · 2025 | 17.7% of land#95 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNorth Korea: 5.8 points higher | 19.1% of land#56 of 190 · 2024 | 13.3% of land#78 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Korea: 3.08× the water stress | 27.7%#59 of 176 · 2022 | 85.2%#21 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSouth Korea: 1.21× the rain and snow | 1,054 mm#88 of 180 · 2022 | 1,274 mm#71 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Korea: 0.84 higher | +0.08#100 of 193 · 2025 | +0.92#42 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Korea: 2.47 higher | −1.55#186 of 193 · 2025 | +0.92#36 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party statedictatorship, single-party communist state | Presidential republic |
| Member of | — | OECD, G20 |
| Capital | Pyongyang | Seoul |
| Currency | North Korean won (KPW) | South Korean won (KRW) |
| Official languages | Korean, North Korean standard language | Korean, Korean Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+9 | UTC+9 |
| Calling code | +850 | +82 |
| 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. North Korea sits at about 40° N and is stretched to 1.71× its true area; South Korea at 36° N is stretched to 1.54×. 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 North Korea bigger than South Korea?
- Yes. North Korea is 20% larger than South Korea. North Korea covers 120,540 km² and South Korea covers 100,295 km².
- How many times does South Korea fit into North Korea?
- About 1.2 times: North Korea has 1.2× the area of South Korea.
- Why do North Korea and South Korea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. North Korea is drawn about 1.71× its true area there and South Korea about 1.54×. 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, North Korea or South Korea?
- South Korea: 51,684,564 people against 26,571,036. Density: North Korea 220 per km², South Korea 515 per km².
- Where do people live longer, North Korea or South Korea?
- In South Korea: life expectancy at birth is 83.6 years, against 73.7 — 9.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do North Korea and South Korea have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — North Korea: one-party state; South Korea: presidential republic.