North Korea vs Tajikistan
Tajikistan is 19% larger than North Korea.
North KoreaTajikistanNorth Korea moved onto Tajikistan · Equal-area projection
0.84×
North Korea is 0.84× the area of Tajikistan. Put the other way, Tajikistan is 1.19× the size of North Korea.
 North Korea |  Tajikistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaTajikistan: 1.19× the area | 120,540 km²#96 of 194 | 143,100 km²#94 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 4 |
| People | ||
| PopulationNorth Korea: 2.46× the population | 26,571,036#56 of 194 · 2025 | 10,786,734#91 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNorth Korea: 2.92× the density | 220 / km²#45 of 194 | 75 / km²#110 of 194 |
| Urban populationNorth Korea: 2.45× the urban share | 64%#91 of 192 · 2025 | 26%#178 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateTajikistan: 1.71× the births per woman | 1.78 per woman#110 of 192 · 2024 | 3.04 per woman#54 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthTajikistan: 1.56 points higher | +0.27%#145 of 192 · 2025 | +1.83%#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateTajikistan: 1.96× the birth rate | 12.9 per 1,000#106 of 192 · 2024 | 25.3 per 1,000#49 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNorth Korea: 2.15× the death rate | 9.9 per 1,000#37 of 192 · 2024 | 4.6 per 1,000#179 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Tajikistan: 17.0 points higher | 18.9%#122 of 192 · 2025 | 35.9%#49 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65North Korea: 8.6 points higher | 12.7%#64 of 192 · 2025 | 4.1%#139 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationNorth Korea: 1.9 per 1,000 higher | −0.1 per 1,000#78 of 192 · 2025 | −2.0 per 1,000#144 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadTajikistan: 39× the refugees for its size | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | 0.39 per 1,000#80 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyNorth Korea: 1.8 years longer | 73.7 years#98 of 192 · 2024 | 71.9 years#116 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityTajikistan: 1.77× the infant mortality | 13.3 per 1,000 births#92 of 191 · 2024 | 23.5 per 1,000 births#59 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 1.87 per 1,000#86 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolment | — | 35.6%#98 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development Index | — | 0.691#127 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $2,080#148 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $17.66B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $5,923#147 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +8.4%#8 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +3.4%#78 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentTajikistan: 1.97× the unemployment | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 | 6.9%#58 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 6.1%#50 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 36.1#61 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureNorth Korea: 10.8 points higher | 54.1% of jobs#20 of 178 · 2025 | 43.3% of jobs#34 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryNorth Korea: 4.7 points higher | 22.4% of jobs#62 of 178 · 2025 | 17.7% of jobs#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesTajikistan: 15.6 points higher | 23.5% of jobs#172 of 178 · 2025 | 39.1% of jobs#148 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 0.5% of GDP#144 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 11.2% of GDP#157 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spending | — | 1.5% of GDP#88 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet users | — | 56%#140 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsTajikistan: 3.17× the mobile subscriptions | 24 per 100#190 of 191 · 2022 | 76 per 100#152 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaNorth Korea: 20.7× the forest share | 64% of land#20 of 192 · 2024 | 3% of land#169 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personNorth Korea: 2.72× the CO₂ per person | 2.50 t a year#94 of 185 · 2024 | 0.92 t a year#131 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyTajikistan: 20.2 points higher | 14.7%#124 of 190 · 2021 | 34.9%#69 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityTajikistan: 38.5 points higher | 61.4%#162 of 192 · 2024 | 99.9%#100 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Tajikistan: 1.53× the air pollution | 21.8 µg/m³#73 of 191 · 2023 | 33.3 µg/m³#37 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landTajikistan: 20.2 points higher | 2.4% of land#178 of 191 · 2025 | 22.6% of land#64 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNorth Korea: 13.0 points higher | 19.1% of land#56 of 190 · 2024 | 6.1% of land#122 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressTajikistan: 2.52× the water stress | 27.7%#59 of 176 · 2022 | 69.9%#25 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationNorth Korea: 1.53× the rain and snow | 1,054 mm#88 of 180 · 2022 | 691 mm#114 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityNorth Korea: 0.38 higher | +0.08#100 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionTajikistan: 0.30 higher | −1.55#186 of 193 · 2025 | −1.25#168 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party statedictatorship, single-party communist state | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Pyongyang | Dushanbe |
| Currency | North Korean won (KPW) | Tajikistani somoni (TJS) |
| Official languages | Korean, North Korean standard language | Tajik, Russian |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+9 | UTC+5 |
| Calling code | +850 | +992 |
| Region | Eastern Asia, Asia | Central 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; Tajikistan at 39° N is stretched to 1.63×. 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 Tajikistan?
- No. North Korea is 16% smaller than Tajikistan. North Korea covers 120,540 km² and Tajikistan covers 143,100 km².
- How many times does North Korea fit into Tajikistan?
- About 1.2 times: Tajikistan has 1.19× the area of North Korea.
- Why do North Korea and Tajikistan 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 Tajikistan about 1.63×. 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 Tajikistan?
- North Korea: 26,571,036 people against 10,786,734. Density: North Korea 220 per km², Tajikistan 75 per km².
- Where do people live longer, North Korea or Tajikistan?
- In North Korea: life expectancy at birth is 73.7 years, against 71.9 — 1.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do North Korea and Tajikistan have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — North Korea: one-party state; Tajikistan: presidential republic.