North Korea vs United States
United States is 81.5 times larger than North Korea. North Korea would fit into United States about 82 times.
North KoreaUnited StatesNorth Korea moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.01×
North Korea is 0.01× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 81.5× the size of North Korea.
 North Korea |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 81.5× the area | 120,540 km²#96 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 12.9× the population | 26,571,036#56 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNorth Korea: 6.34× the density | 220 / km²#45 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationUnited States: 1.25× the urban share | 64%#91 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNorth Korea: 1.09× the births per woman | 1.78 per woman#110 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthUnited States: 0.25 points higher | +0.27%#145 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNorth Korea: 1.22× the birth rate | 12.9 per 1,000#106 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNorth Korea: 1.1× the death rate | 9.9 per 1,000#37 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15North Korea: 1.8 points higher | 18.9%#122 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65United States: 5.7 points higher | 12.7%#64 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited States: 3.7 per 1,000 higher | −0.1 per 1,000#78 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 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 expectancyUnited States: 5.2 years longer | 73.7 years#98 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNorth Korea: 2.42× the infant mortality | 13.3 per 1,000 births#92 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development Index | — | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | Low income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentUnited States: 1.2× the unemployment | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureNorth Korea: 52.6 points higher | 54.1% of jobs#20 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryNorth Korea: 3.5 points higher | 22.4% of jobs#62 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 56.1 points higher | 23.5% of jobs#172 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spending | — | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet users | — | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsUnited States: 4.71× the mobile subscriptions | 24 per 100#190 of 191 · 2022 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaNorth Korea: 1.9× the forest share | 64% of land#20 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 5.45× the CO₂ per person | 2.50 t a year#94 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyNorth Korea: 3.8 points higher | 14.7%#124 of 190 · 2021 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityUnited States: 38.6 points higher | 61.4%#162 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)North Korea: 3.11× the air pollution | 21.8 µg/m³#73 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landUnited States: 10.5 points higher | 2.4% of land#178 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNorth Korea: 2.5 points higher | 19.1% of land#56 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressAbout the same water stress | 27.7%#59 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationNorth Korea: 1.47× the rain and snow | 1,054 mm#88 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 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 corruptionUnited States: 2.42 higher | −1.55#186 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party statedictatorship, single-party communist state | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | — | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Pyongyang | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | North Korean won (KPW) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | Korean, North Korean standard language | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+9 | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +850 | +1 |
| Region | Eastern Asia, Asia | Northern America, North America |
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; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. 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 United States?
- No. North Korea is 81.5 times smaller than United States. North Korea covers 120,540 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does North Korea fit into United States?
- About 82 times: United States has 81.5× the area of North Korea.
- Why do North Korea and United States 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 United States about 1.98×. 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 United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 26,571,036. Density: North Korea 220 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Where do people live longer, North Korea or United States?
- In United States: life expectancy at birth is 78.9 years, against 73.7 — 5.2 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do North Korea and United States have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — North Korea: one-party state; United States: presidential republic.