Life expectancy at birth, total in North Korea
North Korea: Life expectancy at birth, total was 73.74 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy at birth, total in North Korea, 1960–2024
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2024, life expectancy at birth, total in North Korea stood at 73.74 years. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, total in North Korea peaked at 73.74 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 55.81 years, in 1960.
North Korea ranks 117th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 58.54 years | 55.81 years | 61.41 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 64.51 years | 62.05 years | 66.75 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 68.92 years | 67.21 years | 70.27 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 65.77 years | 60.77 years | 71.01 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 66.76 years | 60.88 years | 69.7 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 72.14 years | 70.25 years | 73.03 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 73.45 years | 72.78 years | 73.74 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More health data for North Korea
- Age population, age 09, male, interpolated 172,490 (2025)
- Population, male 49.5% (2025)
- Age population, age 06, female, interpolated 166,257 (2025)
- Age population, age 06, male, interpolated 175,499 (2025)
- Age population, age 07, female, interpolated 165,782 (2025)
- Age population, age 07, male, interpolated 174,931 (2025)
- Age population, age 08, female, interpolated 165,007 (2025)
- Age population, age 08, male, interpolated 174,002 (2025)
- Age population, age 09, female, interpolated 163,694 (2025)
- Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 167,612 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, total in North Korea?
- Life expectancy at birth, total in North Korea was 73.74 years in 2024, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 73.74 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.81 years in 1960.
- How does North Korea rank for life expectancy at birth, total?
- North Korea ranks 117th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is life expectancy at birth, total rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Life expectancy at birth, total (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.