Life expectancy in North Korea
North Korea: Life expectancy was 73.64 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in North Korea, 1908–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, life expectancy in North Korea stood at 73.64 years. That is the highest value across all 82 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in North Korea peaked at 73.64 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 14.2 years, in 1950.
That places North Korea 133rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 82 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 23.51 years | 23.51 years | 23.51 years | 1 |
| 1910s | 25.98 years | 24.98 years | 26.98 years | 2 |
| 1920s | 31.57 years | 29.53 years | 33.6 years | 2 |
| 1930s | 39.98 years | 37.39 years | 42.57 years | 2 |
| 1940s | 44.89 years | 44.89 years | 44.89 years | 1 |
| 1950s | 42.34 years | 14.2 years | 55.17 years | 10 |
| 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 | 73.38 years | 72.78 years | 73.64 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
- 130 Kazakhstan 74.4 years compare
- 131 Paraguay 73.84 years compare
- 132 Dominican Republic 73.72 years compare
- 134 Suriname 73.63 years compare
- 135 Belize 73.57 years compare
- 136 Trinidad and Tobago 73.49 years compare
More health data for North Korea
- Population ages 0-14, female 2.45 million (2025)
- Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 157,831 (2025)
- Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 167,612 (2025)
- Age population, age 12, female, interpolated 159,337 (2025)
- Age population, age 11, male, interpolated 169,407 (2025)
- Age population, age 11, female, interpolated 160,930 (2025)
- Age population, age 10, male, interpolated 171,016 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total 5.03 million (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female 67.3% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female 9.03 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in North Korea?
- Life expectancy in North Korea was 73.64 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 73.64 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.2 years in 1950.
- How does North Korea rank for life expectancy?
- North Korea ranks 133rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 82 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.