Population, total in North Korea
North Korea: Population, total was 26.57 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population, total in North Korea, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, population, total in North Korea stood at 26.57 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population, total in North Korea peaked at 26.57 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 11.72 million, in 1960.
North Korea ranks 56th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 13.13 million | 11.72 million | 14.77 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 16.72 million | 15.17 million | 17.98 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 19.49 million | 18.24 million | 20.80 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.42 million | 21.11 million | 23.50 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.30 million | 23.67 million | 24.88 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.51 million | 24.99 million | 26.04 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.36 million | 26.14 million | 26.57 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More climate change data for North Korea
- Population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.8% (2025)
- Urban population 17.06 million (2025)
- Urban population 64.2% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 12.1% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 8.66 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 12.9% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 2.4% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 1.3% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 0.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population, total in North Korea?
- Population, total in North Korea was 26.57 million in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population, total recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 26.57 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest population, total recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.72 million in 1960.
- How does North Korea rank for population, total?
- North Korea ranks 56th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population, total rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.9%. 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 Population, total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.