Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in North Korea

North Korea: Share of children, working-age adults, and older people was 5.01 million people in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
5.01 million people
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
72nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
6.60 million people
in 1976
All-time low
4.18 million people
in 1956
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in North Korea, 1950–2023

02.0M4.0M6.0M195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

In 2023, share of children, working-age adults, and older people in North Korea stood at 5.01 million people.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children, working-age adults, and older people in North Korea peaked at 6.60 million people in 1976 and was at its lowest, 4.18 million people, in 1956.

North Korea ranks 72nd of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 4.39 million people 4.18 million people 4.94 million people 10
1960s 4.94 million people 4.39 million people 5.87 million people 10
1970s 6.46 million people 6.08 million people 6.60 million people 10
1980s 5.95 million people 5.58 million people 6.40 million people 10
1990s 5.89 million people 5.60 million people 6.06 million people 10
2000s 5.82 million people 5.50 million people 6.05 million people 10
2010s 5.13 million people 4.98 million people 5.41 million people 10
2020s 5.00 million people 4.99 million people 5.01 million people 4

Countries ranked near North Korea

  1. 69 Rwanda 5.27 million people compare
  2. 70 Cambodia 5.25 million people compare
  3. 71 Sri Lanka 5.14 million people compare
  4. 73 Australia 4.77 million people compare
  5. 74 South Sudan 4.58 million people compare
  6. 75 Ecuador 4.50 million people compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for North Korea

All data for North Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children, working-age adults, and older people in North Korea?
Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in North Korea was 5.01 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children, working-age adults, and older people recorded in North Korea?
The highest recorded value was 6.60 million people in 1976.
What is the lowest share of children, working-age adults, and older people recorded in North Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 4.18 million people in 1956.
How does North Korea rank for share of children, working-age adults, and older people?
North Korea ranks 72nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of children, working-age adults, and older people rising or falling in North Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this North Korea data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children, working-age adults, and older people. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of children, working-age adults, and older people
Unit
people
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

The total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-14.