North Korea by the Numbers

North Korea – a country hard to illustrate by numbers and those available are based on estimates. Accordingly, this graphic intends to give an overview on relevant aspects of a country hardly known by outsiders. Overall, we know little about the isolated northern part of the Korean peninsula and what we know is mostly disturbing: The DPRK’s government headed by Kim Jong-un has recently launched another missile test, adding up to 14 tests only in 2017.

Besides that, the country is estimated to be among the most militarised on the globe with more than a million active soldiers and an air force counting 944 aircrafts in total. Thus, North Korea is ranked 23rd (out of 133 countries) for military spending which approximately amounts to $7.5 billion per year. According to the CIA, young adults are obliged to spend several years in the military service, women around seven and men even ten years.

But above all, North Korea is a country that is desperately poor. Out of an estimated 25,115,311 inhabitants, only 36 percent of the population has access to electricity and the GDP per capita amounts to $1,700 – similar to that of South Sudan.