Quality of life comparison
If you lived in North Korea instead of Norway, you would:
Health
be 40.8% less likely to be obese
In Norway, 20.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In North Korea, that number is 11.9% of people as of 2024.
be 29.4% less likely to die by suicide
Norway has a suicide rate of 13.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In North Korea, it is 9.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 9.4 years less
In Norway, the average life expectancy is 83 years (82 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In North Korea, that number is 74 years (72 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2024.
have 21.8% less access to essential health services
Norway scores 87 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. North Korea scores 68 as of 2021.
Economy
be 23.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Norway, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In North Korea, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.
Life
have 32.6% more children
In Norway, there are approximately 9.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In North Korea, there are 12.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 67.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Norway, approximately 1.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In North Korea, 67.0 women do as of 2023.
be 6.7 times more likely to die during infancy
In Norway, approximately 2.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In North Korea, on the other hand, 13.3 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 42.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Norway, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In North Korea, that number is 58% of people on average (36% in urban areas, and 11% in rural areas) as of 2023.
Geography
see 90.1% less coastline
Norway has a total of 25,148 km of coastline. In North Korea, that number is 2,495 km.
Infrastructure
live with 13.6 times more strain on fresh water
Norway withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. North Korea withdraws 28% as of 2022.
use 96.7% less electricity
Norway uses 23,673 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. North Korea uses 789 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 65.2% less CO2
Norway emits 7.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. North Korea emits 2.5 tonnes as of 2024.
be 10.8 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Norway, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In North Korea, it causes 86.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Norway vs. North Korea
North Korea: At a glance
How big is North Korea compared to Norway? See an in-depth size comparison.