Quality of life comparison
If you lived in North Korea instead of Turkey, you would:
Health
be 58.5% less likely to be obese
In Turkey, 28.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In North Korea, that number is 11.9% of people as of 2024.
live 3.7 years less
In Turkey, the average life expectancy is 77 years (75 years for men, 80 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 10.5% less access to essential health services
Turkey scores 76 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. North Korea scores 68 as of 2021.
be 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide
Turkey has a suicide rate of 2.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In North Korea, it is 9.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 58.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Turkey, 8.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In North Korea, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.
Life
have 16.9% more children
In Turkey, there are approximately 11.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In North Korea, there are 12.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 4.5 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Turkey, approximately 15.0 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 66.3% more likely to die during infancy
In Turkey, approximately 8.0 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 Turkey, 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 65.3% less coastline
Turkey has a total of 7,200 km of coastline. In North Korea, that number is 2,495 km.
Infrastructure
live with 42.1% less strain on fresh water
Turkey withdraws 48% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. North Korea withdraws 28% as of 2022.
use 78.9% less electricity
Turkey uses 3,731 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. North Korea uses 789 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 53.5% less CO2
Turkey emits 5.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. North Korea emits 2.5 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.2 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Turkey, air pollution causes 39.0 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: Turkey vs. North Korea
North Korea: At a glance
How big is North Korea compared to Turkey? See an in-depth size comparison.