Quality of life comparison
If you lived in North Korea instead of United States, you would:
Health
be 81.2% less likely to be obese
In United States, 36.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In North Korea, that number is 6.8% of people as of 2016.
live 8.8 years less
In United States, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022. In North Korea, that number is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
be 15.9% less likely to be unemployed
In United States, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In North Korea, that number is 3.1% as of 2022.
make 97.4% less money
United States has a GDP per capita of $64,600 as of 2022, while in North Korea, the GDP per capita is $1,700 as of 2015.
Life
be 5.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In United States, approximately 21.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In North Korea, 107.0 women do as of 2020.
be 4.3 times more likely to die during infancy
In United States, approximately 5.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In North Korea, on the other hand, 22.2 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 47.4% less likely to have access to electricity
In United States, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In North Korea, 53% of the population do as of 2021.
Geography
see 87.5% less coastline
United States has a total of 19,924 km of coastline. In North Korea, that number is 2,495 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
North Korea: At a glance
How big is North Korea compared to United States? See an in-depth size comparison.