Population · Asia

North Korea population 2026

Right now · estimate

26,651,845

Births today: 0
Deaths today: 0
Births this year: 275,644
Births minus deaths this year: +50,941

North Korea has an estimated 26,633,691 people on 1 July 2026, the UN's projection, 62,655 more than a year earlier (+0.24%). It is the 56th most populous country in the world. It is projected to keep growing until 2032, peaking at 26.8 million, then decline to 19.5 million by 2100.

UN projection The counter interpolates the UN’s 1 July figures to the second; it is an estimate, not a count.

Rank in the world

Year	Population	Rank
1950	11.1 million	34th
2000	23.7 million	44th
2026*	26.6 million	56th
2050*	25.8 million	66th
2100*	19.5 million	78th

* UN medium-variant projection. Ranks among 237 countries and areas.

North Korea in numbers, 2026

Births in 2026: 328 thousand 899 a day
Deaths in 2026: 268 thousand 733 a day
Net migration: −3 thousand more departures than arrivals
Growth rate: +0.22% growing
Fertility rate: 1.75per woman below replacement (2.1)
Median age: 36.8years world: 31.1
Life expectancy: 74.0years
Aged 65 and over: 13.0% 21.4% by 2050

Land, people and health

Capital: Pyongyang
Area: 120,540 km² 100th largest of 237
Population density: 221per km² 72nd most crowded
Urban population: 64.5% 75.9% by 2050
Men and women: 13.2 million / 13.4 million 98.2 men per 100 women
Life expectancy, women: 76.2years men: 71.8 years
Infant mortality: 12.8per 1,000 births under-5: 16.1
Birth rate: 12.3per 1,000 death rate: 10.1
Net migration rate: −0.1per 1,000 net departures

Population of North Korea, 1950–2100

Projected peak: 2032, 26.8 million. By 2050: 25.8 million (−3.2% from today).

UN estimate
UN projection

19.5M 2026

› Show the numbers as a table

Year	Population
1950	11,116,736
1951	10,583,568
1952	10,253,642
1953	10,177,412
1954	10,242,802
1955	10,403,324
1956	10,600,379
1957	10,854,685
1958	11,163,748
1959	11,452,990
1960	11,722,953
1961	11,990,713
1962	12,262,882
1963	12,567,056
1964	12,889,770
1965	13,219,368
1966	13,569,094
1967	13,958,350
1968	14,365,596
1969	14,767,616
1970	15,172,775
1971	15,572,456
1972	15,975,069
1973	16,350,366
1974	16,673,121
1975	16,971,055
1976	17,243,450
1977	17,492,798
1978	17,735,995
1979	17,983,470
1980	18,236,786
1981	18,501,295
1982	18,776,357
1983	19,054,034
1984	19,335,043
1985	19,620,388
1986	19,910,855
1987	20,205,483
1988	20,503,161
1989	20,804,367
1990	21,112,137
1991	21,428,638
1992	21,750,911
1993	22,073,352
1994	22,393,975
1995	22,669,304
1996	22,895,746
1997	23,110,830
1998	23,311,564
1999	23,497,598
2000	23,665,910
2001	23,815,358
2002	23,943,973
2003	24,090,380
2004	24,254,943
2005	24,396,433
2006	24,524,507
2007	24,646,384
2008	24,764,618
2009	24,878,332
2010	24,987,258
2011	25,097,874
2012	25,211,728
2013	25,329,451
2014	25,451,262
2015	25,575,350
2016	25,698,326
2017	25,817,709
2018	25,931,147
2019	26,037,632
2020	26,136,312
2021	26,232,534
2022	26,328,845
2023	26,418,204
2024 *	26,498,823
2025 *	26,571,036
2026 *	26,633,691
2027 *	26,686,498
2028 *	26,729,272
2029 *	26,762,017
2030 *	26,784,904
2031 *	26,797,950
2032 *	26,801,082
2033 *	26,795,075
2034 *	26,780,495
2035 *	26,757,724
2036 *	26,727,322
2037 *	26,689,925
2038 *	26,646,328
2039 *	26,596,979
2040 *	26,542,432
2041 *	26,483,481
2042 *	26,420,821
2043 *	26,354,342
2044 *	26,284,018
2045 *	26,210,203
2046 *	26,132,926
2047 *	26,052,096
2048 *	25,967,589
2049 *	25,879,257
2050 *	25,787,127
2051 *	25,691,411
2052 *	25,592,171
2053 *	25,489,485
2054 *	25,383,403
2055 *	25,274,088
2056 *	25,161,315
2057 *	25,045,442
2058 *	24,926,872
2059 *	24,805,874
2060 *	24,682,709
2061 *	24,557,407
2062 *	24,430,636
2063 *	24,302,979
2064 *	24,174,439
2065 *	24,045,013
2066 *	23,915,148
2067 *	23,785,392
2068 *	23,655,910
2069 *	23,526,598
2070 *	23,397,808
2071 *	23,269,557
2072 *	23,141,672
2073 *	23,014,120
2074 *	22,886,769
2075 *	22,759,811
2076 *	22,633,219
2077 *	22,506,532
2078 *	22,379,596
2079 *	22,252,378
2080 *	22,124,706
2081 *	21,996,518
2082 *	21,867,789
2083 *	21,738,766
2084 *	21,609,357
2085 *	21,479,322
2086 *	21,348,619
2087 *	21,217,308
2088 *	21,085,766
2089 *	20,953,947
2090 *	20,821,743
2091 *	20,689,264
2092 *	20,556,691
2093 *	20,424,481
2094 *	20,292,746
2095 *	20,161,119
2096 *	20,029,753
2097 *	19,899,159
2098 *	19,769,478
2099 *	19,640,506
2100 *	19,512,149

* UN projection

Population of North Korea by year

23.7 million in 2000, 26.6 million in 2026. Every year for the last decade, then every five years to 1950. * UN projection; earlier years are UN estimates.

Year	Population	Yearly change	Change	Net migrants	Median age	Fertility	Density (km²)	Urban	World share	World rank
2026*	26,633,691	+0.24%	+62,655	−2,809	36.8	1.75	221	65%	0.32%	56
2025*	26,571,036	+0.27%	+72,213	−2,787	36.5	1.77	221	64%	0.32%	56
2024*	26,498,823	+0.31%	+80,619	−2,473	36.3	1.78	220	64%	0.32%	56
2023	26,418,204	+0.34%	+89,359	−1,997	36.0	1.78	219	64%	0.33%	55
2022	26,328,845	+0.37%	+96,311	−1,997	35.8	1.80	219	63%	0.33%	54
2021	26,232,534	+0.37%	+96,222	−1,585	35.6	1.81	218	63%	0.33%	54
2020	26,136,312	+0.38%	+98,680	−1,585	35.3	1.82	217	63%	0.33%	54
2019	26,037,632	+0.41%	+106,485	−3,142	35.1	1.83	216	62%	0.33%	53
2018	25,931,147	+0.44%	+113,438	−3,225	34.9	1.83	215	62%	0.34%	53
2017	25,817,709	+0.46%	+119,383	−3,224	34.7	1.85	214	62%	0.34%	53
2016	25,698,326	+0.48%	+122,976	−3,222	34.4	1.86	213	62%	0.34%	53
2015	25,575,350	+0.49%	+124,088	−3,208	34.2	1.86	212	61%	0.34%	51
2010	24,987,258	+0.44%	+108,926	−3,053	33.0	1.89	208	60%	0.36%	49
2005	24,396,433	+0.58%	+141,490	−2,861	31.4	1.87	203	60%	0.37%	46
2000	23,665,910	+0.72%	+168,312	−3,142	29.1	1.94	197	59%	0.38%	44
1995	22,669,304	+1.23%	+275,329	−3,094	26.9	2.15	188	59%	0.39%	40
1990	21,112,137	+1.48%	+307,770	+0	24.9	2.39	175	58%	0.40%	40
1985	19,620,388	+1.48%	+285,345	+0	23.1	2.65	163	58%	0.40%	39
1980	18,236,786	+1.41%	+253,316	+0	21.4	2.84	151	57%	0.41%	37
1975	16,971,055	+1.79%	+297,934	+0	19.7	3.05	141	57%	0.42%	35
1970	15,172,775	+2.74%	+405,159	+0	20.4	3.85	126	54%	0.41%	34
1965	13,219,368	+2.56%	+329,598	+0	20.2	3.56	110	48%	0.40%	35
1960	11,722,953	+2.36%	+269,963	+0	18.9	3.57	97	41%	0.39%	34
1955	10,403,324	+1.57%	+160,522	−35,304	17.3	3.67	86	25%	0.38%	35
1950	11,116,736	–	–	−191,305	16.3	4.99	92	4%	0.45%	34

Population forecast for North Korea

UN medium-variant projection: 25.8 million in 2050 (−3.2% from 2026), 19.5 million in 2100.

Year	Population	Yearly change	Net migrants	Median age	Fertility	Density (km²)	Urban	World share	World rank
2030	26,784,904	+0.09%	−3,051	38.0	1.72	222	66%	0.31%	58
2035	26,757,724	−0.09%	−3,515	39.6	1.70	222	68%	0.30%	62
2040	26,542,432	−0.21%	−3,253	41.2	1.69	220	70%	0.29%	63
2045	26,210,203	−0.28%	−3,193	42.3	1.68	218	73%	0.28%	64
2050	25,787,127	−0.36%	−2,823	42.9	1.67	214	76%	0.27%	66
2060	24,682,709	−0.50%	−2,868	43.7	1.66	205	–	0.25%	71
2070	23,397,808	−0.55%	−2,497	45.6	1.66	194	–	0.23%	72
2080	22,124,706	−0.57%	−2,446	47.0	1.65	184	–	0.22%	74
2090	20,821,743	−0.63%	−2,588	47.4	1.65	173	–	0.20%	76
2100	19,512,149	−0.65%	−2,151	48.6	1.64	162	–	0.19%	78

Largest cities in North Korea

Urban area in 2026: the whole built-up city, measured the same way for every country (UN, 2025). * UN projection. Largest cities in the world

#	City	Population 2026	2050*
1	Pyongyang (capital)	2,903,840	2,838,238
2	Chŏngjin	691,046	684,118
3	Hamhung	412,123	398,619
4	Sariwon	405,258	411,107
5	Wonsan	373,483	365,747
6	Jakdo-dong	363,035	352,333
7	Pyŏngsŏng	340,718	338,730
8	Kanggye	310,760	304,581
9	Kaesong	285,588	289,772
10	Songnim	281,450	289,385

Age structure

Median age 36.8. 13.0% are 65 or older, 21.4% by 2050; 18.9% are under 15.

North Korea, 2026 Men 2026 Women 2026 2050 (projection)

Share of the total population in each age group (%)

Births per woman

1.75 in 2026; about 2.1 keeps a population stable without migration. Below 2.1 since 1996.

UN estimate
UN projection

1.6 2026

› Show the numbers as a table

Year	Fertility rate
1950	4.99
1951	2.60
1952	2.61
1953	3.08
1954	3.50
1955	3.67
1956	3.51
1957	4.28
1958	4.27
1959	3.56
1960	3.57
1961	3.26
1962	3.41
1963	3.63
1964	3.55
1965	3.56
1966	3.71
1967	4.05
1968	3.87
1969	3.86
1970	3.85
1971	3.74
1972	3.89
1973	3.35
1974	3.14
1975	3.05
1976	2.84
1977	2.77
1978	2.79
1979	2.85
1980	2.84
1981	2.92
1982	2.85
1983	2.78
1984	2.71
1985	2.65
1986	2.59
1987	2.53
1988	2.47
1989	2.41
1990	2.39
1991	2.35
1992	2.29
1993	2.22
1994	2.18
1995	2.15
1996	2.09
1997	2.03
1998	1.99
1999	1.97
2000	1.94
2001	1.94
2002	1.92
2003	1.91
2004	1.90
2005	1.87
2006	1.94
2007	1.94
2008	1.97
2009	1.90
2010	1.89
2011	1.88
2012	1.88
2013	1.88
2014	1.87
2015	1.86
2016	1.86
2017	1.85
2018	1.83
2019	1.83
2020	1.82
2021	1.81
2022	1.80
2023	1.78
2024 *	1.78
2025 *	1.77
2026 *	1.75
2027 *	1.74
2028 *	1.73
2029 *	1.73
2030 *	1.72
2031 *	1.72
2032 *	1.71
2033 *	1.71
2034 *	1.71
2035 *	1.70
2036 *	1.70
2037 *	1.70
2038 *	1.69
2039 *	1.69
2040 *	1.69
2041 *	1.69
2042 *	1.69
2043 *	1.69
2044 *	1.68
2045 *	1.68
2046 *	1.68
2047 *	1.68
2048 *	1.67
2049 *	1.67
2050 *	1.67
2051 *	1.67
2052 *	1.67
2053 *	1.67
2054 *	1.67
2055 *	1.67
2056 *	1.67
2057 *	1.67
2058 *	1.66
2059 *	1.67
2060 *	1.66
2061 *	1.66
2062 *	1.66
2063 *	1.66
2064 *	1.66
2065 *	1.66
2066 *	1.66
2067 *	1.66
2068 *	1.66
2069 *	1.66
2070 *	1.66
2071 *	1.65
2072 *	1.65
2073 *	1.65
2074 *	1.65
2075 *	1.65
2076 *	1.65
2077 *	1.65
2078 *	1.65
2079 *	1.65
2080 *	1.65
2081 *	1.65
2082 *	1.65
2083 *	1.65
2084 *	1.65
2085 *	1.65
2086 *	1.65
2087 *	1.65
2088 *	1.65
2089 *	1.65
2090 *	1.65
2091 *	1.65
2092 *	1.65
2093 *	1.65
2094 *	1.65
2095 *	1.65
2096 *	1.65
2097 *	1.64
2098 *	1.64
2099 *	1.64
2100 *	1.64

* UN projection

Births and deaths each year

Deaths are projected to outnumber births from 2033.

Births
Deaths
UN estimate
UN projection

158k283k 2026

› Show the numbers as a table

Year	Births	Deaths
1950	451,526	816,320
1951	242,897	590,820
1952	243,715	263,379
1953	287,544	194,421
1954	329,176	131,840
1955	353,878	131,238
1956	349,551	129,053
1957	436,142	132,662
1958	451,090	134,811
1959	393,801	131,595
1960	408,457	130,735
1961	387,412	129,615
1962	416,782	130,246
1963	454,104	132,295
1964	456,218	132,596
1965	467,906	132,324
1966	496,542	132,671
1967	548,664	134,023
1968	532,300	132,459
1969	534,903	130,715
1970	535,250	129,118
1971	520,219	126,989
1972	538,059	126,055
1973	460,754	122,159
1974	426,207	119,297
1975	406,366	117,408
1976	370,951	115,126
1977	356,348	113,480
1978	355,964	112,429
1979	363,321	111,906
1980	366,545	111,334
1981	385,126	111,315
1982	387,442	111,128
1983	390,150	111,109
1984	394,434	111,453
1985	399,784	112,073
1986	406,272	113,050
1987	410,607	114,576
1988	415,055	115,731
1989	420,478	117,394
1990	431,740	119,292
1991	441,668	121,114
1992	446,447	122,445
1993	449,404	128,524
1994	457,045	136,168
1995	461,184	227,794
1996	458,351	232,246
1997	448,200	236,880
1998	439,728	242,136
1999	429,090	247,467
2000	414,658	253,064
2001	402,348	259,006
2002	384,303	264,787
2003	369,005	190,231
2004	354,091	198,249
2005	339,174	206,414
2006	343,867	214,675
2007	341,505	220,978
2008	344,804	222,785
2009	333,438	221,919
2010	332,183	219,745
2011	333,118	218,315
2012	335,720	216,935
2013	338,321	215,807
2014	341,330	214,255
2015	343,289	215,942
2016	345,838	220,795
2017	347,855	227,687
2018	348,168	235,016
2019	349,022	242,833
2020	349,983	254,074
2021	348,026	248,321
2022	346,185	249,694
2023	342,038	255,826
2024 *	340,728	261,229
2025 *	334,881	264,688
2026 *	328,497	267,788
2027 *	321,526	270,949
2028 *	314,633	273,838
2029 *	307,445	276,666
2030 *	300,660	279,482
2031 *	293,782	282,303
2032 *	287,204	285,438
2033 *	281,496	288,488
2034 *	276,423	291,854
2035 *	272,234	295,403
2036 *	268,426	299,038
2037 *	265,805	303,215
2038 *	263,914	307,255
2039 *	262,796	311,685
2040 *	262,490	316,140
2041 *	262,960	320,838
2042 *	263,877	325,342
2043 *	264,875	330,011
2044 *	265,680	334,651
2045 *	266,534	338,941
2046 *	267,033	342,858
2047 *	267,123	346,693
2048 *	266,643	350,024
2049 *	265,959	353,136
2050 *	264,425	355,495
2051 *	262,690	357,141
2052 *	260,262	358,184
2053 *	257,381	358,761
2054 *	253,898	358,716
2055 *	250,020	358,304
2056 *	245,861	357,085
2057 *	241,419	355,522
2058 *	236,644	353,971
2059 *	232,250	351,359
2060 *	227,548	349,066
2061 *	223,195	346,447
2062 *	219,188	343,780
2063 *	215,761	341,130
2064 *	212,751	338,919
2065 *	210,042	336,887
2066 *	207,915	334,988
2067 *	206,389	333,282
2068 *	204,946	331,868
2069 *	204,191	330,735
2070 *	203,855	329,716
2071 *	203,616	329,096
2072 *	203,762	328,711
2073 *	203,547	328,442
2074 *	203,531	328,154
2075 *	203,495	327,772
2076 *	203,342	327,522
2077 *	202,917	327,428
2078 *	202,318	326,772
2079 *	201,106	326,032
2080 *	199,697	325,156
2081 *	198,254	323,974
2082 *	196,559	322,794
2083 *	194,436	321,012
2084 *	191,907	319,160
2085 *	189,128	317,025
2086 *	186,289	314,721
2087 *	183,283	312,154
2088 *	180,452	309,561
2089 *	177,715	307,134
2090 *	174,715	304,461
2091 *	171,811	301,967
2092 *	169,298	299,362
2093 *	167,056	296,874
2094 *	165,026	294,555
2095 *	163,055	292,480
2096 *	161,445	290,478
2097 *	160,150	288,435
2098 *	159,141	286,470
2099 *	158,330	284,838
2100 *	157,663	283,489

* UN projection

CO₂ emissions of North Korea

CO₂ by country →

CO₂ emissions 2024: 62.5 million tonnes 52nd largest emitter
Per person: 2.36 t world: 4.73 t
Share of world CO₂: 0.16% 0.32% of its people
Change since 1990: −47% −17% since 2005

63 2024

› Show the numbers as a table

Year	CO₂, million tonnes
1950	0.78
1951	1.00
1952	0.89
1953	1.74
1954	4.79
1955	7.34
1956	8.96
1957	11.29
1958	15.63
1959	19.87
1960	23.79
1961	26.43
1962	30.69
1963	32.83
1964	35.62
1965	44.22
1966	47.60
1967	52.39
1968	59.27
1969	64.08
1970	73.48
1971	107.45
1972	89.50
1973	97.33
1974	101.61
1975	107.62
1976	110.03
1977	113.67
1978	108.21
1979	110.26
1980	114.08
1981	114.40
1982	116.89
1983	125.16
1984	134.66
1985	144.29
1986	156.84
1987	175.63
1988	199.23
1989	209.25
1990	118.38
1991	112.82
1992	97.98
1993	89.58
1994	81.58
1995	76.08
1996	66.29
1997	63.68
1998	58.75
1999	64.14
2000	69.17
2001	71.67
2002	68.64
2003	70.14
2004	71.72
2005	75.01
2006	76.17
2007	63.48
2008	70.33
2009	67.66
2010	65.36
2011	47.87
2012	46.76
2013	36.14
2014	39.83
2015	31.28
2016	34.24
2017	69.71
2018	62.61
2019	69.51
2020	65.58
2021	53.97
2022	56.29
2023	62.02
2024	62.55

By source, 2024

Coal91.4%
Oil4.3%
Cement4.3%

Fossil fuels and industry, territorial; Global Carbon Budget via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). CO₂ per capita by country · Historical emissions

Compare with Asia

Country	Population 2026	Growth	Fertility	Median age
North Korea	26.6 million	+0.22%	1.75	36.8
China	1.41 billion	−0.22%	1.03	40.6
Indonesia	288 million	+0.74%	2.08	30.7
Pakistan	259 million	+1.59%	3.44	20.8
Bangladesh	178 million	+1.19%	2.09	26.3
Japan	122 million	−0.56%	1.23	50.2
Philippines	118 million	+0.79%	1.86	26.6
Vietnam	102 million	+0.55%	1.86	33.9
Iran	93.2 million	+0.76%	1.66	34.5

All 237 countries · Fertility rate by country · Birth rate by country · Median age by country · Life expectancy by country · Population growth rate by country · Population density by country · Largest countries by area · Death rate by country · Infant mortality rate by country · Elderly population by country · Net migration rate by country · Urban population by country · Sex ratio by country

Air quality in North Korea today

Hourly AQI and a 48-hour forecast for Pyongyang.

See air quality →

Questions

What is the population of North Korea in 2026?

26,633,691 on 1 July 2026, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024 (medium-variant projection). That is 26.6 million people, +0.24% on 2025.

Is North Korea's population growing or shrinking?

Growing: 62,655 more people in 2026 than in 2025, with 899 births and 733 deaths a day and net migration of −2,809 a year.

When will North Korea's population peak?

In 2032, at about 26.8 million, on the UN's medium projection; 19.5 million by 2100.

What is the fertility rate in North Korea?

1.75 births per woman in 2026. A population replaces itself at about 2.1. North Korea has been below that since 1996.

How many babies are born in North Korea every day?

About 899 a day (328 thousand in 2026), against about 733 deaths a day.

What is the life expectancy in North Korea?

74.0 years at birth in 2026: 76.2 for women and 71.8 for men, against a world average of 73.8.

How many men and women live in North Korea?

About 13.2 million men and 13.4 million women in 2026, or 98.2 men for every 100 women.

What is the population density of North Korea?

221 people per km² of land in 2026, on a total area of 120,540 km². The world average is 64.

What was the population of North Korea in 2000?

23,665,910 (23.7 million), the UN estimate for 1 July 2000. It has grown by 13% since, to 26.6 million in 2026.

What will the population of North Korea be in 2050?

About 25.8 million on the UN's medium projection (25,787,127), −3.2% from 2026; 19.5 million by 2100.

What are the largest cities in North Korea?

Pyongyang (2.9 million), Chŏngjin (691 thousand), Hamhung (412 thousand), Sariwon (405 thousand), Wonsan (373 thousand). UN figures for 2026, counting each city’s whole built-up area.

How much CO₂ does North Korea emit?

62.5 million tonnes from fossil fuels and industry in 2024, 2.36 t per person and 0.16% of the world total; coal is the largest source (91%).

Source and method

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024, medium variant. Figures for 1950–2023 are UN estimates; later years are the medium-variant projection, which assumes fertility, mortality and migration follow their most likely paths. National statistics offices publish their own counts, which can differ. Reuse under CC BY 3.0 IGO. How we use the data.