North Korea birth & fertility rate charts by year

Fertility rate in North Korea chart

According to the latest birth rate data available, the fertility rate in North Korea was 1.78 in 2023 and has been below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman since 1996. In 1993, the fertility rate was 2.22 — a -19.7% decline in 30 years.

Check population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases the historical changes in birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	North Korea	World
1960	3.57	4.69
1961	3.26	4.56
1962	3.41	5.02
1963	3.63	5.31
1964	3.55	5.13
1965	3.56	5.08
1966	3.71	4.97
1967	4.05	4.87
1968	3.87	4.98
1969	3.86	4.88
1970	3.85	4.84
1971	3.74	4.69
1972	3.89	4.55
1973	3.35	4.42
1974	3.14	4.26
1975	3.05	4.07
1976	2.84	3.97
1977	2.77	3.84
1978	2.79	3.77
1979	2.85	3.76
1980	2.84	3.73
1981	2.92	3.71
1982	2.85	3.72
1983	2.78	3.59
1984	2.71	3.57
1985	2.65	3.53
1986	2.59	3.51
1987	2.53	3.48
1988	2.47	3.39
1989	2.41	3.35
1990	2.39	3.31
1991	2.35	3.13
1992	2.29	3.04
1993	2.22	2.97
1994	2.18	2.92
1995	2.15	2.87
1996	2.09	2.82
1997	2.03	2.78
1998	1.99	2.75
1999	1.97	2.72
2000	1.94	2.73
2001	1.94	2.69
2002	1.92	2.66
2003	1.91	2.64
2004	1.9	2.63
2005	1.87	2.61
2006	1.94	2.61
2007	1.94	2.6
2008	1.97	2.6
2009	1.91	2.59
2010	1.89	2.57
2011	1.88	2.55
2012	1.88	2.56
2013	1.88	2.53
2014	1.87	2.52
2015	1.86	2.49
2016	1.86	2.49
2017	1.85	2.46
2018	1.83	2.39
2019	1.83	2.35
2020	1.82	2.28
2021	1.81	2.25
2022	1.8	2.22
2023	1.78	2.2
2024	1.78	2.19
2025	1.77	2.18
2026	1.75	2.18
2027	1.74	2.17
2028	1.73	2.16
2029	1.73	2.15
2030	1.72	2.14
2031	1.72	2.13
2032	1.71	2.12
2033	1.71	2.12
2034	1.71	2.11
2035	1.7	2.1
2036	1.7	2.09
2037	1.7	2.09
2038	1.69	2.08
2039	1.69	2.08
2040	1.69	2.08
2041	1.69	2.07
2042	1.69	2.07
2043	1.69	2.07
2044	1.68	2.07
2045	1.68	2.06
2046	1.68	2.06
2047	1.68	2.06
2048	1.67	2.05
2049	1.67	2.05
2050	1.67	2.05

Birth rates by women ages chart

In 2025, of all live births 0.12% were to women under 20 years old, 65.8% to women ages 20-29, and 34.1% to women ages 30 and above. In comparison, the percentages in 1990 were 0.76%, 69.8%, and 29.5% for the same age groups respectively. A chart displaying the historical birth rates in North Korea by maternal age is provided below.

Annual births per 1,000 women ages

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Children 0-14 as share of population
	North Korea	World
1960	37.5%	37.4%
1961	37%	37.5%
1962	36.6%	37.6%
1963	36.5%	37.8%
1964	36.6%	38%
1965	36.7%	38%
1966	37.3%	38%
1967	38.3%	38%
1968	39.2%	37.9%
1969	39.8%	37.8%
1970	40.1%	37.7%
1971	40.3%	37.6%
1972	40.2%	37.5%
1973	39.8%	37.3%
1974	39.3%	37.2%
1975	38.8%	37.1%
1976	38.3%	36.9%
1977	37.7%	36.7%
1978	36.9%	36.3%
1979	36%	35.9%
1980	35.1%	35.5%
1981	34.2%	35.2%
1982	33.1%	34.9%
1983	32%	34.6%
1984	30.9%	34.3%
1985	29.9%	34%
1986	29%	33.8%
1987	28%	33.6%
1988	27.3%	33.4%
1989	26.8%	33.2%
1990	26.5%	33%
1991	26.4%	32.9%
1992	26.3%	32.7%
1993	26.4%	32.5%
1994	26.4%	32.3%
1995	26.4%	32.1%
1996	26.3%	31.8%
1997	26.2%	31.5%
1998	26%	31.1%
1999	25.8%	30.8%
2000	25.6%	30.4%
2001	25.3%	30%
2002	25%	29.6%
2003	24.6%	29.2%
2004	24.3%	28.8%
2005	23.9%	28.5%
2006	23.4%	28.1%
2007	23%	27.9%
2008	22.5%	27.6%
2009	22.1%	27.5%
2010	21.6%	27.3%
2011	21.2%	27.1%
2012	20.8%	27%
2013	20.4%	26.9%
2014	20.1%	26.8%
2015	19.8%	26.6%
2016	19.6%	26.5%
2017	19.4%	26.4%
2018	19.2%	26.2%
2019	19.1%	26%
2020	19.1%	25.8%
2021	19.1%	25.6%
2022	19%	25.3%
2023	19%	25%
2024	18.9%	24.7%
2025	18.9%	24.4%
2026	18.9%	24.1%
2027	18.8%	23.8%
2028	18.7%	23.4%
2029	18.6%	23.1%
2030	18.5%	22.8%
2031	18.3%	22.6%
2032	18.1%	22.3%
2033	17.9%	22.1%
2034	17.6%	21.9%
2035	17.4%	21.7%
2036	17.1%	21.6%
2037	16.8%	21.5%
2038	16.6%	21.4%
2039	16.3%	21.3%
2040	16.1%	21.2%
2041	15.9%	21.1%
2042	15.7%	21%
2043	15.5%	21%
2044	15.4%	20.9%
2045	15.3%	20.8%
2046	15.2%	20.7%
2047	15.2%	20.7%
2048	15.2%	20.6%
2049	15.2%	20.5%
2050	15.2%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in North Korea was 37.5% in 1960, 26.4% in 1993, and 18.9% as of the latest data in 2025.

More about the demographics of North Korea.

Natural population change by year

For the past 10 years, the natural population change in North Korea, excluding migration, has been +0.42% annually. On average, 109,737 more people were born each year than died.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	North Korea
1960	277,717
1961	257,788
1962	286,534
1963	321,805
1964	323,623
1965	335,587
1966	363,882
1967	414,632
1968	399,837
1969	404,189
1970	406,129
1971	393,220
1972	411,997
1973	338,600
1974	306,902
1975	288,966
1976	255,841
1977	242,870
1978	243,533
1979	251,409
1980	255,206
1981	273,800
1982	276,332
1983	279,046
1984	282,987
1985	287,714
1986	293,227
1987	296,030
1988	299,305
1989	303,078
1990	312,460
1991	320,551
1992	324,002
1993	320,880
1994	320,861
1995	233,381
1996	226,095
1997	211,325
1998	197,589
1999	181,613
2000	161,591
2001	143,321
2002	119,504
2003	178,775
2004	155,838
2005	132,765
2006	129,171
2007	120,521
2008	122,015
2009	111,530
2010	112,443
2011	114,798
2012	118,773
2013	122,519
2014	127,078
2015	127,365
2016	125,048
2017	120,181
2018	113,164
2019	106,208
2020	95,920
2021	99,710
2022	96,495
2023	86,203

Maternal mortality chart

The maternal mortality rate in North Korea was 67 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 — a 0.07% chance of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination. This is a -48.1% decrease compared to the year 2000.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	North Korea	World
1985	76	460
1986	68	438
1987	62	429
1988	55	414
1989	49	401
1990	43	391
1991	38	395
1992	37	395
1993	46	389
1994	57	382
1995	127	371
1996	128	366
1997	128	358
1998	129	360
1999	129	340
2000	129	328
2001	130	321
2002	131	311
2003	76	301
2004	77	291
2005	78	283
2006	80	276
2007	80	269
2008	79	264
2009	78	258
2010	77	253
2011	76	247
2012	76	239
2013	75	235
2014	73	231
2015	72	228
2016	71	220
2017	70	215
2018	69	211
2019	66	207
2020	66	211
2021	72	242
2022	67	203
2023	67	197

Under-five mortality rate chart

The under-5 mortality rate in North Korea was 18 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023 — a 1.8% chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five. This is down from 100.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	North Korea	World
1960	11.6%	18.5%
1961	11.2%	18.1%
1962	10.8%	17.8%
1963	10.4%	17.5%
1964	9.92%	17.7%
1965	9.46%	17.5%
1966	8.96%	17.3%
1967	8.45%	17%
1968	7.94%	16.5%
1969	7.45%	15.5%
1970	6.99%	15.2%
1971	6.58%	15.1%
1972	6.2%	14.4%
1973	5.86%	14.1%
1974	5.56%	13.7%
1975	5.28%	13.4%
1976	5.03%	13%
1977	4.8%	12.5%
1978	4.59%	12.1%
1979	4.4%	11.7%
1980	4.22%	11.4%
1981	4.05%	11%
1982	3.91%	10.8%
1983	3.8%	10.6%
1984	3.71%	10.4%
1985	3.68%	10.1%
1986	3.68%	9.81%
1987	3.78%	9.47%
1988	3.83%	9.31%
1989	3.95%	9.02%
1990	4.07%	8.81%
1991	4.18%	8.66%
1992	4.25%	8.46%
1993	4.27%	8.19%
1994	4.25%	7.98%
1995	10.8%	7.76%
1996	10.6%	7.52%
1997	10.5%	7.28%
1998	10.3%	7.05%
1999	10.2%	6.76%
2000	10%	6.48%
2001	9.9%	6.21%
2002	9.78%	5.94%
2003	3.45%	5.65%
2004	3.38%	5.43%
2005	3.33%	5.16%
2006	3.28%	4.92%
2007	3.24%	4.7%
2008	3.1%	4.5%
2009	3%	4.31%
2010	2.87%	4.11%
2011	2.72%	3.97%
2012	2.57%	3.77%
2013	2.41%	3.61%
2014	2.26%	3.48%
2015	2.14%	3.35%
2016	2.06%	3.23%
2017	1.91%	3.11%
2018	1.84%	2.97%
2019	1.77%	2.86%
2020	1.74%	2.75%
2021	1.74%	2.66%
2022	1.77%	2.59%
2023	1.8%	2.49%