Fertility & birth rates in North Korea and Zimbabwe

Fertility rate in North Korea vs Zimbabwe chart

According to the latest available data on birth rates, the fertility rate in North Korea was 1.78 children per woman in 2023, compared to 3.72 in Zimbabwe in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

Check North Korea vs Zimbabwe population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases historical changes in the birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	North Korea	Zimbabwe
1960	3.57	7.2
1961	3.26	7.21
1962	3.41	7.23
1963	3.63	7.23
1964	3.55	7.23
1965	3.56	7.23
1966	3.71	7.2
1967	4.05	7.16
1968	3.87	7.11
1969	3.86	7.04
1970	3.85	6.98
1971	3.74	6.94
1972	3.89	6.94
1973	3.35	6.94
1974	3.14	6.88
1975	3.05	6.83
1976	2.84	6.77
1977	2.77	6.71
1978	2.79	6.66
1979	2.85	6.59
1980	2.84	6.52
1981	2.92	6.45
1982	2.85	6.33
1983	2.78	6.2
1984	2.71	6.04
1985	2.65	5.87
1986	2.59	5.69
1987	2.53	5.5
1988	2.47	5.28
1989	2.41	5.07
1990	2.39	4.88
1991	2.35	4.72
1992	2.29	4.57
1993	2.22	4.39
1994	2.18	4.28
1995	2.15	4.15
1996	2.09	4.11
1997	2.03	4.08
1998	1.99	4.07
1999	1.97	4.06
2000	1.94	4.01
2001	1.94	3.98
2002	1.92	3.93
2003	1.91	3.86
2004	1.9	3.78
2005	1.87	3.69
2006	1.94	3.64
2007	1.94	3.68
2008	1.97	3.78
2009	1.91	3.95
2010	1.89	4.04
2011	1.88	4.13
2012	1.88	4.13
2013	1.88	4.11
2014	1.87	4.01
2015	1.86	3.91
2016	1.86	3.83
2017	1.85	3.77
2018	1.83	3.74
2019	1.83	3.75
2020	1.82	3.75
2021	1.81	3.77
2022	1.8	3.77
2023	1.78	3.72
2024	1.78	3.67
2025	1.77	3.62
2026	1.75	3.57
2027	1.74	3.52
2028	1.73	3.47
2029	1.73	3.43
2030	1.72	3.38
2031	1.72	3.33
2032	1.71	3.29
2033	1.71	3.25
2034	1.71	3.21
2035	1.7	3.17
2036	1.7	3.13
2037	1.7	3.09
2038	1.69	3.06
2039	1.69	3.02
2040	1.69	2.99
2041	1.69	2.96
2042	1.69	2.93
2043	1.69	2.9
2044	1.68	2.87
2045	1.68	2.84
2046	1.68	2.81
2047	1.68	2.78
2048	1.67	2.75
2049	1.67	2.72
2050	1.67	2.69

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	North Korea	Zimbabwe
1960	37.5%	47.3%
1961	37%	47.7%
1962	36.6%	48.1%
1963	36.5%	48.5%
1964	36.6%	48.8%
1965	36.7%	48.7%
1966	37.3%	48.6%
1967	38.3%	48.5%
1968	39.2%	48.5%
1969	39.8%	48.4%
1970	40.1%	48.3%
1971	40.3%	48.2%
1972	40.2%	48.2%
1973	39.8%	48.1%
1974	39.3%	48.1%
1975	38.8%	48.1%
1976	38.3%	48.2%
1977	37.7%	48.3%
1978	36.9%	48.5%
1979	36%	48.8%
1980	35.1%	48.7%
1981	34.2%	48.4%
1982	33.1%	48.3%
1983	32%	48.2%
1984	30.9%	48.1%
1985	29.9%	48%
1986	29%	47.9%
1987	28%	47.9%
1988	27.3%	47.9%
1989	26.8%	47.6%
1990	26.5%	47.1%
1991	26.4%	46.6%
1992	26.3%	46.8%
1993	26.4%	47.1%
1994	26.4%	46.6%
1995	26.4%	45.9%
1996	26.3%	45%
1997	26.2%	44%
1998	26%	43.1%
1999	25.8%	42.4%
2000	25.6%	41.9%
2001	25.3%	41.5%
2002	25%	41.4%
2003	24.6%	41.5%
2004	24.3%	41.7%
2005	23.9%	41.9%
2006	23.4%	42%
2007	23%	42.1%
2008	22.5%	42.4%
2009	22.1%	42.7%
2010	21.6%	43%
2011	21.2%	43.4%
2012	20.8%	43.7%
2013	20.4%	43.9%
2014	20.1%	43.9%
2015	19.8%	43.8%
2016	19.6%	43.6%
2017	19.4%	43.3%
2018	19.2%	42.9%
2019	19.1%	42.5%
2020	19.1%	42.2%
2021	19.1%	41.9%
2022	19%	41.6%
2023	19%	41.3%
2024	18.9%	40.9%
2025	18.9%	40.3%
2026	18.9%	39.6%
2027	18.8%	39%
2028	18.7%	38.4%
2029	18.6%	37.8%
2030	18.5%	37.4%
2031	18.3%	37%
2032	18.1%	36.8%
2033	17.9%	36.5%
2034	17.6%	36.3%
2035	17.4%	36.1%
2036	17.1%	35.8%
2037	16.8%	35.6%
2038	16.6%	35.3%
2039	16.3%	35.1%
2040	16.1%	34.8%
2041	15.9%	34.6%
2042	15.7%	34.3%
2043	15.5%	34.1%
2044	15.4%	33.8%
2045	15.3%	33.5%
2046	15.2%	33.2%
2047	15.2%	32.9%
2048	15.2%	32.6%
2049	15.2%	32.2%
2050	15.2%	31.9%

Children aged 0-14 make up 18.9% of the population in North Korea and 40.9% in Zimbabwe in 2024, compared to 26.5% and 47.1% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of North Korea and Zimbabwe compared.

Natural population change in North Korea vs Zimbabwe by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been +0.42% in North Korea and +2.34% in Zimbabwe. The chart below illustrates the comparison of the absolute yearly changes resulting from births and deaths.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	North Korea	Zimbabwe
1960	277,717	126,959
1961	257,788	131,531
1962	286,534	136,317
1963	321,805	140,984
1964	323,623	145,848
1965	335,587	151,164
1966	363,882	156,014
1967	414,632	161,205
1968	399,837	166,865
1969	404,189	172,626
1970	406,129	178,979
1971	393,220	185,427
1972	411,997	193,725
1973	338,600	201,885
1974	306,902	208,806
1975	288,966	216,947
1976	255,841	221,419
1977	242,870	225,139
1978	243,533	222,979
1979	251,409	223,657
1980	255,206	241,179
1981	273,800	271,361
1982	276,332	279,934
1983	279,046	286,545
1984	282,987	290,052
1985	287,714	290,756
1986	293,227	289,894
1987	296,030	286,766
1988	299,305	277,498
1989	303,078	270,838
1990	312,460	265,444
1991	320,551	260,943
1992	324,002	255,291
1993	320,880	228,045
1994	320,861	216,343
1995	233,381	206,695
1996	226,095	205,269
1997	211,325	216,288
1998	197,589	225,614
1999	181,613	232,393
2000	161,591	236,343
2001	143,321	227,909
2002	119,504	244,170
2003	178,775	243,057
2004	155,838	248,307
2005	132,765	248,545
2006	129,171	248,963
2007	120,521	261,805
2008	122,015	280,527
2009	111,530	309,316
2010	112,443	335,570
2011	114,798	359,572
2012	118,773	371,135
2013	122,519	374,757
2014	127,078	366,350
2015	127,365	356,203
2016	125,048	348,772
2017	120,181	344,035
2018	113,164	345,883
2019	106,208	348,798
2020	95,920	354,790
2021	99,710	349,908
2022	96,495	371,243
2023	86,203	372,505

Maternal mortality chart: North Korea vs Zimbabwe

The maternal mortality rate, which is the probability of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination, is 67 deaths per 100,000 live births in North Korea, compared to 358 deaths in Zimbabwe.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	North Korea	Zimbabwe
1985	76	573
1986	68	525
1987	62	480
1988	55	431
1989	49	382
1990	43	353
1991	38	332
1992	37	333
1993	46	331
1994	57	332
1995	127	332
1996	128	352
1997	128	357
1998	129	368
1999	129	399
2000	129	405
2001	130	467
2002	131	418
2003	76	455
2004	77	451
2005	78	454
2006	80	480
2007	80	519
2008	79	526
2009	78	540
2010	77	567
2011	76	564
2012	76	558
2013	75	525
2014	73	468
2015	72	428
2016	71	411
2017	70	389
2018	69	386
2019	66	388
2020	66	380
2021	72	446
2022	67	368
2023	67	358

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 1.8% in North Korea and 4.42% in Zimbabwe. Below is the historical data on under-five mortality rates.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	North Korea	Zimbabwe
1960	11.6%	15.2%
1961	11.2%	14.8%
1962	10.8%	14.4%
1963	10.4%	14%
1964	9.92%	13.5%
1965	9.46%	13.1%
1966	8.96%	12.7%
1967	8.45%	12.4%
1968	7.94%	12.1%
1969	7.45%	11.8%
1970	6.99%	11.7%
1971	6.58%	11.5%
1972	6.2%	11.5%
1973	5.86%	11.4%
1974	5.56%	11.4%
1975	5.28%	11.4%
1976	5.03%	11.5%
1977	4.8%	11.5%
1978	4.59%	11.5%
1979	4.4%	11.3%
1980	4.22%	11.1%
1981	4.05%	10.7%
1982	3.91%	10.1%
1983	3.8%	9.5%
1984	3.71%	8.87%
1985	3.68%	8.31%
1986	3.68%	7.86%
1987	3.78%	7.61%
1988	3.83%	7.55%
1989	3.95%	7.69%
1990	4.07%	7.97%
1991	4.18%	8.33%
1992	4.25%	8.73%
1993	4.27%	9.16%
1994	4.25%	9.52%
1995	10.8%	9.83%
1996	10.6%	10%
1997	10.5%	10.1%
1998	10.3%	10%
1999	10.2%	9.92%
2000	10%	9.83%
2001	9.9%	9.79%
2002	9.78%	8.48%
2003	3.45%	8.85%
2004	3.38%	9.17%
2005	3.33%	9.23%
2006	3.28%	9.4%
2007	3.24%	9.47%
2008	3.1%	9.34%
2009	3%	9.03%
2010	2.87%	8.5%
2011	2.72%	7.88%
2012	2.57%	7.14%
2013	2.41%	6.55%
2014	2.26%	6.18%
2015	2.14%	5.98%
2016	2.06%	5.69%
2017	1.91%	5.5%
2018	1.84%	5.23%
2019	1.77%	5.11%
2020	1.74%	5.01%
2021	1.74%	4.76%
2022	1.77%	4.6%
2023	1.8%	4.42%