North Korea vs South Africa Demographics: Median age, Gender, Race, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
North Korea vs South Africa

Table

Year	Median age
	North Korea	South Africa
1960	19.9	19
1961	20.2	19
1962	20.6	18.9
1963	20.8	18.9
1964	21	18.9
1965	21.2	18.8
1966	21.3	18.8
1967	21.4	18.8
1968	21.4	18.8
1969	21.4	18.8
1970	21.4	18.8
1971	21.2	18.8
1972	20.9	18.8
1973	20.7	18.8
1974	20.7	18.9
1975	20.9	18.9
1976	21.1	19
1977	21.4	19.1
1978	21.8	19.2
1979	22.2	19.3
1980	22.5	19.4
1981	22.8	19.6
1982	23.1	19.8
1983	23.5	20
1984	23.9	20.2
1985	24.2	20.4
1986	24.5	20.5
1987	24.8	20.7
1988	25.1	20.9
1989	25.6	21.1
1990	26	21.3
1991	26.4	21.5
1992	26.8	21.5
1993	27.2	21.9
1994	27.6	22
1995	28	21.5
1996	28.3	21.2
1997	28.8	21.2
1998	29.2	21.4
1999	29.6	21.6
2000	30.1	21.9
2001	30.5	22.2
2002	31	22.4
2003	31.4	22.8
2004	31.8	23.1
2005	32.1	23.3
2006	32.5	23.5
2007	32.9	23.8
2008	33.3	24
2009	33.7	24.3
2010	34	24.6
2011	34.3	25
2012	34.5	25.3
2013	34.7	25.7
2014	35	26
2015	35.2	26.4
2016	35.4	26.7
2017	35.7	27
2018	35.9	27.5
2019	36.2	27.9
2020	36.4	28.3
2021	36.6	28.6
2022	36.8	28.9
2023	37.1	29.2
2024	37.3	29.5
2025	37.5	29.7
2026	37.8	29.9
2027	38.1	30.1
2028	38.4	30.3
2029	38.7	30.4
2030	39	30.6
2031	39.3	30.7
2032	39.6	30.9
2033	39.9	31
2034	40.3	31
2035	40.6	31.2
2036	40.9	31.3
2037	41.2	31.5
2038	41.6	31.6
2039	41.9	31.8
2040	42.2	32
2041	42.4	32.2
2042	42.7	32.3
2043	42.9	32.5
2044	43.1	32.6
2045	43.3	32.8
2046	43.5	32.9
2047	43.7	33
2048	43.8	33.1
2049	43.8	33.2
2050	43.9	33.3

In 1960, the median age in North Korea was 19.9 years compared to 19 years in South Africa. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 37.3 years in North Korea and to 29.5 years in South Africa.

According to United Nations projections, the median age in North Korea is expected to increased to around 43.9 years by 2050 compared to 33.3 years in South Africa. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	North Korea		South Africa
	Male	Female	Male	Female
0-4	3.3%	3.13%	4.65%	4.58%
5-9	3.28%	3.11%	4.19%	4.17%
10-14	3.14%	2.99%	4.16%	4.14%
15-19	3.17%	3.02%	4.21%	4.16%
20-24	3.47%	3.33%	4.04%	3.93%
25-29	3.76%	3.62%	4.34%	4.37%
30-34	3.78%	3.66%	4.42%	4.52%
35-39	3.52%	3.43%	4.2%	4.25%
40-44	3.25%	3.19%	3.64%	3.66%
45-49	3.11%	3.08%	2.77%	2.86%
50-54	3.98%	4.02%	2.18%	2.44%
55-59	3.72%	3.84%	1.76%	2.17%
60-64	2.76%	2.95%	1.51%	1.96%
65-69	2.22%	2.47%	1.14%	1.55%
70-74	1.2%	1.48%	0.74%	1.11%
75-79	1.02%	1.52%	0.36%	0.63%
80+	0.78%	1.69%	0.34%	0.81%

The chart above is a variation of a population pyramid and represents a comparison of age and gender structure. North Korea has low demographic potential with 46.8% of people in the 0-34 age group compared to 59.9% and average potential in South Africa.

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	North Korea			South Africa
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	68.8%	63.3%	5.54%	83.4%	77.2%	6.22%
1961	67.6%	62%	5.6%	83.4%	77.2%	6.2%
1962	66.7%	61%	5.65%	83.4%	77.2%	6.18%
1963	66.4%	60.7%	5.7%	83.3%	77.1%	6.19%
1964	66.8%	61%	5.75%	83.3%	77.1%	6.22%
1965	67.1%	61.3%	5.8%	83.5%	77.2%	6.26%
1966	68.8%	62.9%	5.88%	83.8%	77.5%	6.32%
1967	71.9%	65.9%	6%	84%	77.7%	6.39%
1968	74.6%	68.5%	6.08%	84.3%	77.8%	6.46%
1969	76.2%	70.1%	6.13%	84.5%	77.9%	6.54%
1970	77.1%	71%	6.15%	84.6%	78%	6.61%
1971	77.7%	71.5%	6.15%	84.7%	78%	6.67%
1972	77.5%	71.4%	6.11%	84.6%	77.9%	6.72%
1973	76.1%	70.1%	6.05%	84.5%	77.7%	6.76%
1974	74.6%	68.6%	6.01%	84.3%	77.5%	6.79%
1975	73.3%	67.3%	5.99%	84%	77.2%	6.83%
1976	71.7%	65.8%	5.98%	83.7%	76.9%	6.85%
1977	70%	64%	5.97%	83.3%	76.4%	6.87%
1978	67.8%	61.8%	5.96%	82.6%	75.7%	6.88%
1979	65.5%	59.5%	5.93%	82%	75.1%	6.89%
1980	63.2%	57.3%	5.92%	80.9%	74%	6.88%
1981	60.9%	55%	5.91%	79.6%	72.7%	6.87%
1982	58.3%	52.4%	5.91%	78.4%	71.5%	6.88%
1983	55.8%	49.8%	5.93%	77.5%	70.6%	6.91%
1984	53.4%	47.5%	5.97%	76.7%	69.8%	6.95%
1985	51.3%	45.3%	6.02%	76%	69%	6.98%
1986	49.3%	43.3%	6.08%	75.2%	68.2%	6.98%
1987	47.5%	41.4%	6.15%	74.4%	67.4%	6.96%
1988	46.1%	39.9%	6.25%	73.5%	66.6%	6.93%
1989	45.4%	39%	6.38%	72.6%	65.7%	6.86%
1990	45%	38.4%	6.53%	71.5%	64.7%	6.78%
1991	44.9%	38.2%	6.71%	70.9%	64.1%	6.74%
1992	45.1%	38.2%	6.91%	71.1%	64.3%	6.82%
1993	45.5%	38.4%	7.14%	70.2%	63.4%	6.79%
1994	45.9%	38.5%	7.4%	70.2%	63.3%	6.89%
1995	46.2%	38.6%	7.66%	71.5%	64.3%	7.18%
1996	46.4%	38.5%	7.92%	72%	64.6%	7.46%
1997	46.5%	38.3%	8.21%	71.6%	63.9%	7.69%
1998	46.7%	38.1%	8.55%	69.8%	62%	7.79%
1999	46.8%	37.9%	8.94%	67.8%	60%	7.84%
2000	47%	37.6%	9.39%	65.7%	57.8%	7.87%
2001	47.1%	37.2%	9.87%	63.5%	55.7%	7.88%
2002	47.2%	36.8%	10.4%	61.4%	53.5%	7.88%
2003	47.3%	36.3%	11%	59.5%	51.6%	7.9%
2004	47.4%	35.8%	11.6%	57.9%	49.9%	7.93%
2005	47.3%	35.2%	12.2%	56.7%	48.7%	7.98%
2006	47.1%	34.5%	12.7%	55.7%	47.7%	8.03%
2007	46.9%	33.7%	13.1%	54.8%	46.8%	8.05%
2008	46.6%	33%	13.6%	54.2%	46.1%	8.07%
2009	46.2%	32.3%	13.9%	53.7%	45.6%	8.07%
2010	45.9%	31.6%	14.3%	53%	45%	8.03%
2011	45.5%	30.9%	14.7%	52.4%	44.4%	7.99%
2012	45.2%	30.2%	15%	51.9%	43.9%	7.97%
2013	44.9%	29.6%	15.3%	51.5%	43.5%	8.01%
2014	44.6%	29.1%	15.5%	51.1%	43.1%	8.06%
2015	44.4%	28.6%	15.8%	50.8%	42.7%	8.1%
2016	44%	28.2%	15.8%	51.1%	42.8%	8.27%
2017	43.4%	27.8%	15.6%	51.3%	42.8%	8.51%
2018	43%	27.5%	15.5%	50.7%	42%	8.7%
2019	42.9%	27.3%	15.6%	50.1%	41.2%	8.92%
2020	43.2%	27.3%	15.9%	49.5%	40.4%	9.13%
2021	43.6%	27.4%	16.2%	48.9%	39.6%	9.28%
2022	44.1%	27.4%	16.7%	48.6%	39.1%	9.45%
2023	44.9%	27.5%	17.4%	48.4%	38.7%	9.67%
2024	45.7%	27.6%	18.1%	48.3%	38.4%	9.92%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64.

Age dependency in North Korea decreased from 47.4% to 45.7% between 2004 and 2024.

In South Africa, the ratio of dependent people decreased from 57.9% to 48.3% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of young people and an increased proportion of people aged 65+.

Working age demographic

Table

Year	Working age population share
	North Korea	South Africa
1960	59.2%	54.5%
1961	59.6%	54.5%
1962	60%	54.5%
1963	60.1%	54.6%
1964	60%	54.6%
1965	59.8%	54.5%
1966	59.3%	54.4%
1967	58.2%	54.3%
1968	57.3%	54.3%
1969	56.8%	54.2%
1970	56.5%	54.2%
1971	56.3%	54.2%
1972	56.3%	54.2%
1973	56.8%	54.2%
1974	57.3%	54.3%
1975	57.7%	54.3%
1976	58.2%	54.4%
1977	58.8%	54.6%
1978	59.6%	54.8%
1979	60.4%	55%
1980	61.3%	55.3%
1981	62.2%	55.7%
1982	63.2%	56.1%
1983	64.2%	56.3%
1984	65.2%	56.6%
1985	66.1%	56.8%
1986	67%	57.1%
1987	67.8%	57.3%
1988	68.4%	57.6%
1989	68.8%	57.9%
1990	69%	58.3%
1991	69%	58.5%
1992	68.9%	58.4%
1993	68.7%	58.8%
1994	68.5%	58.8%
1995	68.4%	58.3%
1996	68.3%	58.1%
1997	68.2%	58.3%
1998	68.2%	58.9%
1999	68.1%	59.6%
2000	68%	60.3%
2001	68%	61.1%
2002	68%	62%
2003	67.9%	62.7%
2004	67.9%	63.3%
2005	67.9%	63.8%
2006	68%	64.2%
2007	68.1%	64.6%
2008	68.2%	64.9%
2009	68.4%	65.1%
2010	68.6%	65.3%
2011	68.7%	65.6%
2012	68.9%	65.8%
2013	69%	66%
2014	69.1%	66.2%
2015	69.2%	66.3%
2016	69.4%	66.2%
2017	69.7%	66.1%
2018	69.9%	66.4%
2019	70%	66.6%
2020	69.8%	66.9%
2021	69.7%	67.2%
2022	69.4%	67.3%
2023	69%	67.4%
2024	68.7%	67.4%
2025	68.4%	67.4%
2026	68.1%	67.3%
2027	67.8%	67.3%
2028	67.5%	67.2%
2029	67.2%	67.2%
2030	66.9%	67.1%
2031	66.5%	67%
2032	66.1%	67%
2033	65.7%	67.1%
2034	65.2%	67.2%
2035	64.8%	67.4%
2036	64.5%	67.6%
2037	64.1%	67.7%
2038	63.8%	67.9%
2039	63.7%	68%
2040	63.6%	68.1%
2041	63.7%	68.1%
2042	63.7%	68.2%
2043	63.8%	68.2%
2044	63.9%	68.1%
2045	63.9%	68%
2046	63.9%	67.9%
2047	63.8%	67.8%
2048	63.7%	67.6%
2049	63.5%	67.4%
2050	63.4%	67.2%

Between 2004 and 2024, the share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 changed from 67.9% to 68.7% in North Korea and from 63.3% to 67.4% in South Africa.

Share of young demographic (0-14 years old)

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	North Korea	South Africa
1960	37.5%	42.1%
1961	37%	42.1%
1962	36.6%	42.1%
1963	36.5%	42.1%
1964	36.6%	42.1%
1965	36.7%	42.1%
1966	37.3%	42.1%
1967	38.3%	42.2%
1968	39.2%	42.2%
1969	39.8%	42.2%
1970	40.1%	42.3%
1971	40.3%	42.2%
1972	40.2%	42.2%
1973	39.8%	42.1%
1974	39.3%	42%
1975	38.8%	41.9%
1976	38.3%	41.8%
1977	37.7%	41.7%
1978	36.9%	41.5%
1979	36%	41.3%
1980	35.1%	40.9%
1981	34.2%	40.5%
1982	33.1%	40.1%
1983	32%	39.8%
1984	30.9%	39.5%
1985	29.9%	39.2%
1986	29%	38.9%
1987	28%	38.7%
1988	27.3%	38.4%
1989	26.8%	38.1%
1990	26.5%	37.7%
1991	26.4%	37.5%
1992	26.3%	37.6%
1993	26.4%	37.3%
1994	26.4%	37.2%
1995	26.4%	37.5%
1996	26.3%	37.5%
1997	26.2%	37.2%
1998	26%	36.5%
1999	25.8%	35.7%
2000	25.6%	34.9%
2001	25.3%	34%
2002	25%	33.2%
2003	24.6%	32.3%
2004	24.3%	31.6%
2005	23.9%	31.1%
2006	23.4%	30.6%
2007	23%	30.2%
2008	22.5%	29.9%
2009	22.1%	29.7%
2010	21.6%	29.4%
2011	21.2%	29.1%
2012	20.8%	28.9%
2013	20.4%	28.7%
2014	20.1%	28.5%
2015	19.8%	28.3%
2016	19.6%	28.3%
2017	19.4%	28.3%
2018	19.2%	27.9%
2019	19.1%	27.4%
2020	19.1%	27%
2021	19.1%	26.6%
2022	19%	26.3%
2023	19%	26.1%
2024	18.9%	25.9%
2025	18.9%	25.7%
2026	18.9%	25.6%
2027	18.8%	25.4%
2028	18.7%	25.3%
2029	18.6%	25.2%
2030	18.5%	25.2%
2031	18.3%	25.1%
2032	18.1%	25%
2033	17.9%	24.8%
2034	17.6%	24.5%
2035	17.4%	24.3%
2036	17.1%	23.9%
2037	16.8%	23.6%
2038	16.6%	23.4%
2039	16.3%	23.1%
2040	16.1%	22.9%
2041	15.9%	22.7%
2042	15.7%	22.5%
2043	15.5%	22.4%
2044	15.4%	22.2%
2045	15.3%	22.1%
2046	15.2%	21.9%
2047	15.2%	21.8%
2048	15.2%	21.7%
2049	15.2%	21.6%
2050	15.2%	21.5%

The share of young people aged below 15 is 18.9% in North Korea and 25.9% in South Africa. Birth rates in North Korea compared to South Africa .

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	North Korea	South Africa
1960	3.28%	3.39%
1961	3.34%	3.38%
1962	3.39%	3.37%
1963	3.43%	3.38%
1964	3.45%	3.39%
1965	3.47%	3.41%
1966	3.49%	3.44%
1967	3.49%	3.47%
1968	3.49%	3.51%
1969	3.48%	3.54%
1970	3.47%	3.58%
1971	3.46%	3.61%
1972	3.45%	3.64%
1973	3.44%	3.66%
1974	3.44%	3.69%
1975	3.46%	3.71%
1976	3.48%	3.73%
1977	3.51%	3.75%
1978	3.55%	3.77%
1979	3.59%	3.79%
1980	3.63%	3.8%
1981	3.67%	3.83%
1982	3.73%	3.86%
1983	3.81%	3.89%
1984	3.89%	3.93%
1985	3.98%	3.97%
1986	4.07%	3.98%
1987	4.17%	3.99%
1988	4.28%	3.99%
1989	4.39%	3.98%
1990	4.51%	3.95%
1991	4.63%	3.95%
1992	4.76%	3.99%
1993	4.91%	3.99%
1994	5.07%	4.05%
1995	5.24%	4.19%
1996	5.41%	4.34%
1997	5.6%	4.48%
1998	5.83%	4.59%
1999	6.09%	4.67%
2000	6.39%	4.75%
2001	6.71%	4.82%
2002	7.06%	4.88%
2003	7.45%	4.95%
2004	7.86%	5.02%
2005	8.25%	5.1%
2006	8.61%	5.15%
2007	8.95%	5.2%
2008	9.25%	5.24%
2009	9.53%	5.25%
2010	9.8%	5.25%
2011	10.1%	5.24%
2012	10.3%	5.25%
2013	10.6%	5.29%
2014	10.8%	5.33%
2015	10.9%	5.37%
2016	11%	5.47%
2017	10.9%	5.63%
2018	10.8%	5.78%
2019	10.9%	5.95%
2020	11.1%	6.11%
2021	11.3%	6.23%
2022	11.6%	6.36%
2023	12%	6.52%
2024	12.4%	6.69%
2025	12.7%	6.89%
2026	13%	7.08%
2027	13.3%	7.26%
2028	13.7%	7.44%
2029	14.2%	7.61%
2030	14.6%	7.76%
2031	15.2%	7.89%
2032	15.8%	8.01%
2033	16.5%	8.14%
2034	17.1%	8.26%
2035	17.8%	8.39%
2036	18.4%	8.52%
2037	19.1%	8.64%
2038	19.6%	8.76%
2039	20%	8.88%
2040	20.3%	9.01%
2041	20.5%	9.15%
2042	20.6%	9.3%
2043	20.6%	9.48%
2044	20.7%	9.68%
2045	20.8%	9.9%
2046	20.9%	10.1%
2047	21%	10.4%
2048	21.2%	10.7%
2049	21.3%	11%
2050	21.4%	11.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over is 12.4% in North Korea and 6.69% in South Africa. Life expectancy in North Korea compared to South Africa .