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North Korea vs Syria statistics compared

Updated on by Georank team

North Korea has a population of 26.5M (ranked 56/197), compared with 24.7M in Syria (ranked 57/197). North Korea's land area is 46,491 sq mi versus 70,900 sq mi for Syria (ranked 97th vs. 87th).

By GDP, North Korea ranks 106/197 ($34.9B) and Syria ranks 129/197 ($20B). By GDP per capita, North Korea ranks 168/197 ($1,319), while Syria ranks 184/197 ($847).

Main facts and rankings

North Korea Syria
Population
26621357
26304877
Population rank 56/197 57/197
GDP
$34.9B
2024
$20B
2023
GDP rank 106/197 129/197
GDP per capita
$1,319
2024
$847
2023
GDP per capita rank 168/197 184/197
GDP per capita, PPP
$1,700
2015
$4,650
2023
Government debt n/a
$18.4B
2010
Debt-to-GDP ratio n/a
30%
2010
Government debt per person n/a
$820
2010
Government debt per person rank n/a 148/185
Average annual personal income after taxes
$1,642
2025
$731
2025
Land area
46,491 sq mi
2025
70,900 sq mi
2025
Population density
570 ppl/mi²
2024
348 ppl/mi²
2024
Fertility rate
1.78
2023
2.71
2023
Median age
37.3 years
2024
23.9 years
2024
Life expectancy
73.9 years
2025
73 years
2025

North Korea and Syria: Comparison Charts

North Korea and Syria economies compared

GDP
North Korea

Syria
Year GDP
North Korea Syria
1960 - $857,704,413
1961 - $945,244,972
1962 - $1,110,565,881
1963 - $1,200,447,408
1964 - $1,339,494,267
1965 - $1,472,036,540
1966 - $1,342,287,553
1967 - $1,580,229,799
1968 - $1,753,746,430
1969 - $2,245,011,515
1970 - $2,140,384,010
1971 - $2,589,851,325
1972 - $3,059,681,698
1973 - $3,239,487,516
1974 - $5,159,557,148
1975 - $6,826,980,444
1976 - $7,633,528,867
1977 - $7,696,011,396
1978 - $9,275,200,458
1979 - $9,929,681,529
1980 - $13,062,420,382
1981 - $15,518,201,335
1982 - $16,298,929,011
1983 - $17,589,277,143
1984 - $17,503,078,174
1985 - $16,403,539,893
1986 - $13,293,205,278
1987 - $11,356,215,543
1988 - $10,577,041,645
1989 - $9,853,395,762
1990 - $12,308,624,418
1991 - $12,981,833,333
1992 - $13,253,565,861
1993 - $13,695,962,055
1994 - $10,122,020,000
1995 - $11,396,706,587
1996 - $13,789,560,878
1997 - $14,505,233,463
1998 - $15,200,846,154
1999 - $15,873,875,969
2000 - $18,937,052,543
2001 - $20,237,024,725
2002 - $20,669,357,462
2003 - $21,828,144,686
2004 - $25,086,950,495
2005 - $28,858,965,517
2006 - $33,751,788,856
2007 - $40,465,318,382
2008 - $52,557,913,569
2009 $23,356,470,000 $54,111,735,629
2010 $25,995,513,000 $61,390,830,875
2011 $29,005,020,000 $67,539,428,159
2012 $29,890,710,000 $43,190,318,033
2013 $30,588,922,000 $21,361,254,635
2014 $30,554,460,000 $21,502,061,466
2015 $30,723,030,000 $16,466,863,117
2016 $28,882,640,000 $12,597,854,877
2017 $29,105,440,000 $16,369,843,352
2018 $28,536,400,000 $21,497,782,868
2019 $28,222,880,000 $22,583,045,060
2020 $27,728,240,000 $12,047,752,036
2021 $32,301,720,000 $14,353,205,678
2022 $28,971,360,000 $23,622,827,080
2023 $32,155,360,000 $19,993,439,950
2024 $34,943,120,000 -

North Korea and Syria economies compared

GDP per capita
North Korea

Syria
Year GDP per capita
North Korea Syria
1960 - $183.5
1961 - $196.3
1962 - $223.9
1963 - $234.9
1964 - $254.2
1965 - $270.8
1966 - $239.3
1967 - $272.9
1968 - $293.3
1969 - $364
1970 - $335
1971 - $393
1972 - $448
1973 - $459
1974 - $707
1975 - $904
1976 - $976
1977 - $951
1978 - $1,108
1979 - $1,146
1980 - $1,458
1981 - $1,676
1982 - $1,703
1983 - $1,776
1984 - $1,706
1985 - $1,544
1986 - $1,208
1987 - $997
1988 - $898
1989 - $809
1990 - $978
1991 - $1,000
1992 - $990
1993 - $993
1994 - $712
1995 - $780
1996 - $918
1997 - $941
1998 - $961
1999 - $978
2000 - $1,138
2001 - $1,187
2002 - $1,183
2003 - $1,220
2004 - $1,368
2005 - $1,534
2006 - $1,719
2007 - $1,938
2008 - $2,429
2009 $939 $2,462
2010 $1,040 $2,731
2011 $1,156 $2,952
2012 $1,186 $1,898
2013 $1,208 $986
2014 $1,201 $1,061
2015 $1,201 $848
2016 $1,124 $656
2017 $1,127 $852
2018 $1,100 $1,098
2019 $1,084 $1,110
2020 $1,061 $572
2021 $1,231 $664
2022 $1,100 $1,052
2023 $1,217 $847
2024 $1,319 -

North Korea vs. Syria life expectancy calculator

Life expectancy
North Korea

Syria
Year Life expectancy, years
North Korea Syria
1950 14.2 42.5
1951 17.7 43.4
1952 32.8 44.3
1953 40.3 45.3
1954 50.6 46.4
1955 51.8 47.4
1956 52.8 48.5
1957 53.7 49.6
1958 54.5 50.7
1959 55.2 51.7
1960 55.8 52.7
1961 56.4 53.7
1962 57 54.6
1963 57.6 55.4
1964 58.2 56.2
1965 58.8 56.9
1966 59.4 57.6
1967 60.1 58
1968 60.8 59.1
1969 61.4 59.8
1970 62 60.6
1971 62.7 61.3
1972 63.3 62
1973 63.8 60.8
1974 64.3 63.4
1975 64.8 64.2
1976 65.3 64.8
1977 65.8 65.4
1978 66.3 65.9
1979 66.7 66.2
1980 67.2 66.5
1981 67.7 64.6
1982 68.1 60.8
1983 68.5 67.4
1984 68.9 67.7
1985 69.2 68
1986 69.5 68.4
1987 69.8 68.8
1988 70.1 69.2
1989 70.3 69.5
1990 70.5 69.8
1991 70.7 70.1
1992 71 70.2
1993 70.8 70.3
1994 70.5 70.3
1995 60.8 70.2
1996 60.8 70.2
1997 60.9 70.2
1998 60.9 70.2
1999 60.9 70.5
2000 60.9 70.9
2001 60.9 71.3
2002 60.9 71.7
2003 69.4 72.2
2004 69.3 72.5
2005 69.2 72.8
2006 69.1 73
2007 69 73.3
2008 69.3 73.4
2009 69.7 73.5
2010 70.2 73.5
2011 70.8 72.3
2012 71.3 66.2
2013 71.9 65.1
2014 72.5 65.5
2015 72.8 63.3
2016 73 65.2
2017 73 65.7
2018 73 67.4
2019 72.9 71
2020 72.8 71.9
2021 73.4 72.4
2022 73.6 72.8
2023 73.6 72.1
2024 73.7 72.6
2025 73.9 73

North Korea and Syria population clocks and comparison

Population
North Korea

Syria
Year Population
North Korea Syria
1960 11,722,953 4,673,500
1961 11,990,713 4,815,466
1962 12,262,882 4,959,340
1963 12,567,057 5,110,467
1964 12,889,770 5,269,087
1965 13,219,369 5,435,267
1966 13,569,094 5,609,047
1967 13,958,350 5,790,198
1968 14,365,596 5,978,742
1969 14,767,615 6,175,166
1970 15,172,775 6,380,609
1971 15,572,457 6,598,094
1972 15,975,069 6,826,024
1973 16,350,367 7,060,321
1974 16,673,121 7,302,160
1975 16,971,055 7,554,364
1976 17,243,450 7,817,320
1977 17,492,798 8,090,501
1978 17,735,995 8,372,759
1979 17,983,470 8,661,909
1980 18,236,786 8,957,663
1981 18,501,295 9,260,189
1982 18,776,357 9,572,511
1983 19,054,034 9,904,809
1984 19,335,043 10,258,398
1985 19,620,388 10,625,672
1986 19,910,855 11,002,844
1987 20,205,483 11,388,923
1988 20,503,161 11,782,264
1989 20,804,367 12,179,060
1990 21,112,137 12,579,208
1991 21,428,638 12,980,821
1992 21,750,911 13,385,571
1993 22,073,352 13,795,686
1994 22,393,975 14,208,583
1995 22,669,304 14,616,801
1996 22,895,746 15,018,104
1997 23,110,830 15,417,542
1998 23,311,564 15,820,413
1999 23,497,599 16,228,061
2000 23,665,910 16,637,888
2001 23,815,358 17,051,338
2002 23,943,973 17,468,332
2003 24,090,380 17,889,296
2004 24,254,943 18,336,875
2005 24,396,433 18,814,091
2006 24,524,507 19,637,022
2007 24,646,383 20,884,125
2008 24,764,618 21,636,564
2009 24,878,332 21,976,969
2010 24,987,258 22,482,421
2011 25,097,874 22,878,098
2012 25,211,728 22,759,763
2013 25,329,451 21,666,917
2014 25,451,262 20,273,659
2015 25,575,350 19,424,618
2016 25,698,326 19,193,834
2017 25,817,709 19,224,668
2018 25,931,147 19,577,845
2019 26,037,632 20,353,534
2020 26,136,312 21,049,429
2021 26,232,534 21,628,839
2022 26,328,845 22,462,173
2023 26,418,204 23,594,623
2024 26,498,823 24,672,760

Fertility rates in North Korea and Syria

Fertility rate
North Korea

Syria
Year Fertility rate
North Korea Syria
1960 3.57 7.51
1961 3.26 7.5
1962 3.41 7.51
1963 3.63 7.51
1964 3.55 7.53
1965 3.56 7.53
1966 3.71 7.55
1967 4.05 7.56
1968 3.87 7.57
1969 3.86 7.59
1970 3.85 7.62
1971 3.74 7.6
1972 3.89 7.57
1973 3.35 7.55
1974 3.14 7.52
1975 3.05 7.49
1976 2.84 7.45
1977 2.77 7.42
1978 2.79 7.35
1979 2.85 7.25
1980 2.84 7.12
1981 2.92 6.97
1982 2.85 6.81
1983 2.78 6.69
1984 2.71 6.59
1985 2.65 6.48
1986 2.59 6.37
1987 2.53 6.2
1988 2.47 6
1989 2.41 5.78
1990 2.39 5.56
1991 2.35 5.34
1992 2.29 5.14
1993 2.22 4.99
1994 2.18 4.86
1995 2.15 4.7
1996 2.09 4.54
1997 2.03 4.37
1998 1.99 4.25
1999 1.97 4.14
2000 1.94 4.07
2001 1.94 3.98
2002 1.92 3.87
2003 1.91 3.76
2004 1.9 3.68
2005 1.87 3.61
2006 1.94 3.56
2007 1.94 3.54
2008 1.97 3.48
2009 1.91 3.42
2010 1.89 3.36
2011 1.88 3.29
2012 1.88 3.22
2013 1.88 3.17
2014 1.87 3.12
2015 1.86 3.07
2016 1.86 3.01
2017 1.85 2.97
2018 1.83 2.93
2019 1.83 2.88
2020 1.82 2.84
2021 1.81 2.8
2022 1.8 2.75
2023 1.78 2.71

North Korea and Syria demographics compared

Median age
North Korea

Syria
Year Median age, years
North Korea Syria
1960 19.9 17.6
1961 20.2 17.3
1962 20.6 17.1
1963 20.8 16.9
1964 21 16.7
1965 21.2 16.5
1966 21.3 16.4
1967 21.4 16.2
1968 21.4 16.1
1969 21.4 16
1970 21.4 15.9
1971 21.2 15.8
1972 20.9 15.8
1973 20.7 15.7
1974 20.7 15.7
1975 20.9 15.7
1976 21.1 15.6
1977 21.4 15.6
1978 21.8 15.6
1979 22.2 15.6
1980 22.5 15.6
1981 22.8 15.6
1982 23.1 15.7
1983 23.5 15.8
1984 23.9 15.8
1985 24.2 15.9
1986 24.5 16
1987 24.8 16.1
1988 25.1 16.2
1989 25.6 16.4
1990 26 16.5
1991 26.4 16.7
1992 26.8 16.9
1993 27.2 17.1
1994 27.6 17.3
1995 28 17.5
1996 28.3 17.7
1997 28.8 17.9
1998 29.2 18.1
1999 29.6 18.3
2000 30.1 18.5
2001 30.5 18.8
2002 31 19
2003 31.4 19.2
2004 31.8 19.5
2005 32.1 19.7
2006 32.5 20.3
2007 32.9 21
2008 33.3 21.3
2009 33.7 21.5
2010 34 21.7
2011 34.3 21.9
2012 34.5 21.8
2013 34.7 21.2
2014 35 20.1
2015 35.2 19.5
2016 35.4 19.5
2017 35.7 19.6
2018 35.9 20.1
2019 36.2 20.9
2020 36.4 21.6
2021 36.6 22.2
2022 36.8 22.7
2023 37.1 23.3
2024 37.3 23.9

Interactive Maps

Use the buttons below to switch between world maps comparing statistics for North Korea and Syria.

GDP per capita

GDP

Life expectancy

Population

Population density

Fertility rate

Median age

Land area

National statistics comparison

Finance

North Korea Syria
GNI, Atlas method n/a
$18.2B
2023
Government expenditure, % of GDP n/a
28.6%
2010
Education expenditure, % of GDP n/a
5.13%
2009
Military expenditure, % of GDP n/a
4.06%
2010
Armed forces personnel
1,469,000
2020
269,000
2020
Deficit/surplus, % of GDP n/a
-7.79%
2010
Unemployment rate
25.6%
2013
8.61%
2010
Services, % of GDP n/a
44.9%
2022
Industry, % of GDP n/a
12%
2022
Economic freedom index
3
2025
51.2
2012
Income share by richest 10% n/a
21.1%
2022
Income share by poorest 10% n/a
3.8%
2022
Total reserves including gold n/a
$20.6B
2010
Personal remittances received n/a
$0
2023
International tourist arrivals n/a
2,424,000
2019
International tourism as share of exports n/a
32.2%
2010
Banked people share n/a
23.3%
2011

Energy

North Korea Syria
Energy use, kg of oil equivalent per capita
641 kg
2022
455 kg
2022
GDP PPP per kg equivalent of energy use n/a
$10.5
2022
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
64.3 megatons
2023
25.6 megatons
2023
CO2 emissions per capita
2.43 tons
2023
1.08 tons
2023
Fossil fuel energy use share
85.1%
2022
99.5%
2022
Renewable energy use share
14.7%
2021
1.1%
2021
Alternative and nuclear energy use share
8.5%
2022
0.72%
2022
Net energy imports use share
4.9%
2022
61.3%
2022
Electric power consumption per capita
830 kWh
2022
690 kWh
2022
Renewable electricity output share
63.2%
2021
3.91%
2021
Hydroelectric share
62.7%
2022
3.76%
2022
Nuclear share
0%
2021
0%
2021
Electricity access
57.5%
2023
88.4%
2023

Society

North Korea Syria
% of world population
0.33%
2024
0.3%
2024
Annual migration change
-2,473
2024
+546,494
2024
Urban population
63.5%
2024
58%
2024
Male:Female ratio
50:50
2024
50:50
2024
Average male height
5.73 ft
2025
5.63 ft
2025
Average female height
5.29 ft
2025
5.23 ft
2025
Quality of life index
11.8
2025
17.2
2025
Corruption Perceptions Index
15
2024
12
2024
Higher education index
12
2025
32
2025
Homicides per 100K people
4.4
2015
2.07
2010
Road traffic mortality per 100K people
24.2
2019
14.9
2019
Visa free countries
51
2025
39
2025
Adult literacy rate
100%
2018
94.4%
2021
English speaking
0%
2025
4%
2025
People using the Internet
0%
2012
34.7%
2019

Health

North Korea Syria
Government health expenditure per capita n/a
$34.4
2022
Out-of-pocket health expenditure per capita n/a
$15.7
2022
Life expectancy
73.9 years
2025
73 years
2025
Foreign aid share of health expenditure n/a
20.4%
2022
Physicians per 1,000 people
3.67
2017
1.19
2016
Maternal mortality per 100K births
67
2023
20
2023
Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
18
2023
20.6
2023
Obesity rate
11.1%
2022
n/a
Diabetes prevalence
9.9%
2024
19%
2024
Air quality index
42
2025
42
2025
Tobacco use prevalence
16.5%
2022
n/a
Pure alcohol consumption per capita
3.87 liters
2020
0.09 liters
2020

Territory

North Korea Syria
% of world land
0.08%
2025
0.12%
2025
Land area per capita
1,754 sq mi
2024
2,874 sq mi
2024
Agricultural land area
10,021 sq mi
2025
52,533 sq mi
2025
Forest area
23,036 sq mi
2025
2,016 sq mi
2025
Roads length
15,879 mi
2006
n/a

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Facts comparisons

Facts vs North Korea vs Syria
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