N. Koreans expected to life spans shorter than S. Koreans by 12-13 years

Attendees of an event calling for the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in Seoul wave Korean Unification Flags on Dec. 5. (Baek So-ah, staff photographer)

North’s GNI just 1.9% of South’s

Attendees of an event calling for the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in Seoul wave Korean Unification Flags on Dec. 5. (Baek So-ah, staff photographer)

On average, North Koreans are expected to live for 12 or 13 fewer years than South Koreans, a new report finds, while North Korea’s population is just half the size of the South’s.

On Dec. 13, Statistics Korea released its 2019 report about key statistical indicators in North Korea. In 2018, the report said, the North Korean population stood at 25.13 million, just less than half of South Korea’s population of 51.61 million. Life expectancy in North Korea amounted to 73.3 years for women and 66.5 years for men, figures that were 12.4 and 13.2 years lower, respectively, than South Korea (85.7 years for women and 79.7 years for men). This disparity presumably results from North Korea’s outdated health care system and economic circumstances.

The disparity was even starker in the economic arena. In 2018, North Korea had a nominal gross national income (GNI) of 35.9 trillion won (US$30.77 billion), just 1.9% of the corresponding figure for South Korea (1,898.45 trillion won, or US$1.63 trillion). North Korea’s per capita GNI was at 1.43 million won (US$1,227), 3.9% of South Korea’s (36.79 million won, or US$33,558). North Korea’s real economic growth rate in 2018 was -4.1%, with the economy shrinking for the second year in a row.

Furthermore, North Korea’s total trade was worth US$2.84 billion, just 0.2% of the South Korean figure (US$1,140.06 billion). The figure illustrates North Korea’s isolated economic position. The main buyers of North Korean exports, ranked by importance, are China, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Ghana. Most of its imports come from China, Russia, India, Switzerland, and Germany, in that order.

There are a few areas where North Korea outperforms South Korea, including the production of a few crops and minerals. In 2018, North Korea grew 1,498,000 tons of corn, considerably more than the 78,000 tons grown in South Korea. Furthermore, it surpassed South Korea in coal (18.08 million tons) and iron ore (3.28 million tons) production by a factor of 15.1 and 8.6, respectively. North Korea’s railroad network runs for 5,289km, longer than South Korea’s, at 4,074km.

By Noh Hyun-woong, staff reporter

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