Following the spread of COVID-19, North Korea’s real gross domestic product (GDP) has experienced three consecutive years of negative growth, leading to a widening income gap of up to 30 times per capita between North and South Korea. Last year, North Korea’s population was approximately half the size of South Korea’s.
According to the “2023 Key Statistical Indicators of North Korea” released by the Korea National Statistical Office on Dec. 20, North Korea recorded a real GDP growth rate of -0.2 percent last year. It showed a decline in manufacturing by 4.6 percent, other mining production by 1.3 percent, and agricultural and forestry production by 2.1 percent. This marks the third consecutive year of negative growth, following contractions of 4.5 percent in 2020 and 0.1 percent in 2021.
Last year, North Korea’s nominal GDP stood at 36.2 trillion won (US$27.78 billion), which was 1.7 percent of South Korea’s 2,161.8 trillion won GDP and 1/60th of its size. The nominal gross national income (GNI) was calculated at 36.7 trillion won. The per capita GNI increased by 0.5 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 1.43 million won. The disparity with South Korea, which had a per capita income of 42.49 million won, widened to 29.7 times, an increase from 28.6 times in 2021.
Last year, North Korea's total trade volume increased by 122.4 percent to US$1.59 billion. While the gap with South Korea, which had a GDP of US$1.4 trillion, narrowed, it still remained at a significant 892.2 times. China remained North Korea’s largest trading partner, accounting for 96.7 percent of its trade. Next was Vietnam with 1.0 percent and Argentina with 0.8 percent.
North Korea’s exports increased by 93.9 percent to US$160 million, while imports surged by 126.1 percent to US$1.43 billion. The largest export item was “ores and slag,” constituting 28.0 percent of the total, and the primary import item was “mineral fuels and mineral oils,” accounting for 36.4 percent.
North Korea’s power generation capacity was 8,270 MW, only 1/17th South Korea’s, and the generated power was 26.4 billion kWh, merely 1/23rd of South Korea’s capacity. The crop production in North Korea amounted to 4.51 million tons, marking a 4.0 percent decrease compared to the previous year. Among them, rice production was 2.07 million tons, a 3.8 percent decline, reaching only 55.1 percent of South Korea’s production of 3.76 million tons.
Last year, North Korea’s population increased to 25.7 million, a rise of 90,000 from the previous year, but it remains at half the level of South Korea’s population of 51.67 million. The combined population of North and South Korea decreased slightly to 77.37 million from 77.38 million in 2021. This marks the first time that the total population of North and South Korea has decreased. North Korea’s total fertility rate is 1.61, showing a sharp decline similar to South Korea’s low birthrate trend.