N.K.'s Nominal GNI per Capita Estimated at 1,379,900 Won
Statistics Korea announced on Dec. 23 that North Korea’s real GDP decreased 4.5 percent last year due to COVID-19 and continuous U.N. sanctions. “The rate of decrease is the highest since 1997, when it fell 6.5 percent,” it said, adding, “North Korea’s real GDP fell 3.5 percent in 2017, fell 4.1 percent in 2018, and edged up 0.4 percent in 2019.”
In 2020, North Korea’s total trade volume except that in relation to South Korea dropped 73.4 percent to US$860 million “Exports dropped 68 percent to US$89 million, imports dropped 73.9 percent to US$774 million, and South Korea’s trade volume was 1,136 times that of North Korea in 2020,” it said.
Last year, steel accounted for 15.4 percent of North Korea’s exports and mineral fuels and oils accounted for 30.9 percent of its imports. Its trade with China, Russia and Vietnam accounted for 88.2 percent, 4.9 percent and 1.8 percent of its total trade, respectively.
North Korea’s nominal GNI was 35 trillion won in 2020, when South Korea’s was 1,948 trillion won. The two countries’ nominal GNI per capita was 1,379,900 won and 37,621,000 won, respectively. Their difference in per capita income increased from 21.5 times to 27.3 times from 2010 to 2020.
Last year, the population of North Korea was 25.37 million and that of South Korea was 51.84 million. The life expectancy of North Korean males and females was 66.9 and 73.6 years whereas the figures were 80.5 and 86.5 in South Korea.