WORLDHEALTHRANKINGS
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World Health Review

North Korea
COUNTRY #1
Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua/Bar. Arab Emirates Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia/Herzeg. Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central Africa Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Costa Rica Cote d Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominican Rep. DR Congo Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equ. Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Guinea New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria No Macedonia North Korea Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Lucia Saint Vincent Samoa Sao Tome Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Isl. Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad/Tob. Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

Compare North Korea and South Korea health profiles including life expectancy history, causes of death and population dynamics side by side. Health Data used is WHO, World Bank and the United Nations for population.

South Korea
COUNTRY #2
Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua/Bar. Arab Emirates Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia/Herzeg. Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central Africa Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Costa Rica Cote d Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominican Rep. DR Congo Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equ. Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Guinea New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria No Macedonia North Korea Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Lucia Saint Vincent Samoa Sao Tome Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Isl. Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad/Tob. Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
DYNAMIC PYRAMIDS
Data Source: United Nations
North Korea Population Pyramid
26,561,614
Created with Raphaël 2.2.0 95+ 90-94 85-89 80-84 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-42.5%2.5%5%5%7.5%7.5%
South Korea Population Pyramid
46,829,924
Created with Raphaël 2.2.0 95+ 90-94 85-89 80-84 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-42.5%2.5%5%5%7.5%7.5%
LIFE EXPECTANCY HISTORY
GOOD
 
 
 
POOR
  North Korea NORTH KOREA   South Korea SOUTH KOREA
  North Korea NORTH KOREA   South Korea SOUTH KOREA
       
World Rank
       
World Rank
  M F All M F All   M F All M F All
1960
53.8
57.1
55.4
76
77
76
 
52.6
55.8
54.2
81
82
82
1970
59.5
64.5
62.0
72
70
71
 
58.7
65.1
61.8
80
68
73
1980
64.6
71.0
67.8
63
63
63
 
61.8
70.0
65.8
80
69
76
1990
66.5
73.6
69.9
71
62
66
 
67.3
75.5
71.3
59
41
49
2000
61.1
69.3
65.4
122
115
117
 
72.3
79.5
76.0
38
27
33
2010
65.4
72.4
69.0
115
110
110
 
77.2
84.0
80.7
24
8
15
2019
69.3
75.7
72.6
109
97
106
 
80.3
86.1
83.3
16
2
3
LIFE EXPECTANCY BY AGE
GOOD
 
 
 
POOR
  North Korea NORTH KOREA   South Korea SOUTH KOREA
      World Rank       World Rank
  M F M F M F M F
At Birth
69.3
75.7
109
97
80.3
86.1
16
2
Age
69.3
75.7
109
97
80.3
86.1
16
2
Age 5
70.6
76.8
116
98
80.6
86.4
17
2
Age 10
70.7
77.0
116
98
80.7
86.4
17
2
Age 15
70.9
77.1
118
98
80.7
86.4
17
2
Age 20
71.2
77.2
117
98
80.8
86.5
17
2
Age 25
71.6
77.4
115
99
80.9
86.6
17
2
Age 30
72.0
77.5
116
100
81.0
86.7
17
2
Age 35
72.4
77.8
116
99
81.2
86.8
17
2
Age 40
72.8
78.1
119
99
81.4
86.9
15
2
Age 45
73.4
78.5
120
97
81.7
87.1
16
2
Age 50
74.2
79.0
121
97
82.1
87.3
15
2
Age 55
75.3
79.8
124
96
82.6
87.6
15
2
Age 60
76.8
80.8
122
97
83.4
87.9
12
2
Age 65
78.6
82.0
119
94
84.2
88.2
14
2
Age 70
80.8
83.6
120
91
85.3
88.7
15
2
Age 75
83.4
85.5
118
87
86.6
89.4
21
5
Age 80
86.4
87.8
113
85
88.6
90.5
19
4
Age 85
89.7
90.5
104
77
91.2
92.3
13
5
TOP 50 CAUSES OF DEATH
AGE-STANDARDIZED DEATH RATE
PER 100,000 POPULATION
GOOD
 
 
 
POOR
  North Korea NORTH KOREA   South Korea SOUTH KOREA
TOP 50 CAUSES OF DEATH Rate World Rank Rate World Rank
1. Stroke
162.14
15
25.48
155
2. Coronary Heart Disease
105.37
99
27.78
183
3. Lung Disease
87.71
5
8.14
175
4. Tuberculosis
57.14
16
1.93
110
5. Lung Cancers
37.70
4
20.90
49
6. Influenza and Pneumonia
22.75
104
25.21
100
7. Road Traffic Accidents
22.21
64
5.76
150
8. Hypertension
18.24
92
3.45
163
9. Liver Cancer
16.66
12
12.57
21
10. Alzheimers & Dementia
16.26
122
11.04
154
11. Liver Disease
14.33
111
7.50
148
12. Kidney Disease
12.98
129
9.92
142
13. Stomach Cancer
11.99
21
9.13
50
14. Diabetes Mellitus
11.82
137
6.84
160
15. Colon-Rectum Cancers
10.37
70
10.56
68
16. Suicide
8.20
95
21.16
12
17. Breast Cancer
7.80
177
6.59
180
18. Rheumatic Heart Disease
6.87
15
0.23
175
19. Falls
6.34
79
3.34
142
20. Peptic Ulcer Disease
5.64
51
0.54
171
21. Other Injuries
5.48
125
3.88
154
22. Pancreas Cancer
4.85
68
7.34
34
23. Asthma
4.81
90
1.08
129
24. Drownings
4.46
35
0.71
161
25. Low Birth Weight
4.39
98
1.62
152
26. Cervical Cancer
4.11
136
2.29
160
27. Violence
3.97
101
0.68
170
28. Oesophagus Cancer
3.80
49
1.84
115
29. Congenital Anomalies
3.79
139
1.82
181
30. Parkinson's Disease
3.78
113
3.78
114
31. Leukemia
3.44
99
2.65
138
32. Ovary Cancer
2.96
147
2.84
149
33. Birth Trauma
2.66
86
0.39
164
34. HIV/AIDS
2.53
100
0.11
155
35. Inflammatory/Heart
2.40
153
1.55
172
36. Prostate Cancer
2.38
178
6.10
155
37. Lymphomas
1.84
175
3.72
131
38. Diarrhoeal diseases
1.70
109
0.91
139
39. Oral Cancer
1.62
152
1.60
154
40. Bladder Cancer
1.61
120
1.74
111
41. Endocrine Disorders
1.60
160
2.11
148
42. Poisonings
1.29
64
0.15
158
43. Malnutrition
1.25
93
0.09
158
44. Drug Use
1.24
89
0.20
181
45. Maternal Conditions
1.02
84
0.07
158
46. Alcohol
1.00
116
1.34
97
47. Epilepsy
0.98
137
0.72
166
48. Fires
0.90
118
0.33
159
49. Meningitis
0.81
89
0.07
181
50. Uterin Cancer
0.78
168
0.89
165
TOTAL DEATHS BY CAUSE
PERCENT TOP 50 CAUSES
  North Korea NORTH KOREA   South Korea SOUTH KOREA
  Deaths % Deaths %
1. Stroke
49,648
23.17
25,596
10.21
2. Coronary Heart Disease
31,342
14.63
28,043
11.19
3. Lung Disease
26,178
12.22
8,526
3.40
4. Tuberculosis
17,417
8.13
1,950
0.78
5. Lung Cancers
11,893
5.55
20,293
8.10
6. Influenza and Pneumonia
6,231
2.91
26,650
10.63
7. Road Traffic Accidents
6,210
2.90
4,399
1.76
8. Hypertension
5,368
2.51
3,711
1.48
9. Liver Cancer
5,326
2.49
11,589
4.62
10. Liver Disease
4,506
2.10
6,348
2.53
11. Alzheimers & Dementia
4,340
2.03
12,145
4.85
12. Kidney Disease
3,959
1.85
10,107
4.03
13. Stomach Cancer
3,771
1.76
8,625
3.44
14. Diabetes Mellitus
3,671
1.71
6,812
2.72
15. Colon-Rectum Cancers
3,232
1.51
10,180
4.06
16. Suicide
2,407
1.12
14,636
5.84
17. Rheumatic Heart Disease
2,093
0.98
224
0.09
18. Falls
1,801
0.84
2,934
1.17
19. Peptic Ulcer Disease
1,712
0.80
540
0.22
20. Other Injuries
1,531
0.71
3,634
1.45
21. Pancreas Cancer
1,525
0.71
6,994
2.79
22. Asthma
1,439
0.67
1,150
0.46
23. Breast Cancer
1,366
0.64
2,880
1.15
24. Oesophagus Cancer
1,222
0.57
1,733
0.69
25. Low Birth Weight
1,208
0.56
370
0.15
26. Parkinson's Disease
1,155
0.54
3,951
1.58
27. Drownings
1,126
0.53
501
0.20
28. Violence
1,082
0.50
386
0.15
29. Congenital Anomalies
991
0.46
518
0.21
30. Leukemia
965
0.45
2,140
0.85
31. HIV/AIDS
753
0.35
84
0.03
32. Birth Trauma
736
0.34
88
0.04
33. Cervical Cancer
704
0.33
1,065
0.42
34. Inflammatory/Heart
684
0.32
1,325
0.53
35. Lymphomas
560
0.26
3,477
1.39
36. Ovary Cancer
532
0.25
1,330
0.53
37. Oral Cancer
513
0.24
1,457
0.58
38. Bladder Cancer
500
0.23
1,768
0.71
39. Endocrine Disorders
452
0.21
1,891
0.75
40. Diarrhoeal diseases
374
0.17
929
0.37
41. Poisonings
366
0.17
115
0.05
42. Drug Use
356
0.17
154
0.06
43. Malnutrition
317
0.15
88
0.04
44. Alcohol
304
0.14
1,081
0.43
45. Epilepsy
266
0.12
524
0.21
46. Fires
253
0.12
263
0.10
47. Maternal Conditions
252
0.12
34
0.01
48. Prostate Cancer
219
0.10
2,316
0.92
49. Meningitis
207
0.10
51
0.02
50. Rheumatoid Arthritis
198
0.09
150
0.06
CANCER RANK BY TYPE
AGE-STANDARDIZED DEATH RATE
PER 100,000 POPULATION
GOOD
 
 
 
POOR
  North Korea NORTH KOREA   South Korea SOUTH KOREA
  Rate World Rank Rate World Rank
1. Lung Cancers
37.70
4
20.90
49
2. Liver Cancer
16.66
12
12.57
21
3. Stomach Cancer
11.99
21
9.13
50
4. Colon-Rectum Cancers
10.37
70
10.56
68
5. Breast Cancer
7.80
177
6.59
180
6. Pancreas Cancer
4.85
68
7.34
34
7. Cervical Cancer
4.11
136
2.29
160
8. Oesophagus Cancer
3.80
49
1.84
115
9. Leukemia
3.44
99
2.65
138
10. Ovary Cancer
2.96
147
2.84
149
11. Prostate Cancer
2.38
178
6.10
155
12. Lymphomas
1.84
175
3.72
131
13. Oral Cancer
1.62
152
1.60
154
14. Bladder Cancer
1.61
120
1.74
111
15. Uterin Cancer
0.78
168
0.89
165
16. Skin Cancers
0.55
160
0.60
157
Data rounded. Decimals affect ranking.
Data Source: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION 2020
Data Accuracy Not Guaranteed
WHO Excludes Cause of Death Data For the following countries: Andorra, Cook Islands, Dominica, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Saint Kitts, San Marino, Tuvalu.