# China and North Korea compared

China and North Korea side by side: 27 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 3 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/chn-vs-prk
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- China: 221 BCE — Qin Shi Huang completes the unification of China
- North Korea: 918 — Wang Kŏn founds Goryeo, which gives Korea its name

## Economy

| Metric | China | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $18.74 T | 2024 | — | — |
| GDP per capita | $13,303 | 2024 | — | — |
| GDP growth | 5.0% | 2024 | — | — |
| Inflation | 0.2% | 2024 | — | — |
| Trade openness | 37.2% | 2024 | — | — |

## Society

| Metric | China | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1.41 bn | 2024 | 26 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 78.0 yrs | 2024 | 73.7 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 65.9% | 2024 | 63.9% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.0 | 2024 | 1.8 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | China | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 27.9 | 2024 | 22.1 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 63.3 | 2024 | 71.4 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 68.8 | 2024 | 26.6 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 53.7 | 2024 | 25.3 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 47.0 | 2024 | 30.7 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 49.6 | 2024 | 16.3 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | China | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 5.9% | 2023 | — | — |
| Physicians | 3.11 | 2022 | 3.63 | 2017 |
| Under-5 mortality | 5.7 | 2024 | 16.7 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 95.0% | 2024 | 99.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | — | — | 66.6% | 2023 |

## Education

| Metric | China | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 96.7% | 2020 | 100.0% | 2008 |
| Education spending | 3.9% | 2023 | — | — |
| Primary enrolment | 99.6% | 2024 | 92.1% | 2018 |
| Secondary enrolment | 92.3% | 2012 | 94.3% | 2015 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 76.9% | 2024 | 26.7% | 2018 |

## Technology

| Metric | China | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 2.6% | 2023 | — | — |
| Researchers (per million) | 2,107 | 2023 | — | — |
| Internet users | 91.6% | 2025 | 0.0% | 2004 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 132 | 2024 | 24 | 2022 |
| High-tech exports | 26.3% | 2024 | — | — |

## Geography

| Metric | China | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 9,388,210 km² | 2023 | 120,410 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 24.0% | 2023 | 49.6% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 55.4% | 2023 | 21.6% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 9.3 | 2024 | 2.5 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 15.2% | 2021 | 14.7% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | China | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 1.7% | 2021 | — | — |
| Oil rents | 0.3% | 2021 | — | — |
| Mineral rents | 0.5% | 2021 | — | — |
| Forest rents | 0.1% | 2021 | — | — |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 57.5% | 2023 |
| Copper (mined) | 1.8 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Iron ore | 290 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Gold (mined) | 380 t | 2025 | — | — |
| Lithium (mined) | 62.0 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Cobalt (mined) | 2,000 t | 2025 | — | — |
| Nickel (mined) | 120 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Rare earths | 270 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Bauxite | 87 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Zinc (mined) | 4.1 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Phosphate rock | 110 Mt | 2025 | — | — |

## Military

| Metric | China | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 1.7% | 2024 | — | — |
| Defense spending | $314 B | 2024 | $1.6 B | 2018 |
| Armed forces | 2.5 m | 2020 | 1.5 m | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/CHN.md and https://terralore.co/country/PRK.md.

## Entangled histories (3 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 668 CE: **Silla unifies the peninsula** — Allied with Tang China, Silla conquers Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668, then expels the Tang, achieving the first unification of Korea under native rule. (from the North Korea chronicle; sources: Korea (history); Three Kingdoms period)
- Late 1950: **China enters the war** — After UN forces push deep into the north, the People's Republic of China intervenes and drives the front back toward the 38th parallel, producing a stalemate. (from the North Korea chronicle; sources: The Korean War and Japan's Recovery; NSC-68 and the Korean War)
- 1994-1999: **The Arduous March famine** — A famine driven by the loss of Soviet support, reduced Chinese aid and flooding kills an estimated several hundred thousand or more North Koreans, a defining national trauma. (from the North Korea chronicle; sources: History of North Korea; North Korea: A Country Study)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- Education statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/CHN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/PRK/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "China and North Korea compared", terralore.co/compare/chn-vs-prk, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.