# North Korea and Russia compared

North Korea and Russia side by side: 28 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 2 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/prk-vs-rus
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

- North Korea: 918 — Wang Kŏn founds Goryeo, which gives Korea its name
- Russia: 882 — Oleg takes Kiev and Kievan Rus' becomes a single state

## Economy

| Metric | North Korea | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | — | — | $2.17 T | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | — | — | $14,889 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | — | — | 4.3% | 2024 |
| Inflation | — | — | 8.4% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | — | — | 39.5% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | North Korea | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 26 m | 2024 | 144 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 73.7 yrs | 2024 | 73.4 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 63.9% | 2024 | 75.1% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.8 | 2024 | 1.4 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | North Korea | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 22.1 | 2024 | 32.0 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 71.4 | 2024 | 50.5 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 26.6 | 2024 | 45.1 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 25.3 | 2024 | 38.0 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 30.7 | 2024 | 37.1 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 16.3 | 2024 | 29.8 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | North Korea | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physicians | 3.63 | 2017 | 5.11 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 16.7 | 2024 | 5.2 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 99.0% | 2024 | 97.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 66.6% | 2023 | 76.3% | 2024 |
| Health spending | — | — | 7.0% | 2023 |

## Education

| Metric | North Korea | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 100.0% | 2008 | 99.9% | 2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 92.1% | 2018 | 97.7% | 2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 94.3% | 2015 | 92.5% | 2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 26.7% | 2018 | 60.4% | 2024 |
| Education spending | — | — | 4.2% | 2023 |

## Technology

| Metric | North Korea | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 0.0% | 2004 | 94.4% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 24 | 2022 | 186 | 2024 |
| R&D spending | — | — | 0.9% | 2024 |
| Researchers (per million) | — | — | 2,639 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | — | — | 9.7% | 2021 |

## Geography

| Metric | North Korea | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 120,410 km² | 2023 | 16,376,870 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 49.6% | 2023 | 49.8% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 21.6% | 2023 | 13.2% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 2.5 | 2024 | 14.0 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 14.7% | 2021 | 3.5% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | North Korea | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity access | 57.5% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Resource rents | — | — | 18.5% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | — | — | 9.7% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | — | — | 2.1% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | — | — | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Copper (mined) | — | — | 1.3 Mt | 2025 |
| Iron ore | — | — | 86 Mt | 2025 |
| Gold (mined) | — | — | 310 t | 2025 |
| Cobalt (mined) | — | — | 7,700 t | 2025 |
| Nickel (mined) | — | — | 200 kt | 2025 |
| Rare earths | — | — | 2,600 t | 2025 |
| Bauxite | — | — | 5.7 Mt | 2025 |
| Zinc (mined) | — | — | 430 kt | 2025 |
| Phosphate rock | — | — | 14 Mt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | North Korea | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense spending | $1.6 B | 2018 | $149 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 1.5 m | 2020 | 1.5 m | 2020 |
| Military burden | — | — | 7.1% | 2024 |

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

## Entangled histories (2 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.

- 15 August 1945: **Liberation and division at the 38th parallel** — Japan's surrender frees Korea but the peninsula is split along the 38th parallel into Soviet and American occupation zones, setting the stage for two rival states. (from the North Korea chronicle; sources: The Korean War and Japan's Recovery; US Enters the Korean Conflict)
- 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
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · 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
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- 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

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

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