In 1955, the infant mortality rate in North Korea was estimated to be 121 deaths per thousand live births, meaning that for every thousand children born in North Korea in this year, one eighth would not survive past their first birthday. This figure was recorded during the five year period between 1951 and 1955, which was dominated by the effects of the Korean War; following the war's end and the period of adjustment that followed, North Korea's infant mortality rate fell significantly over the next four decades. However, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent cut off of economic aid, infant mortality in North Korea more than doubled in the 1990s. Flooding, famine and drought, exacerbated by the governments inefficient response saw infant mortality rise to 58 deaths per thousand births by the late 1990s. This figure has dropped to just 14 deaths per thousand births since the turn of the millennium, although this rate is seven times higher than that of South Korea.

UNICEF's country profile for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including under-five mortality rates, child health, education and sanitation data.

North Korea KP: Mortality Rate: Infant: Male: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 15.700 Ratio in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 17.400 Ratio for 2015. North Korea KP: Mortality Rate: Infant: Male: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 25.000 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 48.000 Ratio in 2000 and a record low of 15.700 Ratio in 2017. North Korea KP: Mortality Rate: Infant: Male: per 1000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s North Korea – Table KP.World Bank: Health Statistics. Infant mortality rate, male is the number of male infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 male live births in a given year.; ; Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Weighted average; Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Under-five mortality rates are higher for boys than for girls in countries in which parental gender preferences are insignificant. Under-five mortality captures the effect of gender discrimination better than infant mortality does, as malnutrition and medical interventions have more significant impacts to this age group. Where female under-five mortality is higher, girls are likely to have less access to resources than boys.

Graph and download economic data for Infant Mortality Rate for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SPDYNIMRTINPRK) from 1960 to 2023 about North Korea, mortality, infant, and rate.

In 2022, the mortality rate of children under five years old in South Korea amounted to ***** per *** thousand live births. The under-five mortality rate in North Korea was ** per *** thousand live births in the same year. Although the under-five mortality rate in North Korea has declined in recent years, it is still much higher compared to South Korea.

Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) in North Korea was reported at 16.1 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North Korea - Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

In 1900, the child mortality rate in the area of present-day North Korea was estimated to be almost five hundred deaths per thousand live births, meaning that approximately half of all children born at this time were not expected to survive past their fifth birthday. This rate would increase to 524 deaths per thousand births in the 1910s, before rapidly falling from the 1910s until the middle of the century (following the Japanese annexation of the peninsula in 1910). There was a slight increase in child mortality rates in the late 1940s, as the Korean peninsula was divided into two states; although it continued upon its rapid decline in the 1950s, with the decrease slowing in the next three decades.

This decline would continue steadily until the 1990s, when the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting cut-off of economic aid would cause child mortality to rise for a decade, and this was exacerbated by the flooding, drought, famine and economic mismanagement of the late 1990s. The past two decades, however, have seen child mortality fall once more, and in 2020, it is estimated that for every thousand children born in North Korea, over 98 percent will make it past the age of five.

North Korea KP: Mortality Rate: Under-5: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 20.000 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 21.100 Ratio for 2015. North Korea KP: Mortality Rate: Under-5: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 36.000 Ratio from Dec 1985 (Median) to 2016, with 32 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 75.700 Ratio in 1997 and a record low of 20.000 Ratio in 2016. North Korea KP: Mortality Rate: Under-5: per 1000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s North Korea – Table KP.World Bank: Health Statistics. Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.; ; Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Weighted average; Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Under-five mortality rates are higher for boys than for girls in countries in which parental gender preferences are insignificant. Under-five mortality captures the effect of gender discrimination better than infant mortality does, as malnutrition and medical interventions have more significant impacts to this age group. Where female under-five mortality is higher, girls are likely to have less access to resources than boys.

Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) in North Korea was reported at 14.5 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North Korea - Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

In 2023, the crude birth rate in live births per 1,000 inhabitants in North Korea was 12.95. Between 1960 and 2023, the figure dropped by 21.89, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (North Korea) - Infant Mortality Rate for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was 14.50000 Number per 1,000 Live Births in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (North Korea) - Infant Mortality Rate for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea reached a record high of 55.10000 in January of 1996 and a record low of 13.10000 in January of 2019. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (North Korea) - Infant Mortality Rate for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

Number of infant deaths in North Korea was reported at 4989 deaths in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North Korea - Number of infant deaths - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

In 1900, the crude birth rate in the area of modern-day North Korea was estimated to be approximately 42 births per thousand people, meaning just over 4.2% of the population was born in that year. This rate would remain largely unchanged for the first few decades of the 20th century, but would fluctuate greatly in the between the 1940s and 1970s, due to the impact of the Second World War in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by the devastating Korean War in the early 1950s, and then the period of instability and adjustment that followed the war. After falling to just under 21 births per thousand people by 1980, the crude birth rate would remain largely stable until the turn of the century, before falling below 14 births per thousand people.

Over the observation period until 2023, the life expectancy exhibits fluctuations among the two gender groups Only for the life expectancy of women at birth, a significant increase can be observed over the observation period. Here, the life expectancy exhibits a difference of 1.44 years between 2013 and 2023. Life expectancy at birth refers to the number of years that the average newborn can expect to live, providing that mortality patterns at the time of their birth do not change thereafter.Find further similar statistics for other countries or regions like Faroe Islands (the) and Cyprus.

Historical dataset showing North Korea birth rate by year from 1960 to 2023.

Graph and download economic data for Crude Birth Rate for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SPDYNCBRTINPRK) from 1960 to 2023 about North Korea, birth, crude, and rate.

North Korea KP: Completeness of Infant Death Reporting data was reported at 72.540 % in 2008. North Korea KP: Completeness of Infant Death Reporting data is updated yearly, averaging 72.540 % from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2008, with 1 observations. North Korea KP: Completeness of Infant Death Reporting data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s North Korea – Table KP.World Bank: Health Statistics. Completeness of infant death reporting is the number of infant deaths reported by national statistics authorities to the United Nations Statistics Division's Demography Yearbook divided by the number of infant deaths estimated by the United Nations Population Division.; ; The United Nations Statistics Division's Population and Vital Statistics Report and the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects.; ;

North Korea KP: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data was reported at 13.834 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 13.873 Ratio for 2015. North Korea KP: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 20.651 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 37.774 Ratio in 1968 and a record low of 13.834 Ratio in 2016. North Korea KP: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s North Korea – Table KP.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Crude birth rate indicates the number of live births occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

Graph and download economic data for Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SPDYNLE00INPRK) from 1960 to 2023 about North Korea, life expectancy, life, and birth.

North Korea KP: Life Expectancy at Birth: Total data was reported at 71.685 Year in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 71.457 Year for 2015. North Korea KP: Life Expectancy at Birth: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 66.571 Year from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 71.685 Year in 2016 and a record low of 51.297 Year in 1960. North Korea KP: Life Expectancy at Birth: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s North Korea – Table KP.World Bank: Health Statistics. Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision, or derived from male and female life expectancy at birth from sources such as: (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;