Urban population in North Korea
North Korea: Urban population was 17.06 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in North Korea, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
North Korea recorded 17.06 million for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in North Korea peaked at 17.06 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 4.76 million, in 1960.
That places North Korea 51st out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in North Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4.76 million | — |
| 1961 | 5.07 million | +6.6% |
| 1962 | 5.36 million | +5.7% |
| 1963 | 5.66 million | +5.4% |
| 1964 | 5.96 million | +5.3% |
| 1965 | 6.28 million | +5.4% |
| 1966 | 6.64 million | +5.8% |
| 1967 | 7.05 million | +6.1% |
| 1968 | 7.47 million | +5.9% |
| 1969 | 7.86 million | +5.3% |
| 1970 | 8.22 million | +4.6% |
| 1971 | 8.55 million | +4.0% |
| 1972 | 8.88 million | +3.8% |
| 1973 | 9.18 million | +3.4% |
| 1974 | 9.42 million | +2.7% |
| 1975 | 9.62 million | +2.1% |
| 1976 | 9.79 million | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 9.94 million | +1.5% |
| 1978 | 10.08 million | +1.4% |
| 1979 | 10.22 million | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 10.38 million | +1.5% |
| 1981 | 10.54 million | +1.6% |
| 1982 | 10.72 million | +1.7% |
| 1983 | 10.90 million | +1.7% |
| 1984 | 11.09 million | +1.7% |
| 1985 | 11.29 million | +1.8% |
| 1986 | 11.49 million | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 11.70 million | +1.8% |
| 1988 | 11.91 million | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 12.12 million | +1.8% |
| 1990 | 12.34 million | +1.8% |
| 1991 | 12.56 million | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 12.78 million | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 13.00 million | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 13.21 million | +1.6% |
| 1995 | 13.39 million | +1.4% |
| 1996 | 13.54 million | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 13.69 million | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 13.82 million | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 13.95 million | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 14.06 million | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 14.17 million | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 14.26 million | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 14.36 million | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 14.47 million | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 14.58 million | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 14.67 million | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 14.77 million | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 14.87 million | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 14.97 million | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 15.07 million | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 15.18 million | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 15.30 million | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 15.42 million | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 15.55 million | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 15.68 million | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 15.82 million | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 15.96 million | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 16.10 million | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 16.24 million | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 16.37 million | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 16.51 million | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 16.65 million | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 16.79 million | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 16.92 million | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 17.06 million | +0.8% |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's 17.06 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 6.96 million, 2.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- North Korea's 17.06 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 685,900, 24.9× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.21 million | 4.76 million | 7.86 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 9.39 million | 8.22 million | 10.22 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.21 million | 10.38 million | 12.12 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 13.23 million | 12.34 million | 13.95 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.52 million | 14.06 million | 14.97 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.63 million | 15.07 million | 16.24 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.71 million | 16.37 million | 17.06 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More climate change data for North Korea
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.2% (2100)
- Population, total, annual growth rate 0.2725 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.8% (2025)
- Population, total 26.57 million (2025)
- Population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.6419 units per person (2025)
- Precipitation anomalies, annual growth rate 27.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate 0.7919 % change on previous year (2025)
- Share of global CO₂ emissions from cement 0.2% (2024)
- Global warming contributions from fossil fuels and land use, per 0 °C per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in North Korea?
- Urban population in North Korea was 17.06 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 17.06 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.76 million in 1960.
- How does North Korea rank for urban population?
- North Korea ranks 51st out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.