Loading…
Topic 06 of 12 · Country Index 2026
North Korea: Development & Human Capital
Is a country turning its resources into better lives?
North Korea is placed 100th of 194 countries on development & human capital in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: Maternal Mortality Ratio 66.9 (2023); Cereal Yield 3,539 (2023).
Development & Human Capital
100th
of 194 countries placed
Placed from 2 of 3 key statistics
Not placed in the Country Index 2026 overall: measured on too few topics.
01The evidence
The 3 key statistics that decide it
Only these place North Korea on development & human capital — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country in that edition, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 3
Maternal Mortality Ratio
UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG)
Why it is a key: Whether a woman survives giving birth — the reach of a health system at the moment it is hardest to fake.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
66.9
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
Lower is better
North Korea: 66.9. Across the 195 countries in this edition, values run from 0.11 (Cook Islands) to 992.83 (Nigeria); the world median is 46.65.
- World median
- 46.65
- Best in Eastern Asia
- 3.08 Japan
- Land neighbours
- China 16.25 · South Korea 3.79 · Russia 9.4
Each grey tick is one of 195 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 2 of 3
Human Development Index
UNDP Human Development Report Office
Why it is a key: The standard composite of health, schooling and income, carrying UNDP's own published rank.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
No reading
HDI score (0–1)
Higher is better
UNDP Human Development Report Office publishes no 2023 figure for North Korea, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 193 countries in this edition, values run from 0.388 (South Sudan) to 0.972 (Iceland); the world median is 0.762.
- World median
- 0.762
- Best in Eastern Asia
- 0.955 Hong Kong
- Land neighbours
- China 0.797 · South Korea 0.937 · Russia 0.832
Each grey tick is one of 193 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 3 of 3
Cereal Yield
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: How much food a hectare of land produces: the clearest single measure of agricultural productivity.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0
3,539
Cereal yield (kg per hectare)
Higher is better
North Korea: 3,539. Across the 179 countries in this edition, values run from 23 (Cabo Verde) to 29,147 (Oman); the world median is 3,072.
- World median
- 3,072
- Best in Eastern Asia
- 6,615 South Korea
- Land neighbours
- China 6,418 · South Korea 6,615 · Russia 3,167
Each grey tick is one of 179 countries in the 2023 edition.
02Over time
Which way North Korea is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Maternal Mortality Ratio
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births · lower is better
North KoreaWorld median
North Korea fell from 128.86 in 2000 to 66.9 in 2023; the world median went from 70.99 to 46.65.
Every year’s figures
Year North Korea World median 2023 66.9 46.7 2022 66.7 53.0 2021 71.7 76.6 2020 66.3 56.0 2019 66.5 48.4 2018 69.0 49.3 2017 70.1 47.2 2016 71.3 50.6 2015 71.9 51.9 2014 73.0 52.8 2013 74.7 53.3 2012 75.6 54.6 2011 76.3 55.0 2010 77.1 56.1 2009 78.2 56.3 2008 79.4 55.8 2007 80.4 56.8 2006 79.8 58.1 2005 78.1 60.1 2004 77.4 63.0 2003 76.1 66.8 2002 131.4 66.0 2001 129.6 68.1 2000 128.9 71.0 Cereal Yield
Cereal yield (kg per hectare) · higher is better
North KoreaWorld median
North Korea rose from 2,375 in 2000 to 3,539 in 2023; the world median went from 2,170 to 3,072.
Every year’s figures
Year North Korea World median 2023 3,539 3,072 2022 3,558 3,217 2021 3,538 3,003 2020 3,492 3,260 2019 4,382 3,106 2018 3,504 2,883 2017 4,016 2,984 2016 4,080 3,043 2015 3,654 3,000 2014 4,152 3,001 2013 3,980 2,970 2012 3,922 2,782 2011 3,586 2,754 2010 3,424 2,647 2009 3,364 2,653 2008 3,555 2,664 2007 2,922 2,553 2006 3,544 2,514 2005 3,368 2,512 2004 3,430 2,428 2003 3,250 2,331 2002 3,191 2,378 2001 3,016 2,199 2000 2,375 2,170
03In context
North Korea beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 194 countries on development & human capital, never a place within the region.
1st194thNot placed · 30 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
North Korea and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 194 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Maternal Mortality RatioMaternal deaths per 100,000 live births | Human Development IndexHDI score (0–1) | Cereal YieldCereal yield (kg per hectare) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Korea | 7th | 3.79 | 0.937 | 6,615 |
 China | 51st | 16.25 | 0.797 | 6,418 |
 Russia | 67th | 9.4 | 0.832 | 3,167 |
| North Korea | 100th | 66.9 | — | 3,539 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Eastern Asia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 194.
Placed either side on development & human capital
The countries immediately above and below North Korea in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where North Korea is ahead of the world, and behind
16 more statistics filed under development & human capital, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median4
Statistics on which North Korea does better than the middle country measured.
Child MarriageUNICEF · 2025 · world median 17.10.117.1No earlier reading
North Korea: 0.1 · world median 17.1 · Women 20–24 married before 18 (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 76.3; lower is better.
Position 139th of 143 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six MonthsUNICEF · 2024 · world median 40.7471.440.74No earlier reading
North Korea: 71.4 · world median 40.74 · Infants under 6 months exclusively breastfed (%). UNICEF, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 3.497 to 83.3; higher is better.
Position 6th of 136 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Completeness of Birth RegistrationUNICEF · 2025 · world median 98.410098.4No earlier reading
North Korea: 100 · world median 98.4 · Children under 5 whose birth is registered (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2.7 to 100; higher is better.
Violent Discipline of ChildrenUNICEF · 2025 · world median 75.859.275.8No earlier reading
North Korea: 59.2 · world median 75.8 · Children aged 1-14 experiencing violent discipline (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 37.6 to 94; lower is better.
Position 72nd of 90 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median8
Statistics on which North Korea does worse than the middle country measured.
Life Expectancy at BirthUN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 74.6373.6474.63▲ Improved since 2013
North Korea: 73.64 · world median 74.63 · Years a newborn would live at current death rates. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 54.46 to 86.37; higher is better.
Position 120th of 222 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Under-Five Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 14.5416.6714.54▲ Improved since 2014
North Korea: 16.67 · world median 14.54 · Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.26 to 115.65; lower is better.
Position 90th of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Stunting Prevalence in Children Under FiveUNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates) · 2024 · world median 13.819.113.8No earlier reading
North Korea: 19.1 · world median 13.8 · Children under 5 who are stunted (%). UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.518 to 52.8; lower is better.
Position 62nd of 162 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Expected Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 13.3412.213.34No real change since 2013
North Korea: 12.2 · world median 13.34 · Expected years of schooling. UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 5.635 to 21.69; higher is better.
Position 135th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Livestock Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 107.0695.4107.06▼ Worsened since 2012
North Korea: 95.4 · world median 107.06 · Livestock production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 35.52 to 190.08; higher is better.
Position 157th of 194 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Crop Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.2392.58106.23▼ Worsened since 2012
North Korea: 92.58 · world median 106.23 · Crop production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 53.79 to 189.93; higher is better.
Position 166th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Access to ElectricityWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 10061.4100No real change since 2014
North Korea: 61.4 · world median 100 · Population with electricity access (%). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 5.4 to 100; higher is better.
Food Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.0892.69106.08▼ Worsened since 2012
North Korea: 92.69 · world median 106.08 · Food production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 71.08 to 177.49; higher is better.
Position 169th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end4
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Water Withdrawal by SectorFAO · 2022 · world median 62.1476.3562.14No real change since 2012
North Korea: 76.35 · world median 62.14 · Freshwater withdrawn for agriculture (% of total). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 99.48.
Position 57th of 171 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Land Under Cereal ProductionFAO · 2023 · world median 689,2781,352,806689,278No real change since 2013
North Korea: 1,352,806 · world median 689,278 · Land under cereal production (hectares). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 103,715,108.
Position 68th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Arable Land per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 0.1090.0870.109Moved since 2013
North Korea: 0.087 · world median 0.109 · Arable land (hectares per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1.459.
Position 121st of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Children with Functional DifficultiesUNICEF · 2024 · world median 130.913No earlier reading
North Korea: 0.9 · world median 13 · Children aged 5-17 with a functional difficulty (%). UNICEF, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.9 to 35.2.
No current reading for North Korea
Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Agricultural Irrigated Land, Agriculture Orientation Index, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP), Cereal Import Dependency Ratio (last 2017), Coefficient of Human Inequality, Cost of Sending Remittances, Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, Dietary Energy Supply (last 2018), GDP per Capita (PPP), Gender Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, Gini Index, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Global Report on Food Crises (last 2016), GNI per Capita (PPP), Household Consumption, Human Capital Index, Human Development Index, Income Share Held by Lowest 20%, Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP), Mean Years of Schooling, Net Official Development Assistance Received, Organic Agricultural Area, Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day, Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, Prevalence of Undernourishment (last 2018), Prosperity Gap, Social Protection Coverage and Statistical Performance Indicators. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Development & Human Capital among North Korea’s 7 topics
Development & Human Capital is North Korea’s 2nd best-placed topic of 7. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Work & Labour81st of 1824/4 keys
- Development & Human Capital100th of 1942/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing108th of 2012/4 keys
- Peace & Security139th of 1772/3 keys
- Risk & Resiliencejoint 150th of 1913/3 keys
- Governance & Institutionsjoint 181st of 1933/5 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties196th of 1983/3 keys
No standing on Economy & Innovation, Education & Knowledge, Environment & Sustainability, Gender & Equality, Mobility & Connectivity: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on development & human capital
The three countries placed highest of 194, and the leaders North Korea can most readily be measured against.
1
United Arab EmiratesWestern Asia
1st of 194 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
BelgiumWestern Europe
2nd of 194 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Gf uip · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
GermanyWestern Europe
3rd of 194 · 3 of 3 keys
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Asia
United Arab Emirates1st3/3 keysHighest in Eastern Asia
South Korea7th3/3 keysThis page
North Korea100th2/3 keys
Positions out of 194 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about North Korea and development & human capital
On development & human capital
Global Hunger Index 2025: Countries with the Most Alarming Hunger Crisis
Thirteen countries scored across four editions — 2000, 2008, 2016 and 2025 — and five the report could not score at all. DR Congo and South Sudan share 121st place on 37.5.
On development & human capital
India vs Pakistan 2025: Comparison of Hunger Index, Happiness, HDI, Rule of Law, Literacy & GDP
India and Pakistan on six published measures: hunger, happiness, human development, rule of law, literacy and GDP per capita. India is the better placed on five of them; Pakistan on one.
08Questions
North Korea on development & human capital: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does North Korea rank on development & human capital?
North Korea is placed 100th of 194 countries on Development & Human Capital in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 3 key statistics (Maternal Mortality Ratio and Cereal Yield). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Maternal Mortality Ratio figure for North Korea?
66.9 in 2023 (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births), according to UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG). The world median in the same edition was 46.65.
What is the latest Cereal Yield figure for North Korea?
3,539 in 2023 (cereal yield (kg per hectare)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 3,072.
How does North Korea compare with China on development & human capital?
China is placed 51st of 194, and North Korea 100th. Maternal Mortality Ratio: China 16.25, North Korea 66.9; Cereal Yield: China 6,418, North Korea 3,539.
How have North Korea’s development & human capital figures changed?
Maternal Mortality Ratio fell from 128.86 in 2000 to 66.9 in 2023; Cereal Yield rose from 2,375 in 2000 to 3,539 in 2023.
Which development & human capital statistics are missing for North Korea?
No current reading is published for North Korea on Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Agricultural Irrigated Land, Agriculture Orientation Index, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP), Cereal Import Dependency Ratio, Coefficient of Human Inequality, Cost of Sending Remittances, Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, Dietary Energy Supply, GDP per Capita (PPP), Gender Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, Gini Index, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Global Report on Food Crises, GNI per Capita (PPP), Household Consumption, Human Capital Index, Human Development Index, Income Share Held by Lowest 20%, Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP), Mean Years of Schooling, Net Official Development Assistance Received, Organic Agricultural Area, Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day, Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, Prevalence of Undernourishment, Prosperity Gap, Social Protection Coverage and Statistical Performance Indicators. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
North Korea, topic by topic
Nearby, on development & human capital
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Poverty lines, inequality and aid received are published here as context rather than as keys, often because they cover fewer countries or are measured too rarely. Development is also not the same as economic size or growth, which belong to Economy & Innovation.
How the Development & Human Capital standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 3 indicators on this topic are keys and 49 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. All of them describe 2023.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 3 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 194 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 3.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Maternal Mortality Ratio — UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Human Development Index — UNDP Human Development Report Office, CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Cereal Yield — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
The other 16 statistics on this page come from 7 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
North Korea’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- United Arab Emirates — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Belgium — Gf uip, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Germany — dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). North Korea: Development & Human Capital — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/north-korea/development