Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex in North Korea
North Korea: Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex was 0.1119 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex in North Korea, 1950–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in North Korea stood at 0.1119.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in North Korea peaked at 0.5979 in 1950 and was at its lowest, 0.1106, in 2020.
North Korea ranks 93rd of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex in North Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.5979 | — |
| 1951 | 0.5549 | -7.2% |
| 1952 | 0.4261 | -23.2% |
| 1953 | 0.3757 | -11.8% |
| 1954 | 0.3171 | -15.6% |
| 1955 | 0.3047 | -3.9% |
| 1956 | 0.2936 | -3.6% |
| 1957 | 0.2839 | -3.3% |
| 1958 | 0.2756 | -2.9% |
| 1959 | 0.2683 | -2.6% |
| 1960 | 0.2617 | -2.4% |
| 1961 | 0.2556 | -2.3% |
| 1962 | 0.2497 | -2.3% |
| 1963 | 0.2438 | -2.4% |
| 1964 | 0.2377 | -2.5% |
| 1965 | 0.2314 | -2.7% |
| 1966 | 0.2248 | -2.8% |
| 1967 | 0.2181 | -3.0% |
| 1968 | 0.2114 | -3.1% |
| 1969 | 0.2048 | -3.1% |
| 1970 | 0.1984 | -3.1% |
| 1971 | 0.1923 | -3.1% |
| 1972 | 0.1864 | -3.0% |
| 1973 | 0.181 | -2.9% |
| 1974 | 0.1758 | -2.9% |
| 1975 | 0.1709 | -2.8% |
| 1976 | 0.1661 | -2.8% |
| 1977 | 0.1615 | -2.7% |
| 1978 | 0.157 | -2.8% |
| 1979 | 0.1528 | -2.7% |
| 1980 | 0.1486 | -2.8% |
| 1981 | 0.1445 | -2.7% |
| 1982 | 0.1406 | -2.7% |
| 1983 | 0.137 | -2.6% |
| 1984 | 0.1336 | -2.5% |
| 1985 | 0.1305 | -2.3% |
| 1986 | 0.1278 | -2.1% |
| 1987 | 0.1259 | -1.5% |
| 1988 | 0.1234 | -2.0% |
| 1989 | 0.1215 | -1.5% |
| 1990 | 0.1198 | -1.4% |
| 1991 | 0.1179 | -1.5% |
| 1992 | 0.1166 | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 0.1195 | +2.5% |
| 1994 | 0.1229 | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 0.22 | +79.0% |
| 1996 | 0.2189 | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 0.2178 | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 0.2169 | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 0.216 | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 0.2153 | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 0.2148 | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 0.2143 | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 0.1273 | -40.6% |
| 2004 | 0.1275 | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 0.128 | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 0.1284 | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 0.129 | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 0.1279 | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 0.1269 | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 0.1252 | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 0.1235 | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 0.1216 | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 0.1195 | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 0.1172 | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 0.1156 | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 0.1148 | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 0.1133 | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 0.1126 | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 0.111 | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 0.1106 | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 0.1125 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 0.1122 | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 0.1119 | -0.2% |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's 0.1119 is below the median for low income countries, which is 0.184, 61% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- North Korea's 0.1119 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1119, 1.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex in North Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +79.0% | 0.1229 | 0.22 |
| 2003 | -40.6% | 0.2143 | 0.1273 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.3698 | 0.2683 | 0.5979 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.2339 | 0.2048 | 0.2617 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1742 | 0.1528 | 0.1984 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1333 | 0.1215 | 0.1486 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1686 | 0.1166 | 0.22 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1539 | 0.1269 | 0.2153 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1174 | 0.111 | 0.1252 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1118 | 0.1106 | 0.1125 | 4 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More poverty & inequality data for North Korea
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.78 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,610 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 2.01 % change on previous year (2024)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.1119 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.1328 (2023)
- Share of gross national income from poverty reduction grants 0.0% (2023)
- Use of interpolation and extrapolation on original Gini coefficient data 1,673 (2017)
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty 9.3% (2017)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in North Korea?
- Lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in North Korea was 0.1119 in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5979 in 1950.
- What is the lowest lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1106 in 2020.
- How does North Korea rank for lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex?
- North Korea ranks 93rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Level of inequality in lifespans, measured between 0 and 1.