Compare
North Korea vs Vietnam
How North Korea and Vietnam compare on 30 measures, from 1789 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, Vietnam was higher: 74.6 years against 73.6 years
- Population · In 2023, Vietnam was higher: 100 million people against 26.4 million people
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, Vietnam was higher: 4.27 tonnes against 2.5 tonnes
- Electoral democracy · In 2025, Vietnam was higher: 0.15 of 1 against 0.08 of 1
- Life expectancyNorth Korea: 73.6 years in 2023Vietnam: 74.6 years in 2023
- PopulationNorth Korea: 26.4 million people in 2023Vietnam: 100 million people in 2023
- TemperatureNorth Korea: 8.5 °C in 2025Vietnam: 24 °C in 2025
- Child mortalityNorth Korea: 1.7 per 100 live births in 2024Vietnam: 1.7 per 100 live births in 2024
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyNorth Korea: 73.6 years in 2023Vietnam: 74.6 years in 2023
- Child mortalityNorth Korea: 1.7 per 100 live births in 2024Vietnam: 1.7 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityNorth Korea: 14.5 per 1,000 live births in 2023Vietnam: 15.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterNorth Korea: 66.5% in 2022Vietnam: 57.8% in 2022
- DepressionNorth Korea: 3.09% in 2017Vietnam: 2.88% in 2017
- Suicide rateNorth Korea: 11.1 per 100,000 people in 2017Vietnam: 7.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationNorth Korea: 26.4 million people in 2023Vietnam: 100 million people in 2023
- Population growthNorth Korea: 0.32% a year in 2023Vietnam: 0.64% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateNorth Korea: 1.78 births per woman in 2023Vietnam: 1.91 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationNorth Korea: 64.2% in 2025Vietnam: 38.8% in 2025
- Median ageNorth Korea: 36.1 years in 2023Vietnam: 32.4 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overNorth Korea: 12% in 2023Vietnam: 8.6% in 2023
- Net migration rateNorth Korea: -0.1 per 1,000 people in 2023Vietnam: -0.8 per 1,000 people in 2023
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spending per personNorth Korea: $62 in 2018Vietnam: $104 in 2025
- Armed forces personnelNorth Korea: 1.47 million people in 2020Vietnam: 522,000 people in 2020
- National powerNorth Korea: 1.41% of world capability in 2022Vietnam: 1.11% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersNorth Korea: 8.62% of the labour force in 2020Vietnam: 0.95% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsNorth Korea: 1 million TIV in 2010Vietnam: 177 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsNorth Korea: 44 million TIV in 2025Vietnam: 10 million TIV in 2018
Climate
Technology and environment
Each country on its own
Good to know
- Sources: UN, Gapminder and UN IGME, WHO/UNICEF, IHME, UNESCO, V-Dem, UCDP, SIPRI, IISS, Correlates of War, ERA5, CMIP6, EDGAR, ITU, World Bank and FAO. Each measure’s page names its own and what it counts.
- Values are drawn on today’s borders. Years without a published value are left empty, never filled in.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time