Korea, North
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Pyongyang
- Population
- 26,402,841 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 120,538 sq km
- Government
- dictatorship, single-party communist state
- Religions
- traditionally Buddhist and Confucian, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
- Ethnic Groups
- racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
- Currency
- North Korean won (KPW) per US dollar (average market rate)
- Life Expectancy
- 73.5 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .kp
- Climate
- temperate, with rainfall concentrated in summer; long, bitter winters
- Terrain
- mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; wide coastal plains in west, discontinuous in east
- Natural Resources
- coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, precious metals, hydropower
- Major Exports
- fake hair, iron alloys, tungsten ore, electricity, cars (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
The first recorded kingdom (Choson) on the Korean Peninsula dates from approximately 2300 B.C. Over the subsequent centuries, three main kingdoms -- Kogoryo, Paekche, and Silla -- were established on the Peninsula.