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Korea, North Economy 2014

SOURCE: 2014 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES











Korea, North Economy 2014
SOURCE: 2014 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES


Page last updated on February 3, 2014

Economy - overview:
North Korea, one of the world's most centrally directed and least open economies, faces chronic economic problems. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment, shortages of spare parts, and poor maintenance. Large-scale military spending draws off resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Industrial and power output have stagnated for years at a fraction of pre-1990 levels. Frequent weather-related crop failures aggravated chronic food shortages caused by on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, poor soil quality, insufficient fertilization, and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel. Large-scale international food aid deliveries as well as aid from China has allowed the people of North Korea to escape widespread starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Since 2002, the government has allowed private "farmers' markets" to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming - on an experimental basis - in an effort to boost agricultural output. In December 2009, North Korea carried out a redenomination of its currency, capping the amount of North Korean won that could be exchanged for the new notes, and limiting the exchange to a one-week window. A concurrent crackdown on markets and foreign currency use yielded severe shortages and inflation, forcing Pyongyang to ease the restrictions by February 2010. In response to the sinking of the South Korean destroyer Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea's government cut off most aid, trade, and bilateral cooperation activities, with the exception of operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. In 2012, KIM Jong Un's first year of leadership, the North displayed increased focus on the economy by renewing its commitment to special economic zones with China, negotiating a new payment structure to settle its $11 billion Soviet-era debt to Russia, and purportedly proposing new agricultural and industrial policies to boost domestic production. The North Korean government often highlights its goal of becoming a "strong and prosperous" nation and attracting foreign investment, a key factor for improving the overall standard of living. Nevertheless, firm political control remains the government's overriding concern, which likely will inhibit fundamental reforms of North Korea's current economic system.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$40 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 103

$40 billion (2010 est.)
$40 billion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars;
North Korea does not publish reliable National Income Accounts data; the data shown here are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP estimates for North Korea that were made by Angus MADDISON in a study conducted for the OECD; his figure for 1999 was extrapolated to 2011 using estimated real growth rates for North Korea's GDP and an inflation factor based on the US GDP deflator; the results were rounded to the nearest $10 billion.
[see also: GDP country ranks ]

GDP (official exchange rate):
$28 billion (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]

GDP - real growth rate:
0.8% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 166

-0.5% (2010 est.)
-0.9% (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,800 (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 195

$1,800 (2010 est.)
$1,900 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]

GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 23.3%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 42.9%
services: 33.8% (2012 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs

Industries:
military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]

Labor force:
12.2 million
country comparison to the world: 43
note: estimates vary widely (2009 est.)
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 35%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry and services: 65% (2008 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA%
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]

Population below poverty line:
NA%
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $3.2 billion
[see also: Budget revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $3.3 billion (2007 est.)

Taxes and other revenues:
11.4% of GDP
country comparison to the world: 205
note: excludes earnings from state-operated enterprises (2007 est.)
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
-0.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]

Exports:
$4.707 billion (2011)
country comparison to the world: 115
[see also: Exports country ranks ]

Exports - commodities:
minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, agricultural and fishery products

Exports - partners:
China 67.2%, South Korea 19.4%, India 3.6% (2011 est.)

Imports:
$4.33 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 137
[see also: Imports country ranks ]

Imports - commodities:
petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain

Imports - partners:
China 61.6%, South Korea 20%, European Union 4% (2011 est.)

Debt - external:
$12.5 billion (2001 est.)
country comparison to the world: 94
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]

Exchange rates:
North Korean won (KPW) per US dollar (market rate)

155.5 (2012 est.)
156.1 (2011 est.)
145 (2010 est.)
3,630 (December 2008)
140 (2007)


NOTE: 1) The information regarding Korea, North on this page is re-published from the 2014 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Korea, North Economy 2014 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Korea, North Economy 2014 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
  a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
  b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order






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