Quality of life comparison
If you lived in North Korea instead of Ireland, you would:
Health
be 73.1% less likely to be obese
In Ireland, 25.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In North Korea, that number is 6.8% of people as of 2016.
live 9.9 years less
In Ireland, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022. In North Korea, that number is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
be 31.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Ireland, 4.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In North Korea, that number is 3.1% as of 2022.
make 98.5% less money
Ireland has a GDP per capita of $112,400 as of 2022, while in North Korea, the GDP per capita is $1,700 as of 2015.
Life
have 18.9% more children
In Ireland, there are approximately 11.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In North Korea, there are 13.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 21.4 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Ireland, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In North Korea, 107.0 women do as of 2020.
be 6.4 times more likely to die during infancy
In Ireland, approximately 3.5 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In North Korea, on the other hand, 22.2 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 47.4% less likely to have access to electricity
In Ireland, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In North Korea, 53% of the population do as of 2021.
Geography
see 72.3% more coastline
Ireland has a total of 1,448 km of coastline. In North Korea, that number is 2,495 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
North Korea: At a glance
How big is North Korea compared to Ireland? See an in-depth size comparison.