Quality of life comparison
If you lived in North Korea instead of Syria, you would:
Health
be 75.5% less likely to be obese
In Syria, 27.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In North Korea, that number is 6.8% of people as of 2016.
live 2.5 years less
In Syria, the average life expectancy is 74 years (73 years for men, 76 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 77.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Syria, 13.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In North Korea, that number is 3.1% as of 2022.
make 41.4% less money
Syria has a GDP per capita of $2,900 as of 2015, while in North Korea, the GDP per capita is $1,700 as of 2015.
Life
be 15.7% more likely to be literate
In Syria, the literacy rate is 86.4% as of 2015. In North Korea, it is 100.0% as of 2015.
be 3.6 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Syria, approximately 30.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In North Korea, 107.0 women do as of 2020.
be 39.9% more likely to die during infancy
In Syria, approximately 15.9 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.
have 39.2% fewer children
In Syria, there are approximately 21.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In North Korea, there are 13.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 40.8% less likely to have access to electricity
In Syria, approximately 89% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 74% in rural areas) as of 2021. In North Korea, that number is 53% of people on average (36% in urban areas, and 11% in rural areas) as of 2021.
Geography
see 12.9 times more coastline
Syria has a total of 193 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 Syria? See an in-depth size comparison.