How have things changed? in North Korea
North Korea: How have things changed? was 894,065 metric tons in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
894,065 metric tons
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
30th
of 215 countries
All-time high
2.03 million metric tons
in 1987
All-time low
399,143 metric tons
in 1965
Years of data
60
1965–2024
How have things changed? in North Korea, 1965–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in metric tons.
Analysis
North Korea recorded 894,065 metric tons for how have things changed? in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, how have things changed? in North Korea peaked at 2.03 million metric tons in 1987 and was at its lowest, 399,143 metric tons, in 1965.
That places North Korea 30th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
How have things changed? in North Korea, year by year
| Year | metric tons | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 399,143 metric tons | — |
| 1966 | 429,841 metric tons | +7.7% |
| 1967 | 461,690 metric tons | +7.4% |
| 1968 | 489,218 metric tons | +6.0% |
| 1969 | 501,844 metric tons | +2.6% |
| 1970 | 456,743 metric tons | -9.0% |
| 1971 | 516,133 metric tons | +13.0% |
| 1972 | 573,263 metric tons | +11.1% |
| 1973 | 597,457 metric tons | +4.2% |
| 1974 | 693,138 metric tons | +16.0% |
| 1975 | 737,608 metric tons | +6.4% |
| 1976 | 822,889 metric tons | +11.6% |
| 1977 | 838,564 metric tons | +1.9% |
| 1978 | 1.20 million metric tons | +43.6% |
| 1979 | 1.21 million metric tons | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 1.20 million metric tons | -1.0% |
| 1981 | 1.45 million metric tons | +20.8% |
| 1982 | 1.53 million metric tons | +5.3% |
| 1983 | 1.29 million metric tons | -15.7% |
| 1984 | 1.45 million metric tons | +12.3% |
| 1985 | 1.48 million metric tons | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 1.63 million metric tons | +9.6% |
| 1987 | 2.03 million metric tons | +24.9% |
| 1988 | 1.82 million metric tons | -10.4% |
| 1989 | 1.97 million metric tons | +8.0% |
| 1990 | 1.38 million metric tons | -29.9% |
| 1991 | 1.33 million metric tons | -3.7% |
| 1992 | 1.46 million metric tons | +10.2% |
| 1993 | 1.53 million metric tons | +4.4% |
| 1994 | 1.19 million metric tons | -22.2% |
| 1995 | 1.07 million metric tons | -10.4% |
| 1996 | 1.04 million metric tons | -2.8% |
| 1997 | 725,783 metric tons | -29.9% |
| 1998 | 709,500 metric tons | -2.2% |
| 1999 | 701,500 metric tons | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 680,550 metric tons | -3.0% |
| 2001 | 714,595 metric tons | +5.0% |
| 2002 | 713,095 metric tons | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 713,095 metric tons | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 713,105 metric tons | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 713,175 metric tons | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 713,180 metric tons | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 713,250 metric tons | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 713,550 metric tons | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 715,660 metric tons | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 727,285 metric tons | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 728,800 metric tons | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 724,110 metric tons | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 720,675 metric tons | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 793,545 metric tons | +10.1% |
| 2015 | 787,750 metric tons | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 828,750 metric tons | +5.2% |
| 2017 | 836,760 metric tons | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 887,760 metric tons | +6.1% |
| 2019 | 886,760 metric tons | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 884,300 metric tons | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 892,630 metric tons | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 899,020 metric tons | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 893,330 metric tons | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 894,065 metric tons | +0.1% |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's 894,065 metric tons is above the median for low income countries, which is 55,138 metric tons, 16.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- North Korea's 894,065 metric tons is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 96,821 metric tons, 9.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where How have things changed? in North Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | +43.6% | 838,564 metric tons | 1.20 million metric tons |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 456,347 metric tons | 399,143 metric tons | 501,844 metric tons | 5 |
| 1970s | 765,176 metric tons | 456,743 metric tons | 1.21 million metric tons | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.58 million metric tons | 1.20 million metric tons | 2.03 million metric tons | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.11 million metric tons | 701,500 metric tons | 1.53 million metric tons | 10 |
| 2000s | 710,326 metric tons | 680,550 metric tons | 715,660 metric tons | 10 |
| 2010s | 792,220 metric tons | 720,675 metric tons | 887,760 metric tons | 10 |
| 2020s | 892,669 metric tons | 884,300 metric tons | 899,020 metric tons | 5 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More reference data data for North Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 316.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.838 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 1,003 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure Management 330.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 325.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Burning - Crop residues 3.54 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is how have things changed? in North Korea?
- How have things changed? in North Korea was 894,065 metric tons in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest how have things changed? recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.03 million metric tons in 1987.
- What is the lowest how have things changed? recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 399,143 metric tons in 1965.
- How does North Korea rank for how have things changed??
- North Korea ranks 30th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is how have things changed? rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of How have things changed?. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Change captured by a range of socioeconomic and environmental indicators, measured relative to the first year.