Military personnel in North Korea
North Korea: Military personnel was 1.28 million in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
1.28 million
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
4th
of 194 countries
All-time high
1.28 million
in 2018
All-time low
60,000
in 1949
Years of data
75
1948–2022
Military personnel in North Korea, 1948–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
North Korea recorded 1.28 million for military personnel in 2022. That is the highest value across all 75 years on record.
That represents a change of up 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military personnel in North Korea peaked at 1.28 million in 2018 and was at its lowest, 60,000, in 1949.
That places North Korea 4th out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 75 years of available data.
Military personnel in North Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 200,000 | — |
| 1949 | 60,000 | -70.0% |
| 1950 | 120,000 | +100.0% |
| 1951 | 100,000 | -16.7% |
| 1952 | 211,000 | +111.0% |
| 1953 | 260,000 | +23.2% |
| 1954 | 280,000 | +7.7% |
| 1955 | 300,000 | +7.1% |
| 1956 | 320,000 | +6.7% |
| 1957 | 340,000 | +6.2% |
| 1958 | 360,000 | +5.9% |
| 1959 | 380,000 | +5.6% |
| 1960 | 400,000 | +5.3% |
| 1961 | 390,000 | -2.5% |
| 1962 | 380,000 | -2.6% |
| 1963 | 352,000 | -7.4% |
| 1964 | 362,000 | +2.8% |
| 1965 | 378,000 | +4.4% |
| 1966 | 383,000 | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 383,000 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 410,000 | +7.0% |
| 1969 | 410,000 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 438,000 | +6.8% |
| 1971 | 450,000 | +2.7% |
| 1972 | 460,000 | +2.2% |
| 1973 | 470,000 | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 470,000 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 470,000 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 500,000 | +6.4% |
| 1977 | 520,000 | +4.0% |
| 1978 | 632,000 | +21.5% |
| 1979 | 692,000 | +9.5% |
| 1980 | 700,000 | +1.2% |
| 1981 | 768,000 | +9.7% |
| 1982 | 782,000 | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 784,000 | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 784,000 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 784,000 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 838,000 | +6.9% |
| 1987 | 838,000 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 842,000 | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 1.04 million | +23.5% |
| 1990 | 1.20 million | +15.4% |
| 1991 | 1.20 million | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1.20 million | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1.10 million | -8.3% |
| 1994 | 1.10 million | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1.10 million | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1.10 million | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1.10 million | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1.00 million | -9.1% |
| 1999 | 1.00 million | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1.05 million | +5.5% |
| 2001 | 1.08 million | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 1.08 million | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.08 million | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.09 million | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 1.11 million | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 1.11 million | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.11 million | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.11 million | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1.11 million | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1.11 million | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.19 million | +7.6% |
| 2012 | 1.19 million | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.19 million | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.19 million | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.19 million | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.19 million | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.19 million | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.28 million | +7.6% |
| 2019 | 1.28 million | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.28 million | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.28 million | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.28 million | +0.0% |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's 1.28 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 33,000, 38.8× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- North Korea's 1.28 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 9,500, 134.7× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military personnel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | +111.0% | 100,000 | 211,000 |
| 1950 | +100.0% | 60,000 | 120,000 |
| 1949 | -70.0% | 200,000 | 60,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 130,000 | 60,000 | 200,000 | 2 |
| 1950s | 267,100 | 100,000 | 380,000 | 10 |
| 1960s | 384,800 | 352,000 | 410,000 | 10 |
| 1970s | 510,200 | 438,000 | 692,000 | 10 |
| 1980s | 816,000 | 700,000 | 1.04 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.11 million | 1.00 million | 1.20 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.09 million | 1.05 million | 1.11 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.20 million | 1.11 million | 1.28 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.28 million | 1.28 million | 1.28 million | 3 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More reference data data for North Korea
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Enteric Fermentation 91.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 245.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 8.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 325.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3562 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 6,873 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Manure Management 11.62 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military personnel in North Korea?
- Military personnel in North Korea was 1.28 million in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military personnel recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.28 million in 2018.
- What is the lowest military personnel recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 60,000 in 1949.
- How does North Korea rank for military personnel?
- North Korea ranks 4th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
- Is military personnel rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Military personnel. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 75 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).