Number of people who are undernourished in North Korea
North Korea: Number of people who are undernourished was 12.20 million millions in 2018. ▲ Rising
Number of people who are undernourished in North Korea, 2001–2018
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in millions.
Analysis
In 2018, number of people who are undernourished in North Korea stood at 12.20 million millions.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.8% on the previous year and up 22.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people who are undernourished in North Korea peaked at 12.30 million millions in 2017 and was at its lowest, 7.90 million millions, in 2003.
North Korea ranks 12th of 131 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.93 million millions | 7.90 million millions | 10.40 million millions | 9 |
| 2010s | 11.42 million millions | 10.70 million millions | 12.30 million millions | 9 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More reference data data for North Korea
- Temperature anomalies by month -2.22 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies 2.29 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.3103 °C (2026)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 0 (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.9637 °C (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2 °C (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Democracy 1 (2025)
- Precipitation anomalies 127.56 millimeters (2025)
- Free country 0 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people who are undernourished in North Korea?
- Number of people who are undernourished in North Korea was 12.20 million millions in 2018, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people who are undernourished recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 12.30 million millions in 2017.
- What is the lowest number of people who are undernourished recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.90 million millions in 2003.
- How does North Korea rank for number of people who are undernourished?
- North Korea ranks 12th out of 131 countries with data for 2018.
- Is number of people who are undernourished rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people who are undernourished. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Undernourishment is measured as having a caloric intake that is insufficient to meet the minimum energy requirements necessary for a given individual.