Universal right to vote in practice in North Korea
North Korea: Universal right to vote in practice was 0 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Universal right to vote in practice in North Korea, 1948–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for universal right to vote in practice in North Korea is 0, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 78 years on record.
Over the whole period, universal right to vote in practice in North Korea peaked at 2 in 1948 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1972.
North Korea ranks 165th of 198 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Universal right to vote in practice in North Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 2 | — |
| 1949 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1973 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | 0 | — |
| 1980 | 0 | — |
| 1981 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | 0 | — |
| 1984 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | 0 | — |
| 1986 | 0 | — |
| 1987 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | 0 | — |
| 1989 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | 0 | — |
| 1998 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | — |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's 0 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1950s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1960s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
- 165 Afghanistan 0 compare
- 165 Bahrain 0
- 165 Bangladesh 0 compare
- 165 Brunei 0
- 165 Burkina Faso 0 compare
- 165 China 0 compare
- 165 Eritrea 0
- 165 Eswatini 0 compare
- 165 Guinea 0 compare
- 165 Guinea-Bissau 0 compare
- 165 Haiti 0 compare
- 165 Iran 0
- 165 Jordan 0
- 165 Kuwait 0
- 165 Libya 0 compare
- 165 Liechtenstein 0
- 165 Madagascar 0 compare
- 165 Mali 0 compare
- 165 Monaco 0
- 165 Morocco 0
- 165 Myanmar 0 compare
- 165 Niger 0 compare
- 165 Oman 0
- 165 Palestine 0
- 165 Qatar 0
- 165 Saudi Arabia 0
- 165 Somalia 0 compare
- 165 South Sudan 0
- 165 Sudan 0 compare
- 165 Syria 0 compare
- 165 United Arab Emirates 0
- 165 Vatican 0
- 165 Yemen 0 compare
More reference data data for North Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9593 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.75 (2050)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.3103 °C (2026)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.7425 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies 2.29 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -2.22 °C (2026)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 245.47 (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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is universal right to vote in practice in North Korea?
- Universal right to vote in practice in North Korea was 0 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest universal right to vote in practice recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1948.
- What is the lowest universal right to vote in practice recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1972.
- How does North Korea rank for universal right to vote in practice?
- North Korea ranks 165th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Universal right to vote in practice. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 78 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Indicates whether virtually all adult citizens have the right to vote in practice (score 2), only men have broad voting rights in practice (score 1), or there are no broad voting rights in practice (score 0).