Matchup file

China vs North Korea

82 shared metrics.

ChinaLeads in 64

vs82 shared

North KoreaLeads in 18

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China leads by 46 metrics. Use the same instinct in a quick real-data brawl.

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Country briefing

What matters for both sides

Short real-world notes so the comparison reads like more than a stat strip.

China

Quick notes before you compare the numbers.

Identity

Formal name: People's Republic of China.

CIA 2026

Curated stat

China's population began shrinking in 2022, its first annual decline in about six decades.

World Bank

North Korea

Quick notes before you compare the numbers.

Identity

Formal name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

CIA 2026

Curated stat

North Korea has tightly restricted internet access; most people are not using the open web.

CIA

Analysis

China leads in 64 of 82 shared metrics, while North Korea leads in 18.

China's Air Passengers is 167808.2x that of North Korea (619.22M vs 3.7K).

China's Foreign Patents is 26502.2x that of North Korea (159.0K vs 6.0).

China's Scientific Publications is 3410.7x that of North Korea (898.9K vs 263.49).

China's Electricity Generation is 378.4x that of North Korea (10.1K TWh vs 26.55 TWh).

China's Electric Generating Capacity is 351.9x that of North Korea (2.95B kW vs 8.36M kW).

Key Comparisons

Air PassengersChina leads

China

619.22M

North Korea

3.7K

Foreign PatentsChina leads

China

159.0K

North Korea

6.0

Scientific PublicationsChina leads

China

898.9K

North Korea

263.49

Electricity GenerationChina leads

China

10.1K TWh

North Korea

26.55 TWh

Electric Generating CapacityChina leads

China

2.95B kW

North Korea

8.36M kW

Domestic PatentsChina leads

China

5.2 per 1k

North Korea

0.51 per 1k

921% higher

Comparison of China and North Korea across 82 metrics
				Winner
Air Passengers	619.22M	3.7K	16780818% higher	China
Foreign Patents	159.0K	6.0	2650217% higher	China
Scientific Publications	898.9K	263.49	341070% higher	China
Electricity Generation	10.1K TWh	26.55 TWh	37838% higher	China
Electric Generating Capacity	2.95B kW	8.36M kW	35188% higher	China
Domestic Patents	1.43M	6.9K	20466% higher	China
Total CO2 Emissions	13.1K Mt CO2e	66.24 Mt CO2e	19714% higher	China
Land Area	9.39M km²	120.4K km²	7697% higher	China
Water Withdrawal	568.48 B m³	8.7 B m³	6466% higher	China
Population	1.41B	26.40M	5230% higher	China
Irrigated Land	690.1K km²	14.6K km²	4627% higher	China
Forest Area	2.26M km²	59.7K km²	3681% higher	China
Merchant Fleet Size	8.3K	264	3049% higher	China
All-Time Olympic Gold Medals	330 gold medals	16 gold medals	1963% higher	China
Railway Length	150.0K km	7.4K km	1917% higher	China
UNESCO World Heritage Sites	60 sites	3.0 sites	1900% higher	China
Solar Electricity Share	11.1%	0.63%	1662% higher	China
Land Border Length	22.5K km	1.6K km	1297% higher	China
All-Time Olympic Medals	819 medals	63 medals	1200% higher	China
Teen Birth Rate	5.2 per 1k	0.51 per 1k	921% higher	China
Milk Consumption per Person	32.66 kg/person/yr	3.8 kg/person/yr	762% higher	China
Beer Consumption	1.1 L/person/yr	0.13 L/person/yr	754% higher	China
Electricity Use (Per Capita)	6.5K kWh/person	829.77 kWh/person	686% higher	China
Airports	571	80	614% higher	China
Protected Land (%)	15.6%	2.4%	550% higher	China
Coastline Length	14.5K km	2.5K km	481% higher	China
Mobile Subscriptions (%)	132 per 100 people	24 per 100 people	450% higher	China
Border Neighbors	16	3.0	433% higher	China
Energy Use (Per Capita)	2.9K kg oil eq/person	640.51 kg oil eq/person	345% higher	China
Meat Consumption per Person	60.6 kg/person/yr	13.67 kg/person/yr	343% higher	China
Seafood Consumption per Person	40.33 kg/person/yr	10.96 kg/person/yr	268% higher	China
CO2 Per Capita	8.7 t/person/yr	2.4 t/person/yr	267% higher	China
Freedom of Expression Index	0.04	0.01	246% higher	China
Highest Elevation	8.8K m	2.7K m	222% higher	China
Corruption Perceptions Index	43 pts	15 pts	187% higher	China
Liberal Democracy Index	0.04	0.01	179% higher	China
Agricultural Land (%)	55.43%	21.55%	157% higher	China
Women's Political Empowerment	0.59	0.29	102% higher	China
Time Zones Count	4.0 time zones	2.0 time zones	100% higher	China
Youth Unemployment Rate	15.79% of youth labor force	7.9% of youth labor force	100% higher	China
Electricity Access (%)	100%	57.5%	74% higher	China
Armed Forces Personnel	2.54M	1.47M	73% higher	China
Infant Mortality	4.5 per 1k births	14.5 per 1k births	69% lower	North Korea
Child Mortality	6.2 per 1k births	18 per 1k births	66% lower	North Korea
Coal Electricity Share	54.35%	34.06%	60% higher	China
Unemployment Rate	4.6%	2.9%	60% higher	China
Water Stress (%)	20.21%	12.92%	56% higher	China
Electricity Carbon Intensity	525.34 gCO2/kWh	340.59 gCO2/kWh	54% higher	China
Forest Coverage (%)	24.03%	49.55%	52% lower	North Korea
Women in Parliament (%)	26.54%	17.61%	51% higher	China
Official Languages Count	1.0	2.0	50% lower	North Korea
Tobacco Use Prevalence	22.7% of adults	15.6% of adults	46% higher	China
Birth Rate	7.3 per 1k	12.99 per 1k	44% lower	North Korea
Smoking Rate	23.4%	16.5%	42% higher	China
Fertility Rate	1.2 children/woman	1.8 children/woman	33% lower	North Korea
Population Density	150.26 /km²	219.4 /km²	32% lower	North Korea
Obesity Rate	8.2%	10.87%	24% lower	North Korea
Alcohol Consumption	4.6 L/adult/yr	3.9 L/adult/yr	18% higher	China
Elderly Population (%)	14.67%	12.4%	18% higher	China
Political Corruption Index	0.55	0.67	17% lower	North Korea
Air Pollution (PM2.5)	34.81 µg/m³	29.93 µg/m³	16% higher	China
Youth Population (%)	16.01%	18.95%	16% lower	North Korea
Sanitation Access (%)	97.27%	84.82%	15% higher	China
Food Waste per Person	141.64 kg/person/yr	122.73 kg/person/yr	15% higher	China
Doctors (per 1,000)	3.1 per 1k	3.6 per 1k	14% lower	North Korea
Spirits Consumption	2.5 L/person/yr	2.9 L/person/yr	13% lower	North Korea
Electoral Democracy Index	0.07	0.08	13% lower	North Korea
Capital Elevation	43 m	38 m	13% higher	China
Death Rate	8.0 per 1k	9.0 per 1k	12% lower	North Korea
Insufficient Physical Activity	23.84% of adults	26.99% of adults	12% lower	North Korea
Median Age	39.1 years	36.0 years	8% higher	China
Life Expectancy	78.0 years	73.6 years	6% higher	China
Suicide Rate	8.9 per 100k	9.3 per 100k	4% lower	North Korea
Dependency Ratio	44.24% of working-age pop.	45.66% of working-age pop.	3% lower	North Korea
Renewable Energy (%)	15.2%	14.7%	3% higher	China
Urban Population (%)	65.89%	63.86%	3% higher	China
Hypertension Prevalence	27.3% of adults	26.9% of adults	1% higher	China
Wind Electricity Share	10.73%	0%	ranked higher	China
Nobel Laureates Born per Million People	0.01 per 1M people	0 per 1M people	ranked higher	China
Lowest Elevation	-154 m	0 m	ranked lower	North Korea
EV Chargers per 100,000 PeopleSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors - Open Database License (ODbL)	0.22 per 100k people	0 per 100k people	ranked higher	China
McDonald's Outlets per Million PeopleSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors - Open Database License (ODbL)	1.6 per 1M people	0 per 1M people	ranked higher	China

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China North Korea

Analysis

China leads in 64 of 82 shared metrics, while North Korea leads in 18.

China's Air Passengers is 167808.2x that of North Korea (619.22M vs 3.7K).

China's Foreign Patents is 26502.2x that of North Korea (159.0K vs 6.0).

China's Scientific Publications is 3410.7x that of North Korea (898.9K vs 263.49).

China's Electricity Generation is 378.4x that of North Korea (10.1K TWh vs 26.55 TWh).

China's Electric Generating Capacity is 351.9x that of North Korea (2.95B kW vs 8.36M kW).

Key Comparisons

Air PassengersChina leads

China

619.22M

North Korea

3.7K

Foreign PatentsChina leads

China

159.0K

North Korea

6.0

Scientific PublicationsChina leads

China

898.9K

North Korea

263.49

Electricity GenerationChina leads

China

10.1K TWh

North Korea

26.55 TWh

Electric Generating CapacityChina leads

China

2.95B kW

North Korea

8.36M kW

Domestic PatentsChina leads

China

1.43M

North Korea

6.9K

Air Passengers

619.22M

3.7K

Foreign Patents

159.0K

6.0

Scientific Publications

898.9K

263.49

Electricity Generation

10.1K TWh

26.55 TWh

Electric Generating Capacity

2.95B kW

8.36M kW

Domestic Patents

1.43M

6.9K

Total CO2 Emissions

13.1K Mt CO2e

66.24 Mt CO2e

Land Area

9.39M km²

120.4K km²

Water Withdrawal

568.48 B m³

8.7 B m³

Population

1.41B

26.40M

Irrigated Land

690.1K km²

14.6K km²

Forest Area

2.26M km²

59.7K km²

Merchant Fleet Size

8.3K

264

All-Time Olympic Gold Medals

330 gold medals

16 gold medals

Railway Length

150.0K km

7.4K km

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

60 sites

3.0 sites

Solar Electricity Share

11.1%

0.63%

Land Border Length

22.5K km

1.6K km

All-Time Olympic Medals

819 medals

63 medals

Teen Birth Rate

5.2 per 1k

0.51 per 1k

China vs North Korea

Think you can spot the next winner?

What matters for both sides

China

North Korea

Analysis

Key Comparisons

All Metrics

Air Passengers

Foreign Patents

Scientific Publications

Electricity Generation

Electric Generating Capacity

Domestic Patents

Total CO2 Emissions

Land Area

Water Withdrawal

Population

Irrigated Land

Forest Area

Merchant Fleet Size

All-Time Olympic Gold Medals

Railway Length

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Solar Electricity Share

Land Border Length

All-Time Olympic Medals

Teen Birth Rate

Milk Consumption per Person

Beer Consumption

Electricity Use (Per Capita)

Airports

Protected Land (%)

Coastline Length

Mobile Subscriptions (%)

Border Neighbors

Energy Use (Per Capita)

Meat Consumption per Person

Seafood Consumption per Person

CO2 Per Capita

Freedom of Expression Index

Highest Elevation

Corruption Perceptions Index

Liberal Democracy Index

Agricultural Land (%)

Women's Political Empowerment

Time Zones Count

Youth Unemployment Rate

Electricity Access (%)

Armed Forces Personnel

Infant Mortality

Child Mortality

Coal Electricity Share

Unemployment Rate

Water Stress (%)

Electricity Carbon Intensity

Forest Coverage (%)

Women in Parliament (%)

Official Languages Count

Tobacco Use Prevalence

Birth Rate

Smoking Rate

Fertility Rate

Population Density

Obesity Rate

Alcohol Consumption

Elderly Population (%)

Political Corruption Index

Air Pollution (PM2.5)

Youth Population (%)

Sanitation Access (%)

Food Waste per Person

Doctors (per 1,000)

Spirits Consumption

Electoral Democracy Index

Capital Elevation

Death Rate

Insufficient Physical Activity

Median Age

Life Expectancy