Population 24,317,004 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 30% (male 3,672,851; female 3,528,590)
15-64 years: 66% (male 7,996,814; female 8,068,347)
65 years and over : 4% (male 372,818; female 677,584) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate 1.68% (1997 est.)

Birth rate 22.27 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate 5.43 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years : 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.55 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate 25 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 70.6 years
male : 67.5 years
female: 73.85 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate 2.29 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean

Ethnic groups racially homogeneous

Religions Buddhism and Confucianism, some Christianity and syncretic Chondogyo
note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsoredreligious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom

Languages Korean

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write Korean
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (1990 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Korea, North on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Korea, North People 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Korea, North People 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.