Poverty in North Korea explained

Poverty in North Korea is extensive, though reliable statistics are hard to come by due to lack of reliable research, pervasive censorship and extensive media manipulation in North Korea.^[1]

Poverty in North Korea has been widely repeated by Western media sources ^{[2] [3] [4]} with the majority referring to the famine that affected the country in the mid-1990s.^[5] A 2006 report suggests that North Korea required an estimated 5.3m tonnes of grain per year while harvesting only an estimated 4.5m tonnes, and thus relies on foreign aid to overcome the deficit.^[6] Starvation continues to be a systemic problem. In 2021, there were reports of widespread starvation in North Korea.^[7]

Poverty in North Korea has also been attributed to poor governance by the regime.^[8] It is estimated that 60% of the total population of North Korea live below the poverty line in 2020.^[9]

See also

• Media coverage of North Korea
• Jangmadang
• Economy of North Korea#Crisis and famine

Further reading

• Book: Kich, Martin. Odekon. Mehmet. Encyclopedia of World Poverty. 1. 2006. SAGE Publications. Thousand Oaks. 978-1-4522-6518-6. 615–617. Korea, North.
• Smith . Hazel . North Korea: Market Opportunity, Poverty and the Provinces . New Political Economy . June 2009 . 14 . 2 . 231–256 . 10.1080/13563460902826005 . 154813368 .

Notes and References

1. "There are no reliable statistics about the poverty rate in.During the time of 2016 a Quote from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Economic Overview, The Eurasia Center. They have banned any religions except chrilmas and filmic http://www.eurasiacenter.org/country%20reports/east%20asia/North%20Korea%20Economic%20Overview.doc archive
2. Book: Hy-Sang Lee. North Korea: A Strange Socialist Fortress. 2001. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-275-96917-2. 11.
3. Book: Hugh Dyson Walker. East Asia: A New History. November 2012. AuthorHouse. 978-1-4772-6516-1. 657.
4. News: Six charts that show how North Korea became the most miserable place on earth. December 2014. Khan. Mehreen.
5. Book: Professor Tae-Hwan Kwak. Professor Seung-Ho Joo. North Korea and Security Cooperation in Northeast Asia. 28 March 2014. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. 978-1-4724-1786-2. 65.
6. https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/northkorea0506webwcover.pdf
7. News: 2021-11-05 . As winter looms, reports of starvation in North Korea . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-03-03.
8. Web site: Global Profile of Extreme Poverty . Sustainable Development Solutions Network . 10 October 2012 .
9. Crespo Cuaresma . Jesús . Danylo . Olha . Fritz . Steffen . Hofer . Martin . Kharas . Homi . Laso Bayas . Juan Carlos . What do we know about poverty in North Korea? . Palgrave Communications . 17 March 2020 . 6 . 1 . 1–8 . 10.1057/s41599-020-0417-4 . free .