North Korea's Economy Shrinks Again Last Year... Per Capita GNI at 3.5% of South Korea's

Bank of Korea Estimates North Korea's Economic Growth Rate for 2021
Negative Growth for Two Consecutive Years in 2020 and 2021
Impact of UN Sanctions and COVID-19 Lockdowns
Per Capita Gross National Income at 1,423,000 Won

(Data provided by Bank of Korea)

Last year, North Korea's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by 0.1%, marking two consecutive years of negative growth. The Gross National Income per capita was approximately 1.42 million won, which is about 1/28th (3.5%) of South Korea's level.

According to the "2021 North Korea Economic Growth Rate Estimate" released by the Bank of Korea on the 27th, North Korea's GDP was 31.409 trillion won, a 0.1% decrease compared to the previous year.

North Korea's economic growth rate recorded negative growth in 2017 (-3.5%) and 2018 (-4.1%), rose to 0.4% in 2019, but declined again for two consecutive years in 2020 (-4.5%) and last year.

Last year, North Korea saw increases in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (6.2%), electricity, gas, and water supply (6.0%), and construction (1.8%), but decreases in mining and manufacturing (-11.7%), services (-0.4%), and manufacturing (-3.3%).

Lee Gwan-gyo, head of the Bank of Korea’s National Income General Team, explained, "The North Korean economy continues to be affected in sectors requiring external trade such as mining, retail, accommodation, and food services due to UN economic sanctions and self-imposed border closures caused by COVID-19."

(Data provided by Bank of Korea)

Looking at North Korea's industrial structure, mining and manufacturing accounted for 28.3%, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous year, while agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (23.8%) and construction (10.2%) increased by 1.4 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.

On the other hand, electricity, gas, and water supply decreased by 0.9 percentage points to 4.8%, and services fell by 0.9 percentage points to 32.9%.

North Korea's nominal Gross National Income (GNI) was 36.3 trillion won, about 1/58th (1.7%) of South Korea's level.

The Gross National Income per capita was 1.423 million won, about 1/28th (3.5%) of South Korea's level.

Last year, North Korea's foreign trade volume was 710 million USD, a 17.3% decrease compared to the previous year (860 million USD).

The Bank of Korea has been estimating North Korea's economic growth rate annually since 1991 by receiving basic data related to North Korea's economic activities from relevant agencies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.