Mali vs North Korea
North Korea has 5% more people than Mali: 26,571,036 vs 25,198,821, a gap of 1.4 million. Mali is growing faster (+2.90% vs +0.27% a year), adding about 730,719 people a year against +72,311. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, Mali would overtake North Korea in about 2 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2027) — a projection, not a forecast. North Korea is the older society: 12.7% aged 65+ against 2.4% in Mali, while Mali has more children (45.8% under 15 vs 18.9%). North Korea is 11.3× as densely populated (219.4 vs 19.5 people per km²). People in North Korea live 13.1 years longer on average (73.7 vs 60.7).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Mali) and 2025 (North Korea); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
Mali vs North Korea — side by side
 Mali |  North Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 25,198,8212025 | 26,571,0362025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +2.90%2025 | +0.27%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 39.52024 | 12.92024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 8.52024 | 9.92024 |
| Children per woman | 5.512024 | 1.782024 |
| Life expectancy | 60.7 yrs2024 | 73.7 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 45.8%2025 | 18.9%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 2.4%2025 | 12.7%2025 |
| Density | 19.5 /km²2023 | 219.4 /km²2023 |
| Area | 1,240,190 km²2023 | 120,540 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 32.2%2025 | 64.2%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | -48,0192025 | -2,7872025 |
| GDP per capita | $1,1932025 | —year not supplied |
| Country population rank (available records) | #58 | #56 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.31% | 0.32% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Mali: 4.7× from 1960 to 2025; North Korea: 2.3× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Regions: Sub-Saharan Africa · East Asia & Pacific · rankings
Mali: Mali vs Australia, Mali vs North Korea, Mali vs Syria, Mali vs Burkina Faso, Mali vs Malawi, Mali vs Zambia.
North Korea: North Korea vs South Korea, North Korea vs Venezuela, North Korea vs Niger, North Korea vs Australia, North Korea vs Syria, North Korea vs Mali, North Korea vs Burkina Faso.
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