North Korea vs Syria
North Korea has 4% more people than Syria: 26,571,036 vs 25,620,427, a gap of 950,609. Syria is growing faster (+3.77% vs +0.27% a year), adding about 965,638 people a year against +72,311. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, Syria would overtake North Korea in about 1 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2026) — a projection, not a forecast. North Korea is the older society: 12.7% aged 65+ against 4.8% in Syria, while Syria has more children (28.4% under 15 vs 18.9%). North Korea is 1.7× as densely populated (219.4 vs 128.5 people per km²). People in North Korea live 1.2 years longer on average (73.7 vs 72.6).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (North Korea) and 2025 (Syria); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
North Korea vs Syria — side by side
 North Korea |  Syria | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 26,571,0362025 | 25,620,4272025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +0.27%2025 | +3.77%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 12.92024 | 23.22024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 9.92024 | 4.92024 |
| Children per woman | 1.782024 | 2.702024 |
| Life expectancy | 73.7 yrs2024 | 72.6 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 18.9%2025 | 28.4%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 12.7%2025 | 4.8%2025 |
| Density | 219.4 /km²2023 | 128.5 /km²2023 |
| Area | 120,540 km²2023 | 185,180 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 64.2%2025 | 72.1%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | -2,7872025 | +421,6932025 |
| GDP per capita | —year not supplied | $1,0572022 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #56 | #57 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.32% | 0.31% |
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). North Korea: 2.3× from 1960 to 2025; Syria: 5.5× 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: East Asia & Pacific · Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan · rankings
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.
Syria: Syria vs Niger, Syria vs Australia, Syria vs North Korea, Syria vs Mali, Syria vs Burkina Faso, Syria vs Malawi.
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This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.