Environment
North Korea
Climate
characterized by a temperate climate, where precipitation is primarily during the summer months; winters are lengthy and harsh
Geoparks
global geoparks and regional networks
Mt Paektu (2025)
total global geoparks and regional networks
1 (2025)
Land use
other
14.5% (2023 est.)
forest
64% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
21.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 19.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 2.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 0.4% (2023 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
63.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Environmental issues
contamination of water sources; insufficient drinking water supply; loss of forest cover; erosion and degradation of soil
Total water withdrawal
municipal
902.8 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
industrial
1.145 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
agricultural
6.61 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
total emissions
55.744 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke
52.985 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids
2.759 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions
41.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Total renewable water resources
77.15 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
International environmental agreements
party to
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified
Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Law of the Sea