Asia · Eastern Asia. Figures are educated estimates from open reporting or, where marked, formula-modeled. Blank fields are not estimated, not assumed zero.
Overview
North Korea is located in Asia (Eastern Asia). It has an estimated population of 26,000,000. Its armed forces field an estimated 1,280,000 active-duty personnel, backed by roughly 600,000 reservists, ranking #4 of 174 countries in this dataset by active personnel. Its inventory includes an estimated 950 military aircraft, 4,000 tanks, 500 naval vessels. North Korea's air fleet is assessed as aging and its armored fleet as aging in this dataset's modernity model. North Korea has a basic-tier documented drone/UAV program. North Korea is a declared or estimated nuclear weapons state, with an estimated 50 warheads.
Auto-generated from the figures on this page — not independently researched prose.
Active Conflicts
No tracked active conflicts involving North Korea.
Category Shape vs. world, log scale
Economy & Demographics
👥Population
26,000,000#56 of 196
📈GDP (Nominal)
n/a
💵GDP Per Capita
n/a
Manpower
🪖Active Personnel
1,280,000#4 of 174
🎖️Reserve Personnel
600,000#7 of 141
👮Paramilitary Forces
n/a
Financials & Strategic
💰Defense Budget
n/a
☢️Nuclear Warheads
50
🛰️Drone / UAV Capability
Basic
Airpower
✈️Total Aircraft
950#11 of 98
🛩️Fighter Aircraft
400#5 of 78
🛫Bombers & Other Aircraft
550
🚁Helicopters (Total)
n/a
✈️Air Fleet Modernity
AGING
Modernity score 2.4/5.0.
Named Aircraft Fleet (311 of 950 total)
ESTIMATED
MiG-29 GEN 4 · MAINSTAY
35
MiG-23 (legacy) GEN 3 · AGING
56
MiG-21 (legacy) GEN 2 · OBSOLETE
120
J-6/MiG-19 (legacy) GEN 2 · OBSOLETE
100
Fleet Modernity Score
2.4 / 5.0
Count-weighted average generation of the named fleet above, NOT raw aircraft count. This is exactly the fix for "600 obsolete jets vs. 300 modern ones": North Korea has more aircraft than most of its neighbors but a modernity score near 2.0 (nearly all Gen 2-3), while the US and Israel score near 4.5-5.0 despite smaller headline totals in some matchups.
Named Tank Fleet (3,400 of 4,000 total)
ESTIMATED
Songun-Ho / Pokpung-Ho (T-62 derived) OBSOLETE
800
T-55/T-62 (legacy) OBSOLETE
2,600
Era reflects armor generation, not raw count — e.g. North Korea's tank fleet is numerically large but almost entirely Cold War-era T-55/T-62 derivatives, while a much smaller modern Advanced-era fleet (M1A2 Abrams, Leopard 2A7, K2 Black Panther class) typically outmatches it on paper.