It's certainly not comparing like with like: North Korea is a small, impoverished and isolated country; South Korea is wealthy and backed by the world's number one superpower.

They never call themselves the names we do either: officially, it's the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (that's the North, to the rest of us) and the Republic of Korea. And, while the South is westernised and industrialised, the North has the distinction of being the most corrupt country int e world (joint with Afghanistan), according to Transparency International, have a high infant mortality rate and homicide rate - plus have one of the lowest press freedom scores anywhere in the world.

The big caveat with all this data is the fact that we know very little, really, about North Korea. These numbers, estimates as they are by the UN and other bodies, are almost certainly wrong. But they are the best numbers we have.

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Data summary

North v South Korea Country N.Korea (Democratic People's Republic of) S.Korea (Republic of) Population 24,720,407 48,955,203 GDP (purchasing power parity), $bn 40 1,622 GDP - real growth rate (%) 0.8 2.7 GDP - per capita (PPP), $ 1,800 32,400 Unemployment rate, % 3.8 Urban population (%) 60 83 Military expenditures Median age 33 39 Infant mortality rate, per 1,000 live births 26.21 4.08 Life expectancy at birth (total population) 69.2 79.3 Area 122,762 sq km 99,313 sq km Corruption Index ranking 2012 174 45 Press Freedom Index 2013 178 50 Total executed, 2007-2011 105 0 Total sentenced to death, 2007-2011 0 13 CO2 Emissions (metric tons per capita) 3.1 10.4 % of rural population with access to an improved water source 97 88 Internet users per 100 people < 0.1 81.5 Intentional homicide, rate per 100,000 population 15.2 2.6 Intentional homicide, count per 100,000 population 3,658 1,251 Exports, $ billion 4.71 552.6 Imports 4 514.2 Net official development assistance (ODA) and official aid (current US$) 78,840,000 -69,070,000 Net ODA per capita (current US$) 3 Global Hunger Index score 19 N/A Manpower fit for military service, males age 16-49 4,836,567 10,864,566 Manpower fit for military service, females age 16-49 5,230,137 10,168,709 Active duty 1190000 655000 Reserve 600,000 (Armed Forces). Paramilitary 5,700,000 4,500,000. Paramilitary 3,000,000 Military expenditure as a percentage of GDP 22.3 2.8 Military spending, $ billion 8.21 26.1

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