Skip to content
Top10Earth
Country guide· 10 min read

North Korea rankings 2026: where North Korea places in 42 global Top 10s

North Korea is #1 in Countries drinking the largest share of their alcohol as spirits, #1 in 3 rankings and inside the top 10 of 9 rankings. Every position, value and source, regenerated as the data refreshes.

How does North Korea compare with the rest of the world? On Top10Earth it is ranked in 42 of 491 live country rankings, each one built from a named public source. This page gathers every position, value and date in one place. Its best position is #1 in Countries drinking the largest share of their alcohol as spirits, where it is measured at 96.77 % (Spirits share of alcohol consumption) as of 2026-11-02. North Korea holds the #1 spot in 3 rankings and finishes inside the top 10 in 9 rankings.

Where North Korea is number one

North Korea leads the world in 3 rankings. In each case the runner-up and the gap are shown so the lead can be judged, not just the position.

Top 10 finishes

North Korea is inside the top 10 of 6 further rankings beyond the ones it leads. Each entry names the country directly above it, which is the position to beat at the next refresh.

North Korea by theme

The rankings are grouped by category below, so the economic picture, the health picture and the environmental picture can be read separately. Positions are out of the number of countries each source reports, which differs by ranking.

Environment and energy

In environment and energy, North Korea holds 13 positions: #19 of 50 in Countries with the highest CO₂ emissions from coal (57.15 million tonnes), #19 of 50 in Countries with the largest share of global CO2 from coal (0.36 % of global total), #20 of 50 in Countries with the most people without electricity (10.2k thousand people) and #21 of 50 in Countries with the highest CO2 emissions from coal per person (2.16 tonnes per person). 9 more rankings are listed below.

World and society

In world and society, North Korea holds 11 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries with the largest military share of population (4.86 %), #4 of 50 in Countries with the most military personnel (1,280 thousand people), #8 of 50 in Countries with the highest employment-to-population ratios (79.24 %) and #8 of 50 in Countries with the highest second-dose measles vaccination coverage (99 %). 7 more rankings are listed below.

Food and agriculture

In food and agriculture, North Korea holds 10 positions: #3 of 50 in Countries with the highest prevalence of undernourishment (47 %), #17 of 50 in Countries producing the most farmed fish (685.7 thousand metric tons), #28 of 50 in Countries producing the most rice (2,250 thousand tonnes) and #29 of 50 in Countries with the highest cotton yields (1.99 tonnes per hectare). 6 more rankings are listed below.

Health and wellbeing

In health and wellbeing, North Korea holds 7 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries drinking the largest share of their alcohol as spirits (96.77 %), #1 of 50 in Countries with the highest road accident death rates (42.69 per 100,000 people), #2 of 50 in Countries with the most hospital beds per 1,000 people (12.8 per 1,000 people) and #11 of 50 in Countries with the highest tuberculosis death rates (86.69 per 100,000 people). 3 more rankings are listed below.

Finance and crypto

In finance and crypto, North Korea holds 1 position: #1 of 50 in Countries importing the largest share of their goods from China (81.81 %).

What changed at the latest refresh

Comparing each ranking's newest snapshot with the one before it, North Korea moved in 39 rankings:

Where North Korea ranks lowest

A guide that only listed wins would be misleading. North Korea's lowest current positions are 49th of 50 in Countries using the most water for agriculture (6.61 billion cubic meters), 49th of 50 in Countries with the largest CO2 emissions from land use change (9.99 million tonnes) and 49th of 50 in Countries with the largest cumulative CO2 emissions including land use (7.02 billion tonnes). Whether a low position is good or bad depends on the metric: being near the bottom of an emissions or mortality ranking is the better place to be.

Every ranking that includes North Korea

How to read these numbers

Each ranking measures one metric from one named source at one time, so a #3 in one table and a #3 in another are not directly comparable. Countries also report in different years: the capture date is when Top10Earth fetched the data, while the source's own year is stated on each ranking page under methodology. For a side-by-side with another country on the same measures, open any ranking and use the head-to-head links, or visit North Korea's entity page for the live table and rank-history chart.

Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value. Each number is fetched from its source on a schedule, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails that gate the previous snapshot stays live and a person looks at why. Every past snapshot is kept, which is what makes the rank-history charts on each ranking page possible.

Questions people ask about North Korea

What is North Korea's best ranking on Top10Earth?

#1 in Countries drinking the largest share of their alcohol as spirits, with 96.77 % (Spirits share of alcohol consumption) as of 2026-11-02.

How many rankings include North Korea?

42 current country rankings out of 491 on the site, including 3 rankings where it is #1.

Is North Korea in the top 10 of anything?

Yes: 9 rankings, including #1 in Countries drinking the largest share of their alcohol as spirits, #1 in Countries importing the largest share of their goods from China and #1 in Countries with the highest road accident death rates.

Where do the numbers come from?

From Our World in Data. Each ranking page names its source, metric definition and capture date.

When was this guide last updated?

The newest snapshot used here was captured on 2026-11-02. The guide is regenerated automatically as rankings refresh.

Live table and history →

More guides

Keep reading