South v North Korea: how do the two countries compare? Visualised

How big is North Korea's army compared to South Korea? What is the size of the economy, or the average life expectancy? This is the key data to see how each country contrasts. Click the image below to enlarge it
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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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North Korea v South Korea graphic

North Korea v South Korea graphic by Mark McCormick for the Guardian