Governance at a glance
- Government
- Unitary communist state
- UN member
- Yes
- Independent
- Yes
- CPI score (2026)
- 15/100
- Press freedom (2025)
- 12.6/100 #179
- Electoral democracy (2025)
- 0.083
- HDI
- 0.000
Government and leaders
- Government type
- Unitary communist state
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea | Kim Jong Un |
| Premier of North Korea | Pak Thae-song |
Safety and security
- Traffic deaths (2019)
- 24.2/100k
World governance indicators
Percentile rank among all countries
Political stability (2023)
30th pct
Rule of law (2023)
6th pct
Corruption control (2023)
2th pct
Government effectiveness (2023)
7th pct
Regulatory quality (2023)
0th pct
Voice and accountability (2023)
0th pct
Corruption perceptions index
- CPI score (2026)
- 15 / 100
- Interpretation
- High corruption
Democracy index
- Electoral (2025)
- 0.083
- Liberal
- 0.014
- Participatory
- 0.044
- Deliberative
- 0.011
- Egalitarian
- 0.093
Press freedom index
- Overall score (2025)
- 12.6 / 100
- Global rank
- #179 / 180
- Rank change
- -2 vs previous year
- RSF zone
- Asie-Pacifique
- Political #176
- 12.2
- Economic #180
- 11.1
- Legal #176
- 16.7
- Social #180
- 9.5
- Safety #179
- 13.9
Press freedom historical data
| Year | Score | Rank | Political | Economic | Legal | Social | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12.6 | 179 | 12.2 | 11.1 | 16.7 | 9.5 | 13.9 |
| 2024 | 20.7 | 177 | 18.0 | 20.6 | 26.8 | 17.3 | 20.6 |
| 2023 | 21.7 | 180 | 26.6 | 21.6 | 22.6 | 4.6 | 33.3 |
| 2022 | 13.9 | 180 | 22.4 | 0.0 | 22.8 | 12.0 | 12.4 |
| 2021 | 18.7 | 179 | - | - | - | - | 48.1 |
| 2020 | 14.2 | 180 | - | - | - | - | 48.1 |
| 2019 | 16.6 | 179 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2018 | 11.1 | 180 | - | - | - | - | 48.1 |
| 2017 | 15.0 | 180 | - | - | - | - | 48.1 |
| 2016 | 16.2 | 179 | - | - | - | - | 54.8 |
| 2015 | 16.8 | 179 | - | - | - | - | 48.1 |
| 2014 | 18.0 | 179 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2013 | 16.1 | 178 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2012 | 141.0 | 178 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2010 | 104.8 | 177 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2009 | 112.5 | 174 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2008 | 96.5 | 172 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2007 | 108.8 | 168 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | 109.0 | 168 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2005 | 109.0 | 167 | - | - | - | - | - |