North Korea's forest cover fell from 55.9 % in 1994 to 49.6 % in 2023.
North Korea · Environment
Forests, air quality, land, water and protected areas.
10 indicators · 9 with data
Land
North Korea's forest area fell from 67,291 km in 1994 to 59,664 km in 2023.
Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area)
% of land area
197th of 213 · 33rd in East Asia & Pacific
North Korea's terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) was 2.4 % in 2013 and 2.4 % in 2025.
North Korea's agricultural land (% of land area) fell from 21.9 % in 1994 to 21.6 % in 2023.
North Korea's arable land (% of land area) fell from 19.9 % in 1994 to 19.1 % in 2023.
Air
North Korea's air pollution (pm2.5) fell from 25.4 in 1994 to 21.8 in 2023.
Water
North Korea's water stress rose from 12.8 % in 2000 to 12.9 % in 2022.
Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita
cubic metres per person
90th of 181 · 19th in East Asia & Pacific
North Korea's renewable internal freshwater resources per capita fell from 3,035 in 1993 to 2,545 in 2022.
Access
North Korea's safe drinking water fell from 69.0 % in 2000 to 66.6 % in 2023.
›No data available (1)
These indicators exist in the registry but no source reports a value for North Korea.
- Safe sanitationNo data