A highway in Pyongyang, Jan. 11, 2018 | Image: NK News
North Korea’s economy shrank for the second straight year in 2021, according to a new estimate by the Seoul-based Bank of Korea (BOK), as the country’s self-imposed pandemic isolation weighed on its economy.
Drawing inferences from South Korean economic data, the BOK placed the North’s real gross domestic product (GDP) at just $25 billion last year. By comparison, South Korea’s GDP was $1.8 trillion in 2021 — over 50 times higher than the DPRK.
The estimated 0.1% contraction comes after a larger 4.5% dip in GDP in 2020, when the country sealed its borders from the outside world as COVID-
North Korea's economy shrank for the second straight year in 2021, according to a new estimate by the Seoul-based Bank of Korea (BOK), as the country’s self-imposed pandemic isolation weighed on its economy.
Drawing inferences from South Korean economic data, the BOK placed the North’s real gross domestic product (GDP) at just $25 billion last year. By comparison, South Korea’s GDP was $1.8 trillion in 2021 — over 50 times higher than the DPRK.
Ethan Jewell is a Seoul-based correspondent for NK News focused on sanctions, trade and maritime issues. He previously worked as an investigations and intelligence specialist for Pinkerton Comprehensive Risk Management and as a research intern for the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asia Policy Studies. Follow Ethan on Twitter @EthanJewell