North Korea vs South Africa: Sovereign state (Gleditsch)
North Korea
1
in 2025
South Africa
1
in 2025
North Korea rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st
Sovereign state (Gleditsch) over time
- North Korea
- South Africa
How they compare
North Korea currently reports 1 against 1 in South Africa, a difference of 0.
Across all 210 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
North Korea ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 194 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 22 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | North Korea | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1810s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1820s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 0 | 1 | 1 | South Africa |
| 1920s | 0 | 1 | 1 | South Africa |
| 1930s | 0 | 1 | 1 | South Africa |
| 1940s | 0.2 | 1 | 0.8 | South Africa |
| 1950s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher sovereign state, North Korea or South Africa?
- North Korea, at 1 against 1 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in sovereign state between North Korea and South Africa?
- 0, with North Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for North Korea and South Africa?
- 210 years are reported by both, from 1816 to 2025.
- How do North Korea and South Africa rank globally for sovereign state?
- North Korea ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 194 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Gleditsch and Ward (2007) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Sovereign state. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The country is identified as a sovereign state by Gleditsch and Ward dataset.