Key media freedoms in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: Key media freedoms was -2.77 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
-2.77
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
171st
of 175 countries
All-time high
0.467
in 1896
All-time low
-2.79
in 1904
Years of data
96
1896–2025

Key media freedoms in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1896–2025

-3-2-10189619602025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, key media freedoms in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea stood at -2.77.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, key media freedoms in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea peaked at 0.467 in 1896 and was at its lowest, -2.79, in 1904.

That places Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 171st out of 175 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 96 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1890s -1.36 -1.97 0.467 4
1900s -2.47 -2.79 -1.97 10
1910s -2.79 -2.79 -2.79 1
1940s -1.96 -2.77 -1.41 5
1950s -2.77 -2.77 -2.77 10
1960s -2.77 -2.77 -2.77 10
1970s -2.77 -2.77 -2.77 10
1980s -2.77 -2.77 -2.77 10
1990s -2.77 -2.77 -2.77 10
2000s -2.77 -2.77 -2.77 10
2010s -2.77 -2.77 -2.77 10
2020s -2.77 -2.77 -2.77 6

Countries ranked near Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

  1. 168 China (People’s Republic of) -2.42 compare
  2. 169 Afghanistan -2.55 compare
  3. 170 Turkmenistan -2.72 compare
  4. 172 Belarus -2.82 compare
  5. 173 Myanmar -2.95 compare
  6. 174 Eritrea -2.98 compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More social development data for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

All data for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is key media freedoms in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea?
Key media freedoms in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was -2.77 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest key media freedoms recorded in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea?
The highest recorded value was 0.467 in 1896.
What is the lowest key media freedoms recorded in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea?
The lowest recorded value was -2.79 in 1904.
How does Democratic People’s Republic of Korea rank for key media freedoms?
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ranks 171st out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
Is key media freedoms rising or falling in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Democratic People’s Republic of Korea data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Key media freedoms. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 96 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Key media freedoms in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/key-media-freedoms/korea-dem-people-s-rep/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/key-media-freedoms/korea-dem-people-s-rep/">Key media freedoms in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Key media freedoms
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
175 places, 21,793 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed