Physical Integrity Rights Score in North Korea
North Korea: Physical Integrity Rights Score was -1.99 in 2019. ▲ Rising
Physical Integrity Rights Score in North Korea, 1948–2019
Source: Fariss et al. (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for physical integrity rights score in North Korea is -1.99, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 72 years on record.
The figure is down 15.1% on the previous year and down 17.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, physical integrity rights score in North Korea peaked at -1.34 in 1992 and was at its lowest, -1.99, in 2019.
North Korea ranks 189th of 193 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 72 years of available data.
Physical Integrity Rights Score in North Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | -1.71 | — |
| 1949 | -1.78 | +4.0% |
| 1950 | -1.81 | +1.7% |
| 1951 | -1.83 | +1.2% |
| 1952 | -1.84 | +0.6% |
| 1953 | -1.84 | -0.3% |
| 1954 | -1.83 | -0.4% |
| 1955 | -1.83 | -0.0% |
| 1956 | -1.8 | -1.5% |
| 1957 | -1.8 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | -1.81 | +0.1% |
| 1959 | -1.8 | -0.4% |
| 1960 | -1.8 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | -1.79 | -0.4% |
| 1962 | -1.8 | +0.3% |
| 1963 | -1.79 | -0.4% |
| 1964 | -1.79 | +0.3% |
| 1965 | -1.79 | -0.1% |
| 1966 | -1.79 | -0.1% |
| 1967 | -1.79 | +0.1% |
| 1968 | -1.79 | -0.1% |
| 1969 | -1.79 | -0.1% |
| 1970 | -1.79 | +0.2% |
| 1971 | -1.79 | +0.1% |
| 1972 | -1.79 | -0.3% |
| 1973 | -1.79 | +0.3% |
| 1974 | -1.8 | +0.3% |
| 1975 | -1.79 | -0.2% |
| 1976 | -1.8 | +0.1% |
| 1977 | -1.79 | -0.3% |
| 1978 | -1.79 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | -1.78 | -0.4% |
| 1980 | -1.77 | -0.4% |
| 1981 | -1.76 | -0.8% |
| 1982 | -1.76 | -0.2% |
| 1983 | -1.74 | -1.2% |
| 1984 | -1.71 | -1.7% |
| 1985 | -1.82 | +6.4% |
| 1986 | -1.84 | +1.3% |
| 1987 | -1.77 | -3.6% |
| 1988 | -1.7 | -4.3% |
| 1989 | -1.56 | -7.8% |
| 1990 | -1.44 | -7.6% |
| 1991 | -1.37 | -5.5% |
| 1992 | -1.34 | -1.9% |
| 1993 | -1.36 | +1.6% |
| 1994 | -1.35 | -0.6% |
| 1995 | -1.4 | +3.6% |
| 1996 | -1.58 | +12.9% |
| 1997 | -1.64 | +3.6% |
| 1998 | -1.65 | +0.6% |
| 1999 | -1.66 | +0.7% |
| 2000 | -1.66 | -0.1% |
| 2001 | -1.63 | -1.5% |
| 2002 | -1.55 | -5.2% |
| 2003 | -1.55 | +0.3% |
| 2004 | -1.55 | -0.0% |
| 2005 | -1.54 | -0.8% |
| 2006 | -1.55 | +0.5% |
| 2007 | -1.56 | +0.8% |
| 2008 | -1.64 | +5.4% |
| 2009 | -1.69 | +3.0% |
| 2010 | -1.69 | -0.1% |
| 2011 | -1.67 | -1.4% |
| 2012 | -1.67 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | -1.67 | -0.0% |
| 2014 | -1.69 | +1.1% |
| 2015 | -1.69 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | -1.68 | -0.7% |
| 2017 | -1.69 | +0.8% |
| 2018 | -1.73 | +2.5% |
| 2019 | -1.99 | +15.1% |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's -1.99 is below the median for low income countries, which is -1.23, 1.6× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- North Korea's -1.99 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.85. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | -1.75 | -1.78 | -1.71 | 2 |
| 1950s | -1.82 | -1.84 | -1.8 | 10 |
| 1960s | -1.79 | -1.8 | -1.79 | 10 |
| 1970s | -1.79 | -1.8 | -1.78 | 10 |
| 1980s | -1.74 | -1.84 | -1.56 | 10 |
| 1990s | -1.48 | -1.66 | -1.34 | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.59 | -1.69 | -1.54 | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.72 | -1.99 | -1.67 | 10 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More social development data for North Korea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 263 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 263 (2025)
- Sovereign state gleditsch ward, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of -7.07 % change on previous year (2025)
- Human Rights Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index 0.024 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is physical integrity rights score in North Korea?
- Physical integrity rights score in North Korea was -1.99 in 2019, according to Fariss et al. (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest physical integrity rights score recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was -1.34 in 1992.
- What is the lowest physical integrity rights score recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.99 in 2019.
- How does North Korea rank for physical integrity rights score?
- North Korea ranks 189th out of 193 countries with data for 2019.
- Is physical integrity rights score rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Fariss et al. (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Physical Integrity Rights Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 72 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The score captures the extent to which citizens are protected from government killings, torture, political imprisonments, extrajudicial executions, mass killings and disappearances. Large positive scores mean abuses are rare relative to other countries and years, large negative scores that abuses are relatively widespread.