The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
women in the world.

Latest items for North Korea

April 18, 2024, 4 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"The rules of matrimonial property relationships are not stipulated in the family law. Article 7 in ‘Detailed Rules of the Act of Equal Rights for Men and Women (1946)’ specified the common property system, providing that “A husband or a wife owns his or her property which is obtained before marriage. The property gained during the marriage belongs to co-ownership of husband and wife.” In the family law since then, however, the rules of the matrimonial property system have not been stipulated; instead, the home property system was established in the private property system of the Civil Law, which deals with ownership and management of matrimonial property as a part...more
March 31, 2024, 3:14 p.m.
Countries: Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Chad, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Nicaragua, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen
Variables: TRAFF-SCALE-1

4.0
March 30, 2024, 10:05 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: TRAFF-DATA-1

According to the U.S. State Department's 2023 TIP report, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ranks as a Tier 3 country (85).
Jan. 24, 2024, 3:24 p.m.
Countries: Angola, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Laos, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Senegal, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia
Variables: MMR-SCALE-2

3
Jan. 24, 2024, 3:19 p.m.
Countries: Dominican Republic, North Korea
Variables: MMR-SCALE-1

107
Jan. 24, 2024, 3:15 p.m.
Countries: Angola, Bahamas, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, New Zealand, North Korea, Peru, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam
Variables: ERBG-SCALE-1

0
Jan. 24, 2024, 3:06 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma/Myanmar, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Rep, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, D R Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad/Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Variables: DACH-SCALE-2

1more
Jan. 24, 2024, 3:03 p.m.
Countries: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nicaragua, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Trinidad/Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam
Variables: DACH-SCALE-1

1
Jan. 21, 2024, 11:10 a.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: MMR-DATA-1

According to a 2023 report on global trends in maternal mortality from 2000-2020 published by the WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group, and UNDESA/Population Division, in 2020 the maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births) in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was 107 (KMM-CODER COMMENT).
Jan. 20, 2024, 1:37 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-DATA-2

According to 2023 World Bank Gender Data collected from the most recent ILO modeled estimates from 2020 onwards, the female laborforce participation rate (as a percentage of the female population ages 15+) in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is 70% (KMM-CODER COMMENT).
Jan. 7, 2024, 3:30 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: DACH-DATA-1

According to the World Bank, as of 2021, life expectancy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is 76 years for women and 71 years for men (KMM-CODER COMMENT).
Dec. 28, 2023, 2:18 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: DACH-DATA-1

According to 2019 data from the WHO's Global Health Observatory, average life expectancy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is 69.3 years for men and 75.7 years for women (KMM-CODER COMMENT).
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:44 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-5

"The government did not report any law enforcement efforts" (para 13). "Fair trials did not occur in the DPRK, and the government did not explain what provisions of law, if any, it used to prosecute trafficking crimes, if it did so. The government did not provide law enforcement data; there were no known investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of traffickers, including government employees complicit in forced labor or other trafficking crimes" (para 13). "Authorities penalized victims for unlawful acts traffickers compelled them to commit" (para 14). If women were trafficked in North Korea and forced to become prostitutes, they would be penalized even though they are victims of trafficking. (MCP -...more
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:44 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-3

"Some female North Koreans in the PRC working in restaurants or coffee shops are forced by their minders to engage in commercial sex acts with PRC national customers" (para 20). If these women are forced into sex acts with customers in their normal place of work, it's unlikely that they have any bargaining power with their clients (MCP - CODER COMMENT).
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:44 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-LAW-2

"The government did not report any efforts to prevent trafficking. Government oppression in the DPRK prompted North Koreans to flee the country in ways that heightened their risk of trafficking in destination countries. The government made no efforts to raise awareness of human trafficking. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, nor did it provide anti-trafficking training to its diplomatic personnel" (para 15).
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:44 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-LAW-1

"It is unclear whether DPRK laws criminalized sex trafficking or labor trafficking" (para 13).
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:41 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-5

"Lee So-yeon, a North Korean military musician who escaped the country in 2008, explained that, 'it might seem like a fancy show on the outside. However, they also have to go to parties and provide sexual services, that sort of pain also follows. They go to the central Politburo party’s events, and have to sleep with the people there, even if they don’t want it'" (para 6). If the women of North Korea are expected to sexually service political figures, then any crackdown on prostitution in North Korea probably does not apply to elite classes (MCP - CODER COMMENT). "One defector describes teenagers being pulled out of school to serve...more
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:41 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-3

"Lee So-yeon, a North Korean military musician who escaped the country in 2008, explained that, 'it might seem like a fancy show on the outside. However, they also have to go to parties and provide sexual services, that sort of pain also follows. They go to the central Politburo party’s events, and have to sleep with the people there, even if they don’t want it'" (para 6). Young women who are forced into prostitution in this way likely have no grounds to demand that elite clients wear condoms or set the ground rules for a sexual encounter (MCP - CODER COMMENT). "One defector describes teenagers being pulled out of school...more
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:37 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-5

"In practice, prostitution is a crime that is even punishable by public execution, mostly by firing squad. For example, in July 2020, the state executed six people including four party officials for operating a prostitution ring that involved female college students and senior officials in Pyongyang. Following a crackdown in August 2020, more than 50 female students from two prominent Pyongyang performing art colleges, who were reportedly driven into prostitution by poverty brought on by the endless demands for school fees, were sent to a labor camp for three to six months for their alleged involvement in a prostitution network that catered to Pyongyang’s elites" (para 5). "In March 2022,...more
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:37 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-LAW-1

"Article 249 of North Korea’s Criminal Code states that women who are caught engaging in prostitution can receive a punishment of up to one year of forced labor, and up to five years at a forced labor correctional facility in more serious cases" (para 4).
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:27 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-5

"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered authorities to act to prevent prostitution from spreading in the reclusive and impoverished nation, a resident of the northeastern city of Chongjin in North Hamgyong province told RFA on Monday" (para 2). "The Ministry of Social Security and the Socialist Patriotic Youth League are jointly conducting intensive crackdowns on prostitution and providing ideological education for young people to ensure they adhere to socialist mores, the Chongjin resident said. The two organizations have mobilized day and night patrols to surveil places where the crime occurs, such as train stations and parks" (para 8). "A resident of the city of Hamhung in the eastern province...more
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:27 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-LAW-5

"Though illegal, prostitution is generally tolerated in North Korea, with occasional crackdowns by local authorities looking to extract bribes from those they catch" (para 6).
Dec. 11, 2023, 7:27 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-LAW-1

"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered authorities to act to prevent prostitution from spreading in the reclusive and impoverished nation, a resident of the northeastern city of Chongjin in North Hamgyong province told RFA on Monday" (para 2). "Though illegal, prostitution is generally tolerated in North Korea, with occasional crackdowns by local authorities looking to extract bribes from those they catch" (para 6).
Oct. 24, 2023, 10:32 a.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: IRP-LAW-1

"A person who has engaged in prostitution multiple times shall be punished by short-term labour for less than two years. In cases where the person commits a grave offence, he or she shall be punished by reform through labour for less than two years" (p 43).
Oct. 12, 2023, 3:59 p.m.
Countries: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad/Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam
Variables: BR-SCALE-1

0
Sept. 29, 2023, 9:40 a.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: BR-DATA-1

"12.9 births per 1000 population"
June 17, 2023, 5:11 p.m.
Countries: Croatia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Uzbekistan
Variables: MARR-SCALE-2

0.0
June 1, 2023, 1:55 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: MARR-PRACTICE-8

Due to authoritarian, rigid enforcement of laws it is considered socially taboo and life threatening to engage in consanguineous marriage practices; as the consequence is likely death, it is highly likely that cousin marriage is very rare in practice (VC CODER COMMENT).
April 19, 2023, 6:17 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: GEW-PRACTICE-1

"State media meanwhile reported that orphans had 'volunteered' en masse to take jobs in dangerous industries, including mining, as 120,000 were believed to be subjected to forced labour, torture and other ill-treatment within North Korea's borders." (para 21).
April 19, 2023, 6:17 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: TRAFF-PRACTICE-1, IRP-LAW-2

"China - an ally of sorts - does not recognise North Korean refugee status and repatriates those who flee, where back home they are labelled 'traitors' and face forced labour, imprisonment without trial, and in some cases the death penalty. Unable to turn to the authorities for help, victims fleeing the North Korean regime are increasingly susceptible to criminal organisations who would exploit their situation for profit. Sofia Evangelou, North Korea Lead Legal Advisor for Global Rights Compliance, told MailOnline: 'For North Korean people to escape North Korea... the only way to do that is by receiving support from brokers. 'Many of them... deceive people, or take advantage of the...more