Economic Overview Of North Korea

North Korea’s is one of the most undeveloped and backward economies of East Asia, and the reason is largely the extremely narrow and hard line stance adopted by the government. The communist leadership of North Korea has so completely centralised the economy and isolated it from the rest of the world that the country has slid further and further down since independence. Most industries are totally concentrated in the hands of the government; the military expenditure of the country takes top priority, leaving other more vital sectors starved- quite literally. The country is suffering a severe food shortage, which has led to widespread poverty and malnutrition.

Some facts:

GDP: US$22.6 billion
GDP per head: US$1,000
Inflation: Not available
Growth rate: 1%
Major industries: Military products; chemicals; mining; machinery;
metallurgy; food processing
Major trading partners:China, J