Similarities Between China And North Korea

Country Comparison

China and North Korea

China is the most populated country today, but is also considered to be country with the fasted growing economy. It is one of the few countries that follows communism, and the only country that does so successfully. Its communist party retains its power monopoly as well as a strict control over the people. China is the highest exporter and has billions invested all over the world. China has a very strong culture in place that dates back over 4000 years. One of the major issues faced by China is that of disparity between the urban and rural population. They also face issues like corruption, increasing number of HIV cases as well as environmental degradation. Its demographics are also giving rise to problems.

China is also criticized for torturing its civilians. China is, however, a high income country (BBC News).
North Korea is a country that has no shortages of problems but it does face a shortage of food.

It is one of the few countries that is still following communism. It has always adopted a more isolated approach to its dealings with the rest of the world. The country follows a philosophy of self reliance. The state is rigid in its dealings and the overall system is totalitarian. Millions of people have dies as a result of food shortages and natural disasters. The country is highly dependant on foreign aid. Practices such as slavery, public executions, infanticides, forced abortions, etc have started cropping up and are in violation with the Human Rights Act. North Koreas nuclear policy has also increased tensions with the rest of the world. It has a very hostile relationship with its counterpart South Korea. Its powerful neighbor China has previously supported North Korea, but due to the nuclear programmes implemented by North Korea, China is getting frustrated and embarrassed. North Korea is subsequently a low-income country (BBC

News).
Both China and North Korea are neighbors. China is much larger than North Korea in size and population. Both countries are two of the few remaining countries still following communism, but their economic conditions are very different. Thus, the comparison would be interesting.
If we talk about the demographic trends of the two countries, comparison wouldn’t be accurate, as China is much larger geographically. Graph 1 demonstrates the demographic trends in China and Graph 2 shows the demographic trends in North Korea.

Graph 1

Graph 2

Both countries have an almost equal distribution of male and females. If we look at the age distribution, China has the highest ratio of 40-50 year olds. 20-30 year olds also form a major part of its population. After 50’s, the population ratio falls consistently. It should also be noted that the ratio of 0-20 year olds has fallen significantly. The total dependency ratio of China is 37.4%, youth dependency ratio is 24.9%, elderly dependency ratio is 12.5%.
North Korea has the highest ratio of 40-50 year olds. But the difference is not that big. Their population ratio falls consistently after the age of 50. The total dependency ratio of North Korea is 44.9%, youth dependency ratio is 31.1% and elderly dependency ratio is 13.8%.
Graph 3 shows the fertility trends in China and Graph 4 shows the fertility trends in North Korea.

Graph 3

Graph 4

In China, after the induction of the one child policy, the average fertility rates have fallen. From an average of 5.5 births per woman, it has fallen to 1.1 and is still falling. The population growth rate is 0.44%.
If we look at North Koreas fertility rates, it has seen a sharp decline. It started off at 4.5 births per woman in 1960’s and has fallen to an average of 2 births per woman by 2014. The population growth rate is 0.53%.
The birth rate at China is 12.17 births per 1000 people. The death rate is 7.44 deaths per 1000 people. 50.6% of the population is urban with a 2.85% annual rate of urbanization. The life expectancy at birth is 75.15 years. The overall risk of major infectious diseases is intermediate. The literacy rate is 95.1% (Indexmundi.com).
The birth rate at North Korea is 14.51 births per 1000 people.

The death rate is 9.18 deaths per 1000 people. 60.3% of the population is urban with a 0.63% annual rate of urbanization. The life expectancy at birth is 69.81 years. The overall risk of major infectious diseases is risky. The literacy rate is 100% (Indexmundi.com).

If we look at the economic conditions of the two countries, China is very strong economically. It is the world largest exporter. The GDP has increased 10 times since 1978. In 2011, the real growth rate GDP was 9.3%. In 2012 it fell to 7.7% and in remained constant at 7.7% in 2013. In 2013 the GDP (purchasing power parity) of China stands at a whopping $13.39 trillion.

North Korea is seen as a closed economy. North Korea has one of the largest military forces in the world and most of its budget is allocated to military. The government has the aim to being a “strong and prosperous” nation. The major concern of the government is retaining control. The GDP growth rate was -0.5% in 2010. It increased to 0.8% in 2011 and in 2012 it further rose to

1.3%.
Both China and North Korea are geographically neighbors. Both follow communism with the government retaining most of the control. However, China is one of the most powerful nations economically, whereas, North Korea has low living standards and is economically very weak. China has seen a fall in its low age demographic which was a result of the 1 child policy put in place. Also the culture prevailing in China places more emphasis on work and the concept of family life is falling. Because of this many individuals chose not to have kids. North Korea has also seen a fall in its fertility. This can be accounted to poor living conditions. Child mortality rates are also high. Poverty rates are also high. A forced abortion is also a trend that is seen in North Korea. The age distribution in China has approximately 37% dependants, whereas in North Korea it is almost 50%. However, in the future the dependants would increase in China and as the low age group is of a smaller ratio, providers would be fewer in number. The age expectancy in both countries is almost similar. The birth rates as well as death rates in North Korea are slightly higher than that of Chinas. The rate of urbanization is higher in China. Although it can be seen form all these figures that China is more developed than North Korea, the factors that make the biggest difference are the economic superiority of China. China has invested billions globally; whereas, North Korea is shut off in comparison. To conclude, although China and North Korea both follow communism, the modernized implementation of the same has resulted in China being a high income state.

References
BBC News,. 'China Profile'. N.p., 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
BBC News,. 'North Korea Country Profile'. N.p., 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Indexmundi.com,. 'China - Country Profile - 2013'. N.p., 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Indexmundi.com,. 'North Korea Economy - Overview - Economy'. N.p., 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.