Poverty in North Korea

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Poverty in North Korea is extensive, though reliable statistics are hard to come by due to lack of reliable research, pervasive censorship and extensive media manipulation in North Korea."There are no reliable statistics about the poverty rate in North Korea; however, International relief organizations observed severe economic damage and many Koreans suffering from chronic food shortage". Quote from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Economic Overview, The Eurasia Center. [http://www.eurasiacenter.org/country%20reports/east%20asia/North%20Korea%20Economic%20Overview.doc] [https://web.archive.org/web/20150924003018/http://www.eurasiacenter.org/country%20reports/east%20asia/North%20Korea%20Economic%20Overview.doc archive]{{unreliable source?|date=April 2020}}

Poverty in North Korea has been widely reported by Western media sources{{cite book|author=Hy-Sang Lee|title=North Korea: A Strange Socialist Fortress|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Rx8Q_cxqvkC&pg=PR11|year=2001|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-96917-2|page=11}}{{cite book|author=Hugh Dyson Walker|title=East Asia: A New History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Z3a0NU4RHMC&pg=PA657|date=November 2012|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4772-6516-1|page=657}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11260650/Six-charts-that-show-how-North-Korea-became-the-most-miserable-place-on-earth.html | title=Six charts that show how North Korea became the most miserable place on earth| date=December 2014| last1=Khan| first1=Mehreen}} with the majority referring to the famine that affected the country in the mid-1990s.{{cite book|author1=Professor Tae-Hwan Kwak|author2=Professor Seung-Ho Joo|title=North Korea and Security Cooperation in Northeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eumKBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|date=28 March 2014|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4724-1786-2|page=65}} A 2006 report suggests that North Korea required an estimated 5.3m tonnes of grain per year while harvesting only an estimated 4.5m tonnes, and thus relies on foreign aid to overcome the deficit.{{Cite web| title=A Matter of Survival - The North Korean Government’s Control of Food and the Risk of Hunger | url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/northkorea0506webwcover.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201151114/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/northkorea0506webwcover.pdf | archive-date=2008-12-01}} Starvation continues to be a systemic problem. In 2021, there were reports of widespread starvation in North Korea.{{Cite news |date=2021-11-05 |title=As winter looms, reports of starvation in North Korea |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59144712 |access-date=2023-03-03}}

Poverty in North Korea has also been attributed to poor governance by the government and sanctions.{{cite web |title=Global Profile of Extreme Poverty |url=https://resources.unsdsn.org/global-profile-of-extreme-poverty |website=Sustainable Development Solutions Network |date=10 October 2012 }} It is estimated that in 2020, 60% of the North Korean population were living below the poverty line.{{cite journal |last1=Crespo Cuaresma |first1=Jesús |last2=Danylo |first2=Olha |last3=Fritz |first3=Steffen |last4=Hofer |first4=Martin |last5=Kharas |first5=Homi |last6=Laso Bayas |first6=Juan Carlos |title=What do we know about poverty in North Korea? |journal=Palgrave Communications |date=17 March 2020 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.1057/s41599-020-0417-4 |doi-access=free }}