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Country import demand

Democratic People's Republic of Korea
import demand

A reported view of Democratic People's Republic of Korea's import scale, sector demand, supplier breadth, economy, and trade history.

Explore import sectors Open country workspace
PRK1995-2024 coverage270 active partner marketsMacro trend unavailable
Latest imports$2.0B2024 reported
Import growth-22.2%Year on year
Population26.5MReported population
GDP per capita$0.0Current-dollar GDP
Trade openness0%Exports + imports / GDP

The country import read

What does Democratic People's Republic of Korea import?

In 2024, Democratic People's Republic of Korea recorded $2.0B in reported imports. Imports changed -22.2% year on year and +43.1% annualized over three years. Prepared feathers and hair was the largest displayed import sector.

Import history

A long view of demand

Latest twelve years from the reported country series.

Reported imports by year

2013
$4.5B
2014
$4.5B
2015
$4.1B
2016
$3.6B
2017
$3.9B
2018
$2.9B
2019
$3.2B
2020
$957.8M
2021
$668.9M
2022
$1.8B
2023
$2.5B
2024
$2.0B

Demand drivers

The economy behind import demand

Macro and structural indicators add context to reported imports.

GDP$0.02024 macro context
GDP growth0%Five-year CAGR
Population growth0.4%Five-year CAGR
Investment rate0%National rate
Savings rate0%National rate
Trade openness0%Exports + imports / GDP

Import portfolio

The sectors shaping demand

All returned HS2 sectors ranked by latest import value.

Import demand by HS2All returned · 2024
Leading import sectors for Democratic People's Republic of Korea
RankSectorImportsShareImport partnersActive HS6
1Prepared feathers and hairHS2 67$174.1M8.9%17
2Ores, slag and ashHS2 26$19.6K0%17
3Iron and steelHS2 72$393.4K0%430
4Mineral fuelsHS2 27$50.0M2.6%314
5Clocks and watchesHS2 91$27.1M1.4%123
6VehiclesHS2 87$17.8K0%278
7Inorganic chemicalsHS2 28$34.6M1.8%459
8Electrical machineryHS2 85$3.4M0.2%7139
9MachineryHS2 84$516.6K0%6182
10PlasticsHS2 39$231.3M11.8%5127

Import values are reported observations. Full rows remain in the downloads.

Supply diversification

Where import exposure is spread

Partner breadth, concentration, access, and distance add supplier context.

Supplier markets270Reported partner count
Partner concentration6,593.3Partner HHI
Top 3 partner share85%Reported concentration
FTA partner markets0Reported count
Average distance9,436 kmCalculated average
Macro resilienceMacro trend unavailableCountry context
Complete country valuesOpen the full import evidenceFull profile, history, and HS2 sector fields remain available here and in the downloads.

Profile fields

Year2,024
Country Iso3PRK
Exports Usd$406.7M
Imports Usd$2.0B
Trade Balance Usd-$1.6B
Yoy Exports Growth Pct-22.8%
Yoy Imports Growth Pct-22.2%
Exports Cagr 3y Pct19.1%
Imports Cagr 3y Pct43.1%
Export Partner Hhi6,593.3
Export Product Hhi1,939.8
Momentum Score-10.3
Risk Score42.7
Gdp Million Usd0 million USD
Gdp Per Capita Usd$0.0
Population26,498,823
Labor ForceNot reported
Investment Rate PctNot reported
Savings Rate PctNot reported
Secondary Education PctNot reported
Tertiary Education PctNot reported
Total Factor ProductivityNot reported
Trade Openness PctNot reported
Exports Gdp PctNot reported
Num Active Partners270
Num Fta Partners0
Num Wto Partners169
Num Eu Partners28
Num Shared Border Partners3%
Num Shared Language Partners1%
Avg Partner Distance Km9,436 km
Avg Partner Gdp Million Usd533,678,518.3 million USD
Avg Partner Gdp Per Capita Usd$15.8
Avg Buyer Biz Entry DaysNot reported
Avg Buyer Biz Entry Cost PctNot reported
Pct Partners With Fta0
Pct Partners Shared Language0.4%
Pct Partners Shared Border1.1%
Avg Applied Tariff PctNot reported
Avg Mfn Tariff PctNot reported
Avg Preferential Tariff PctNot reported
Tariff Advantage PpNot reported
Avg Distance All Partners Km9,532 km
Num Border Partners60
Num Colonial Partners20
Avg Substitution Elasticity-7.9
Pct Products High Elasticity64.8
Pct Products Low Elasticity4.8
Real Market Potential1,627,723.1
Foreign Market Potential15,893.7

Supplier context

Country Iso3PRK
All History Lane Count6,919
Current Lane Count178
Critical Lane Count1
High Attention Lane Count21
High Volatility Lane Count89
Unrecovered Drawdown Lane Count65
Declining Demand Lane Count0
Concentrated Market Lane Count83
Access Friction Lane Count121
Buyer Macro Weakness Lane Count8
Monitored Exports Current Usd$358.3M
Attention Exports Usd$264.7M
Critical Exports Usd$16.0M
High Volatility Exports Usd$300.0M
Unrecovered Drawdown Exports Usd$45.9M
Non Fta Exports Usd$358.2M
Monitored Attention Share Pct73.9%
Monitored Critical Share Pct4.5%
Fta Covered Exports Share Pct0%
Export Weighted Volatility Cv1.6
Export Weighted Below Peak Pct12.5%
Export Weighted Distance Km1,894 km
Export Weighted Tariff PctNot reported
Latest Data Year2,024
First Data Year1,995
Country Years Count30
Total Exports Latest Usd$406.7M
Total Imports Latest Usd$2.0B
Trade Balance Latest Usd-$1.6B
Exports Yoy Latest Pct-22.8%
Exports Cagr 3y Latest Pct19.1%
Gdp Latest Million Usd0 million USD
Gdp Per Capita Latest Usd$0.0
Population Latest26,498,823
Investment Rate Latest PctNot reported
Savings Rate Latest PctNot reported
Trade Openness Latest PctNot reported
Exports Gdp Latest PctNot reported
Active Partners Latest270
Fta Partners Latest0
Foreign Market Potential Latest15,893.7
Gdp 5y Cagr PctNot reported
Gdp Per Capita 5y Cagr PctNot reported
Population 5y Cagr Pct0.4%
Partner Hhi Latest6,593.3
Partner Top1 Share Latest Pct81.1%
Partner Top3 Share Latest Pct85%
Partner Hhi All Avg2,983.1
Partner Hhi All Max7,674.3
Product Hhi Latest1,939.8
Product Top1 Share Latest Pct42.2%
Product Top3 Share Latest Pct55.3%
Product Hhi All Avg622.1
Product Hhi All Max1,939.8
Total Exports Attention Share Pct65.1%
Total Exports Critical Share Pct3.9%
Attention LevelWatch
Primary Risk DriverMarket access exposure
Macro Resilience LabelMacro trend unavailable

Annual import history

YearImportsExportsBalanceImports YoY
1995$1.3B$927.6M-$353.9M+0%
1996$1.3B$916.8M-$353.2M-0.9%
1997$1.3B$1.3B-$49.5M+5.5%
1998$1.1B$911.6M-$159.2M-20.1%
1999$1.1B$906.9M-$235.7M+6.7%
2000$1.7B$1.1B-$632.2M+48.1%
2001$2.9B$918.8M-$2.0B+72.6%
2002$1.9B$957.1M-$903.0M-36.3%
2003$1.6B$973.5M-$659.9M-12.2%
2004$2.3B$1.2B-$1.1B+42.2%
2005$2.4B$1.8B-$641.0M+4.9%
2006$2.7B$1.7B-$1.0B+12.2%
2007$3.1B$2.5B-$665.2M+14%
2008$4.3B$2.1B-$2.2B+38.6%
2009$2.9B$1.4B-$1.5B-31.9%
2010$3.6B$2.0B-$1.6B+23.1%
2011$3.8B$3.2B-$644.6M+6.3%
2012$4.2B$3.0B-$1.3B+9.9%
2013$4.5B$3.4B-$1.0B+5.3%
2014$4.5B$3.8B-$621.4M+0.2%
2015$4.1B$2.9B-$1.1B-8.5%
2016$3.6B$3.3B-$340.6M-11.4%
2017$3.9B$1.9B-$2.1B+8.2%
2018$2.9B$339.9M-$2.6B-25.1%
2019$3.2B$396.2M-$2.8B+8.5%
2020$957.8M$219.2M-$738.7M-69.9%
2021$668.9M$240.5M-$428.4M-30.2%
2022$1.8B$427.8M-$1.4B+173.2%
2023$2.5B$527.2M-$2.0B+37.9%
2024$2.0B$406.7M-$1.6B-22.2%

Import sectors

RankHS2SectorImportsShareImport partnersActive HS6
167Prepared feathers and hair$174.1M8.9%17
226Ores, slag and ash$19.6K0%17
372Iron and steel$393.4K0%430
427Mineral fuels$50.0M2.6%314
591Clocks and watches$27.1M1.4%123
687Vehicles$17.8K0%278
728Inorganic chemicals$34.6M1.8%459
885Electrical machinery$3.4M0.2%7139
984Machinery$516.6K0%6182
1039Plastics$231.3M11.8%5127

Questions about this profile

Democratic People's Republic of Korea import demand, in context

Short answers for import and supplier research.

What does the Democratic People's Republic of Korea import profile measure?

It combines reported imports, annual history, HS2 sectors, supplier breadth, economy context, and calculated indicators for Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

What is the latest reported import value for Democratic People's Republic of Korea?

Democratic People's Republic of Korea recorded $2.0B in reported imports in 2024.

Which sectors lead Democratic People's Republic of Korea's imports?

Prepared feathers and hair leads by reported import value at $174.1M.

How many years of Democratic People's Republic of Korea import history are available?

This profile contains 30 annual rows covering 1995 through 2024.

What drives import demand?

GDP, population, investment, savings, and trade openness provide demand context.

Are the growth and concentration values forecasts?

No. They are calculated or classified from reported observations, not forecasts or guarantees.

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Data source

OECD trade statistics with CEPII context

OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-29). OECD BIMTS is the primary trade series for this view. Supporting bilateral trade context uses CEPII BACI bilateral trade flows (202601) under Etalab 2.0 Open Licence. Yugalinks presents derived views of reported observations and calculated indicators. Data terms: OECD Terms & Conditions.