Chief executive of the government is elected in North Korea
North Korea: Chief executive of the government is elected was 0 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Chief executive of the government is elected in North Korea, 1948–2025
Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
North Korea recorded 0 for chief executive of the government is elected in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 78 years on record.
Over the whole period, chief executive of the government is elected in North Korea peaked at 1 in 1948 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1972.
North Korea ranks 166th of 198 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Chief executive of the government is elected in North Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 1 | — |
| 1949 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1973 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | 0 | — |
| 1980 | 0 | — |
| 1981 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | 0 | — |
| 1984 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | 0 | — |
| 1986 | 0 | — |
| 1987 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | 0 | — |
| 1989 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | 0 | — |
| 1998 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | — |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1950s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
- 166 Afghanistan 0 compare
- 166 Bahrain 0
- 166 Bangladesh 0 compare
- 166 Brunei 0
- 166 Burkina Faso 0 compare
- 166 China 0 compare
- 166 Eritrea 0
- 166 Eswatini 0 compare
- 166 Guinea-Bissau 0 compare
- 166 Haiti 0 compare
- 166 Iran 0
- 166 Jordan 0
- 166 Kuwait 0
- 166 Libya 0 compare
- 166 Liechtenstein 0
- 166 Madagascar 0 compare
- 166 Mali 0 compare
- 166 Monaco 0
- 166 Morocco 0
- 166 Myanmar 0 compare
- 166 Niger 0 compare
- 166 Oman 0
- 166 Palestine 0
- 166 Qatar 0
- 166 Saudi Arabia 0
- 166 Somalia 0 compare
- 166 South Sudan 0
- 166 Sudan 0 compare
- 166 Syria 0 compare
- 166 United Arab Emirates 0
- 166 Vatican 0
- 166 Yemen 0 compare
More public sector data for North Korea
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (1972)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (1972)
- Democracy 1 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is chief executive of the government is elected in North Korea?
- Chief executive of the government is elected in North Korea was 0 in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest chief executive of the government is elected recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 1948.
- What is the lowest chief executive of the government is elected recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1972.
- How does North Korea rank for chief executive of the government is elected?
- North Korea ranks 166th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Chief executive of the government is elected. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 78 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The variable indicates whether some citizens directly or indirectly elect the chief executive. It considers political system which do not govern themselves — such as due to external interventions, occupations, or colonization — as not holding executive elections.