The Economic Hardship and Famine since the 1990s of North Korea and Its Impact on the Population Dynamics

This study examines the way in which economic hardship of North Korea has affected population dynamics since the 1990s. The effects of food shortage on vital statistics such as fertility, mortality, and migration and population structure are estimated. Data for population estimate used the North Korea’s two censuses of 1993 and 2008, sample surveys with defectors from North Korea living in South Korea and in-depth interview with several respondents.
The result highlights that the effect of North Korea’s food shortage on the population dynamics has at least lasted until 2008. Economic hardship of North Korea was not a short term or accidental shock rather it was a long term and chronic suffering, under which many people lost their life, interrupted their reproduction and escaped the country for their survival. amount of population loss due to the economic hardship was estimated to be amount to 880,000 persons between 1993 and 2008. Among this population loss, about 490,000 people were lost due to mortality increase, about 290,000 were lost due to fertility decline, and about 100,000 were lost due to exodus and its effect on fertility decline.