Measure
Annual changes
Down 1 ranking in 2020 for comprehensive power.
Lost 1.6 points (−12% change) in overall score.
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Analysis
North Korea is a middle power in Asia.
North Korea’s ranking for relative power has dropped by one place from last year, having been overtaken by the Philippines.
The country’s fall in relative power is driven largely by a precipitous drop of seven rankings in the diplomatic influence measure, after meetings between the leaders of North Korea and the United States failed to translate into meaningful concessions for Pyongyang.
North Korea’s best performance continues to be in military capability, where it again placed 6th. Its lowest rankings are in the economic relationships and cultural influence measures, coming in at 26th place, reflecting the country’s economic and cultural isolation from the broader region.
Despite access to nuclear weapons, North Korea exerts less influence in the region than expected given its available resources. Its negative power gap further deteriorated in 2020.
Read more analysis in the Key Findings report. Explore further results in the Scores section.
Scores
Comprehensive power
A country’s weighted average across eight measures of power
17th −1
12.3
Rank
Change
Trend
Score
Economic capability
Economic size and attributes with the most geopolitical relevance
19th
— 2.7
Military capability
Conventional military strength
6th
28.5
Resilience
Capacity to deter real or potential threats to state stability
11th −1
34.8
Future resources
Projected distribution of future economic, military and demographic resources
14th −1
6.1
Economic relationships
The capacity to exercise influence and leverage through economic interdependencies
26th
— 0.0
Defence networks
Defence partnerships that act as force multipliers of military capability
21st
5.9
Diplomatic influence
The extent and standing of a state’s foreign relations
23rd −7
21.3
Cultural influence
Ability to shape international public opinion through cultural appeal and interaction
26th
0.7