🇰🇵 North Korea: Politics & Democracy
By V-Dem's measure, no — North Korea scores 1.4 on the 0–100 liberal democracy index, which places it firmly in the autocratic range.
Current leaders
Kim Jong-un
Head of State · Workers’ Party of Korea
Pak Thae-song
Head of Government · Workers’ Party of Korea
Democracy trend
Voting alignment
North Korea's closest UN General Assembly voting partners since 1946:
Frequently asked questions
Is North Korea a democracy?
By V-Dem's measure, no — North Korea scores 1.4 on the 0–100 liberal democracy index, which places it firmly in the autocratic range. It ranks #178 of 179 countries in 2025.
Is democracy in North Korea improving or declining?
North Korea's V-Dem liberal democracy score has essentially unchanged over the past decade, standing at 1.4 in 2025 (1-year change: 0.0).
Who leads North Korea?
Kim Jong-un is North Korea's head of state (Workers’ Party of Korea); Pak Thae-song serves as head of government (Workers’ Party of Korea).