Preface North Korea suffers from chronic energy shortages. Rolling blackouts are common, even in the nation’s capital, while some of the poorest citizens receive state-provided electricity only once a year.
Nevertheless, the inequality in electricity allocation has worsened in the last few years, the source confirmed. In a new version of the “The CIA World Factbook” released on Feb. 6, the CIA stated that 26% of North Korea’s population had access to electricity in 2019, with only 11% of the population in rural areas receiving electricity.
Access to solar panels has created capacity where the state falls short, but the overall energy security challenges facing the nation are daunting. This report, “North Korea’s Energy Sector,” is a compilation of articles published on 38 North in 2023 that surveyed North Korea’s energy production facilities and infrastructure.
Based on these figures, only one in four people in the country has access to electricity. In fact, due to the recent decrease in the daily electricity supply and inconsistent supplies of electricity, North Koreans have frequently had days with “zero-electricity usage,” the source explained.
Despite its domestic electricity shortage, North Korea is a net exporter of electricity to China. Electricity so far has not been sanctioned under United Nations Security Council Resolutions, and as such, has become a more important source of revenue generation for Pyongyang since foreign trade has declined over the last decade.
While the regime regularly promises to solve the electricity problem, the vast majority of North Koreans remain severely energy deprived. Those in Pyongyang may get power every day, though with rolling blackouts. But for some in the more remote areas of the country, this could mean only getting power one day a year.