Major Health Indicators in South and North Korea: With Special Reference to West and East Germany

Abstract

This study analyzed data from Statistics Korea, the German Federal Institute for Population Research, the Human Mortality Database, and the United Nations (UN) to examine changes in life expectancy at birth, mortality, infant mortality rate, and maternal mortality ratio between South and North Korea and between West and East Germany. The results were as follows. First, the difference in life expectancy at birth between South and North Korea (men 12 years, women 11 years) was higher than that between West and East Germany before unification (men 2.4 years, women 2.9 years). There is no difference in life expectancy among women in West and East Germany. Second, the mortality rate of North Korea was 60% higher than that of South Korea. After unification, the mortality rate of men in East Germany increased suddenly and life expectancy among East German men decreased over the subsequent few years. Third, compared to South Korea, the North Korean infant mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio was 8.7 and 8.8 times higher, respectively. The pre-unification differences in infant mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio between West and East Germany reduced shortly after reunification. The findings imply that the cost involved and the time needed to eliminate health inequality between South and North Korean individuals after unification may both be higher than that required to eliminate differences between individuals from East and West Germany. Thus, efforts are needed to reduce the differences in health between individuals from North and South Korea before unification.