Although the details of local administration have changed dramatically over time, the basic outline of the current three-tiered system was implemented under the reign of Gojong in 1895. A similar system also remains in use in South Korea.
Provinces (Korean:도;Hancha:道) are the highest-ranked administrative divisions in North Korea. Provinces have equal status to the special cities.
List of provinces
The populations listed for each province are from the 2008 North Korea Census. From this census, an additional 702,372 people are living in military camps.
North Korea claims seven provinces on the territory controlled by South Korea. While people's committees for these claimed provinces were elected in 1950 during the Korean War, no government-in-exile for them exists as of 2025, unlike the South Korean counterpart. These provinces are based on the divisions of the Japanese era, but correspond somewhat to the present South Korean provinces and the special cities partitioned out of them, owing to the alterations in the provincial division affected by South Korea being more conservative relatively to those affected by the north.
↑ [Provinces are the first level of division within North Korea. There are 9 provinces in North Korea: Chagang, North Hamgyong, South Hamgyong, North Hwanghae, South Hwanghae, Kangwon, North Pyongan, South Pyongan, and Ryanggang. "North Korea: Administrative Division"]. City Population. Retrieved 11 November 2024.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
1 Spans the conventional boundary between Asia and another continent.
2 Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in Western Asia.
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