Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in North Korea?
In 2026, North Korea scores 19 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is 198th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 187th to 198th allowing for scoring error, in the Poor band (0 to 24). Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
The government decides, with limited say for the person. No right is above the typical country. The closest is your say over research use (40 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country). The furthest behind is privacy and security (15 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country).
North Korean law gives patients no right to their records and no say over sharing, while the UN finds state surveillance growing.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Poor band, 0 to 24
19/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 187th to 198th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 15 out of 100 in North Korea; the typical country scores 40 to 45. No law we read gives a patient the right to see or copy their medical record. The Medical Law says a diagnosis is told to the patient, but a diagnosis judged harmful to treatment may be told only to the guardian. Source: Unification Law Database, Ministry of Government Legislation, Seoul, November 20, 2012, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in North Korea?
In 2026, the government holds the keys to your health record in North Korea. Control over who sees it scores 20 out of 100 in North Korea; the typical country scores 30. Patients must consent to surgery and to the use of organs, but the Medical Law makes hospitals register every patient found in check-ups and report them to the 'relevant bodies'. We found no choice over sharing and no access log. Source: Unification Law Database, Ministry of Government Legislation, Seoul, November 20, 2012, and the other sources below.
How does North Korea compare?
In 2026, North Korea scores 19 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Afghanistan (20 out of 100), Myanmar (22 out of 100) and Cambodia (25 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Afghanistan, Myanmar, Cambodia and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
15
20 · 18 · 25
Control over who sees it20%
20
20 · 24 · 25
Privacy and security15%
15
20 · 22 · 30
One record across your care15%
20
18 · 20 · 22
Protection from sale and ads10%
20
22 · 28 · 25
Doctors see it when treating you10%
15
15 · 15 · 20
Your say over research use5%
40
30 · 43 · 45
Rules for AI in your care5%
18
15 · 25 · 18
Black dot: North Korea. Hollow dots: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Cambodia (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: North Korea 19 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would North Korea need to change to score higher?
North Korea sits in Poor (0 to 24); Weak starts at 25. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are getting your full record (15 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country) and privacy and security (15 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Getting your full record: A national portal that shows most people at least part of their record (a summary, prescriptions, lab results) puts this right at 60 to 75 out of 100. A near-full record that you can download, with a long history and used by most people, puts it at 76 to 90.
Privacy and security: A health data regulator that is independent and actually acts: it decides cases about health records, breaches must be reported, and fines are applied.
Which laws give health record rights in North Korea?
Medical Law (1997 (amended 2012)): Records must be kept; diagnosis may be told only to guardian; patients registered and reported to authorities.
Public Health Law (1980 (amended 2012)): Promises free care and section doctors; state leads medical research; no data or confidentiality rules.
Socialist Constitution, Article 49 (2026): Revised health clause drops universal free care, section doctors and preventive medicine wording.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
31.0 2024
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
44.5 2024
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
unknown
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
April 7, 2025 · Radio Free Asia (Korean service) North Korean hospitals post a fee for diagnosis certificates as free care fades
In 2026, North Korea scored 19 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, 198th of 198 countries and territories (could be 187th to 198th), in the Poor band. Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/north-korea/
The 12 sources for North Korea
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (2 sources)
“Medical Law of the DPRK, 2012 text”
Unification Law Database, Ministry of Government Legislation, Seoul (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated November 20, 2012 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Privacy and security; Doctors see it when treating you; Your say over research use
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OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/north-korea/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
