Seoul, Dec 26 (IANS): North Korea's economy retreated 0.1 per cent in 2021 from a year earlier, amid the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic coupled with international sanctions, new data showed on Monday.

The country's real gross domestic product (GDP) fell for the second consecutive year, following a 4.5-per cent on-year drop tallied in 2020, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

In 2021, the South Korean economy expanded 4.1 per cent from the previous year, reports Yonhap News Agency.

North Korea's per capita gross national income (GNI) stood at 1.42 million won last year. That of South Korea was 28 times higher at 40.4 million won.

North Korea's trade volume tumbled 17.3 per cent on-year to $710 million in 2021. Over the period, South Korea's trade advanced 28.5 percent to hit $1.2 trillion, around 1,766 times higher than the North.

China accounted for nearly all of the North's trade in 2021 at 95.6 per cent, followed by Vietnam and India with 1.7 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

The North's output of food crops in 2021, meanwhile, reached 4.69 million tonnes, up 6.7 per cent from a year earlier. It hovered above 4.46 million tonnes posted by South Korea.

North Korea's population stood at 25.48 million last year, compared with South Korea's 51.75 million.

North Korean men had a life expectancy of 67 years last year, while women were expected to live to 73.8 years.

South Korean men, in comparison, were expected to live to 80.9, and female life expectancy came to 86.8.