Programme in the DPRK held on Nov. 30 1998. Approximately 6 million people belong to cooperatives, with an average of about 1,900 to 2,000 people per cooperative including members and their dependents. A member is defined as someone who earns his or her living by participating in the collective enterprise of the cooperative. A resident is simply a person living on the cooperative as a function of marriage or dependency, i.e. children or retired relatives of active members. The numbers and sizes of villages within a cooperative also vary, although there reportedly is a guideline to the effect that villages should consist of approximately 40 houses.
Cooperatives also have crucial social and welfare functions in rural areas.
They are also involved in the provision of educational and health services. They are further responsible for water supply and sanitation, and for the provision of housing. They help finance and manage facilities for education and recreation. At the moment, they also furnish the basic organizational structure for flood relief and food distribution efforts. The means of production on cooperatives are legally owned by their members, not by the State.