Extreme poverty
During the 1990s, North Korea was ravaged by famine, causing the death of between 500,000 and 3,000,000 people. Food shortages are ongoing today, with factors such as bad weather, lack of fertiliser and a drop in international donation meaning that North Koreans do not have enough to eat. A study of North Koreans in 2008 found that three-quarters of respondents had reduced their food intake. Extreme poverty is also a factor in the hunger faced by North Korean people, with 27% of the population living at or below the absolute poverty line of less than US$1 a day.