Economy of North Korea
Estimating gross national product in North Korea is a difficult task because of a dearth of economic data and the problem of choosing an appropriate rate of exchange for the North Korean won, the nonconvertible North Korean currency. The South Korean government's estimate placed North Korea's GNP in 1991 at US$22.9 billion, or US$1,038 per capita. In contrast, South Korea posted US$237.9 billion of GNP and a per capita income of US$5,569 in 1991. North Korea's GNP in 1991 showed a 5.2% decline from 1989, and preliminary indications were that the decline would continue. South Korea's GNP, by contrast, expanded by 9.3% and 8.4%, respectively, in 1990 and 1991.
North Korean won
Since 2001, the North Korean government has abandoned the iconic rate of 2.16 won to the dollar (which is said to have been based upon Kim Jong-il's birthday, February 16) and banks in the country now issue at rates closer to the black market rate. More recent official rates have shown the North Korean won () to be ₩129.559 to the US dollar. However, rampant inflation has been eroding the North Korean won value. A report by defectors from North Korea claimed that the black market rate was ₩570 to the Chinese yuan (or about ₩4,000 per U.S. dollar) in June 2009. As of December 6, 2018, xe.com, a website that publishes mid-market currency exchange rates, lists the exchange rate at ₩900.073 to US$1.00.