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Compare Aruba (2008) - Korea, North (2006)

Compare Aruba (2008) z Korea, North (2006)

 Aruba (2008)Korea, North (2006)
 ArubaKorea, North
Administrative divisions none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)


provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang)


municipalites: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)
Age structure 0-14 years: 19.7% (male 9,943/female 9,761)


15-64 years: 70.2% (male 33,553/female 36,661)


65 years and over: 10.1% (male 4,046/female 6,054) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 23.8% (male 2,788,944/female 2,708,331)


15-64 years: 68% (male 7,762,442/female 7,955,522)


65 years and over: 8.2% (male 667,792/female 1,229,988) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products aloes; livestock; fish rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports 1 (2007) 77 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
total: 36


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 22


1,524 to 2,437 m: 8


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 3 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 41


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 20


914 to 1,523 m: 13


under 914 m: 7 (2006)
Area total: 193 sq km


land: 193 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than Washington, DC slightly smaller than Mississippi
Background Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il-so'ng, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development, as well as its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and massive conventional armed forces, are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations that the DPRK was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the US to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In January 2003, it declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Since August 2003, North Korea has participated in the Six-Party Talks with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US designed to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs. The fourth round of Six-Party Talks were held in Beijing during July-September 2005. All parties agreed to a Joint Statement of Principles in which, among other things, the six parties unanimously reaffirmed the goal of verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner. In the Joint Statement, the DPRK committed to "abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning, at an early date, to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to IAEA safeguards." The Joint Statement also commits the US and other parties to certain actions as the DPRK denuclearizes. The US offered a security assurance, specifying that it had no nuclear weapons on ROK territory and no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nuclear or other weapons. The US and DPRK will take steps to normalize relations, subject to the DPRK's implementing its denuclearization pledge and resolving other longstanding concerns. While the Joint Statement provides a vision of the end-point of the Six-Party process, much work lies ahead to implement the elements of the agreement.
Birth rate 12.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 15.54 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $507.9 million


expenditures: $577.9 million (2005 est.)
revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA
Capital name: Oranjestad


geographic coordinates: 12 31 N, 70 02 W


time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
name: Pyongyang


geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E


time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline 68.5 km 2,495 km
Constitution 1 January 1986 adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Aruba
conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea


conventional short form: North Korea


local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk


local short form: Choson


abbreviation: DPRK
Death rate 7.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 7.13 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external $478.6 million (2005 est.) $12 billion (1996 est.)
Dependency status member country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs -
Diplomatic representation from the US the US does not have an embassy in Aruba; the Consul General to Netherlands Antilles is accredited to Aruba none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power
Diplomatic representation in the US none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - Mr. Henry BAARH, Minister Plenipotentiary for Aruba at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Disputes - international none China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens of thousands of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers and a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South over the Northern Limit Line; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)
Economic aid - recipient $11.3 million (2004) $NA; note - approximately 350,000 metric tons in food aid, worth approximately $118 million, through the World Food Program appeal in 2004, plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations
Economy - overview Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban economy, with offshore banking and oil refining and storage also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Over 1.5 million tourists per year visit Aruba, with 75% of those from the US. Construction continues to boom, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the country's oil refinery reopened in 1993, providing a major source of employment, foreign exchange earnings, and growth. Tourist arrivals have rebounded strongly following a dip after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The island experiences only a brief low season, and hotel occupancy in 2004 averaged 80%, compared to 68% throughout the rest of the Caribbean. The government has made cutting the budget and trade deficits a high priority. North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and shortages of spare parts. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. Despite an increased harvest in 2005 because of more stable weather conditions, fertilizer assistance from South Korea, and an extraordinary mobilization of the population to help with agricultural production, the nation has suffered its 11th year of food shortages because of on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, and chronic shortages of tractors and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape mass starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2004, the regime formalized an arrangement whereby private "farmers markets" were allowed to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. In October 2005, the regime reversed some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. In December 2005, the regime confirmed that it intended to carry out earlier threats to terminate all international humanitarian assistance operations in the DPRK (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and to restrict the activities of international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations.
Electricity - consumption 716.1 million kWh (2005) 17.43 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 770 million kWh (2005) 18.75 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m
Environment - current issues NA water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
Environment - international agreements - party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%, other 20% racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - NA (2007), 1.79 (2006), 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003) official: North Korean won per US dollar - 170 (December 2004), 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002)
Executive branch chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980); represented by Governor General Fredis REFUNJOL (since 11 May 2004)


head of government: Prime Minister Nelson O. ODUBER (since 30 October 2001)


cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten


elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held in 2005 (next to be held by 2009)


election results: Nelson O. ODUBER elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA
chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam president of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju premier


head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003)


cabinet: Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA


elections: last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008)


election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed
Exports 230,600 bbl/day (2004) NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, fishery products
Exports - partners Netherlands 27.7%, Panama 25.5%, Colombia 12.8%, Venezuela 11.1%, US 9.4%, Netherlands Antilles 7.1% (2006) China 45.6%, South Korea 20.2%, Japan 12.9% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description blue, with two narrow, horizontal, yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 0.4%


industry: 33.3%


services: 66.3% (2002 est.)
agriculture: 30%


industry: 34%


services: 36% (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.4% (2005 est.) 1% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 12 30 N, 69 58 W 40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note a flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches; its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports - 22 (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs transit point for US- and Europe-bound narcotics with some accompanying money-laundering activity; relatively high percentage of population consumes cocaine for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003
Imports 235,000 bbl/day (2004) 22,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain
Imports - partners US 53.6%, Netherlands 12.9%, UK 3.6% (2006) China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004)
Independence none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate NA% NA%
Industries tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism
Infant mortality rate total: 14.75 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 19.59 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 9.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total: 23.29 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 24.97 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 21.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.4% (2005) NA%
International organization participation Caricom (observer), ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITUC, UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Irrigated land 0.01 sq km (1998 est.) 14,600 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Common Court of Justice of Aruba (judges are appointed by the monarch) Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force 41,500 (2004 est.) 9.6 million
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: NA%


note: most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining
agriculture: 36%


industry and services: 64%
Land boundaries 0 km total: 1,673 km


border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use arable land: 10.53%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 89.47% (2005)
arable land: 22.4%


permanent crops: 1.66%


other: 75.94% (2005)
Languages Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 66.3%, Spanish 12.6%, English (widely spoken) 7.7%, Dutch (official) 5.8%, other 2.2%, unspecified or unknown 5.3% (2000 census) Korean
Legal system based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 23 September 2005 (next to be held in 2009)


election results: percent of vote by party - MEP 43%, AVP 32%, MPA 7%, RED 7%, PDR 6%, OLA 4%, PPA 2%; seats by party - MEP 11, AVP 8, MPA 1, RED 1
unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties
Life expectancy at birth total population: 74.83 years


male: 71.8 years


female: 77.91 years (2007 est.)
total population: 71.65 years


male: 68.92 years


female: 74.51 years (2006 est.)
Literacy definition: NA


total population: 97.3%


male: 97.5%


female: 97.1% (2000 census)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99%
Location Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Asia
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned
Merchant marine - total: 232 ships (1000 GRT or over) 983,182 GRT/1,370,104 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 14, cargo 176, chemical tanker 1, container 4, livestock carrier 3, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 8, vehicle carrier 1


foreign-owned: 60 (British Virgin Islands 1, China 1, Denmark 1, Egypt 2, Greece 1, India 1, Lebanon 6, Lithuania 1, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 3, Romania 11, Russia 1, Singapore 1, Syria 14, Turkey 4, UAE 6, US 3, Yemen 2)


registered in other countries: 5 (Belize 2, Mongolia 3) (2006)
Military - note defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands -
Military branches no regular indigenous military forces; the Netherlands maintains a detachment of marines, a frigate, and an amphibious combat detachment in the neighboring Netherlands Antilles (2005) North Korean People's Army: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $5,217.4 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - NA
National holiday Flag Day, 18 March (1976) Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality noun: Aruban(s)


adjective: Aruban; Dutch
noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
Natural hazards lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources NEGL; white sandy beaches coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate 10 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines - oil 154 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders Aliansa/Aruban Social Movement or MSA [Robert WEVER]; Aruban Liberal Organization or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Movement or MPA [Monica ARENDS-KOCK]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Mike EMAN]; People's Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson O. ODUBER]; Real Democracy or PDR [Andin BIKKER]; RED [Rudy LAMPE]; Workers Political Platform or PTT [Gregorio WOLFF] major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under KWP control), Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under KWP control)
Political pressure groups and leaders NA none
Population 100,018


note: estimate based on a revision of the base population, fertility, and mortality numbers, as well as a revision of 1985-1999 migration estimates from outmigration to inmigration, which is assumed to continue into the future; the new results are consistent with the 2000 census (July 2007 est.)
23,113,019 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% NA%
Population growth rate 1.522% (2007 est.) 0.84% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2004) AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2003)
Railways - total: 5,214 km


standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2005)
Religions Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, other (includes Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish) 10% traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)


note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
Sex ratio at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.915 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.668 male(s)/female


total population: 0.906 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.54 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 17 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: modern fully automatic telecommunications system


domestic: increased competition through privatization; 3 wireless service providers are now licensed


international: country code - 297; landing site for the PAN-AM submarine telecommunications cable system that extends from the US Virgin Islands through Aruba to Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and the west coast of South America; extensive interisland microwave radio relay links (2007)
general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Telephones - main lines in use 38,300 (2005) 980,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 108,200 (2005) NA
Television broadcast stations 1 (1997) 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003)
Terrain flat with a few hills; scant vegetation mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate 1.85 children born/woman (2007 est.) 2.1 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate 6.9% (2005 est.) NA%
Waterways - 2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2006)
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