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Compare Australia (2002) - Korea, North (2007)

Compare Australia (2002) z Korea, North (2007)

 Australia (2002)Korea, North (2007)
 AustraliaKorea, North
Administrative divisions 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia 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)


municipalities: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin-Sonbong), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)
Age structure 0-14 years: 20.4% (male 2,046,052; female 1,949,725)


15-64 years: 67% (male 6,610,840; female 6,480,354)


65 years and over: 12.6% (male 1,078,506; female 1,381,315) (2002 est.)
0-14 years: 23.3% (male 2,758,826/female 2,679,093)


15-64 years: 68.1% (male 7,852,282/female 8,024,429)


65 years and over: 8.5% (male 709,599/female 1,277,496) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports 421 (2001) 77 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 294


over 3,047 m: 10


2,438 to 3,047 m: 11


1,524 to 2,437 m: 126


914 to 1,523 m: 134


under 914 m: 13 (2002)
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 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 150


1,524 to 2,437 m: 20


914 to 1,523 m: 116


under 914 m: 14 (2002)
total: 41


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 19


914 to 1,523 m: 13


under 914 m: 7 (2007)
Area total: 7,686,850 sq km


land: 7,617,930 sq km


water: 68,920 sq km


note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island
total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states slightly smaller than Mississippi
Background Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire in 1901. It was able to take advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth headed by the British monarch to a republic, was defeated in 1999. 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." Beginning in August 2003, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US have participated in the Six-Party Talks aimed at resolving the stalemate over the DPRK's nuclear programs. North Korea pulled out of the talks in November 2005. It test-fired ballistic missiles in July 2006 and tested a nuclear weapon in October 2006. In October 2006, the DRPK announced that it would return to the Six-Party Talks. The Talks reconvened in December 2006.
Birth rate 12.71 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 15.06 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $86.8 billion


expenditures: $84.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est. )
revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA
Capital Canberra name: Pyongyang


geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E


time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline 25,760 km 2,495 km
Constitution 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998
Country name conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia


conventional short form: Australia
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
Currency Australian dollar (AUD) -
Death rate 7.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 7.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $176.8 billion (2001 est.) $12 billion (1996 est.)
Dependent areas Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island -
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER


embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600


mailing address: APO AP 96549


telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600


FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970


consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Michael J. THAWLEY


chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036


telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000


FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168


consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Disputes - international Australia-East Timor-Indonesia are working to resolve maritime boundary and sharing of seabed resources in "Timor Gap"; Australia asserts a territorial claim to Antarctica and to its continental shelf risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)
Economic aid - donor ODA, $894 million (FY99/00 ) -
Economic aid - recipient - $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 (2005)
Economy - overview Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Canberra's emphasis on reforms is another key factor behind the economy's strength. The stagnant economic conditions in major export partners and the impact of the worst drought in 100 years cast a shadow over prospects for 2003. 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. Due in part to severe summer flooding followed by dry weather conditions in the fall of 2006, the nation has suffered its 12th 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. By December 2005, the regime terminated most international humanitarian assistance operations in North Korea (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and restricted the activities of remaining international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. External food aid now comes primarily from China and South Korea in the form of grants and long-term concessional loans. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations.
Electricity - consumption 188.49 billion kWh (2000) 18.57 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 202.68 billion kWh (2000) 22.19 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 90%


hydro: 8%


nuclear: 0%


other: 2% (2000)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m


highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m
Environment - current issues soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
Environment - international agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) official: North Korean won per US dollar - 141 (2006), 170 (December 2004), 150 (December 2002), market: North Korean won per US dollar - 2,500-3,000 (December 2006)
Executive branch chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Rt. Rev. Dr. Peter HOLLINGWORTH (since 29 June 2001)


head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since 20 July 1999)


cabinet: Cabinet Parliament nominates, from among its members, a list of candidates to serve as government ministers; from this list, the governor general makes the final selections for the Cabinet


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general


note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party
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


head of government: Premier KIM Yong Il (since 11 April 2007); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003), THAE Jong Su (since 16 October 2007)


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 $66.3 billion (2002 est.) NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, agricultural and fishery products
Exports - partners Developing countries 45.6%, Japan 19.7%, ASEAN 13.3%, EU 11.7%, US 9.7% (2001) China 35%, South Korea 24%, Thailand 9%, Japan 9% (2005)
Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June calendar year
Flag description blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars 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 purchasing power parity - $528 billion (2002 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 3%


industry: 26%


services: 71% (2001 est.)
agriculture: 30%


industry: 34%


services: 36% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $27,000 (2002 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 3.6% (2002 est.) 1.6% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 27 00 S, 133 00 E 40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports - 23 (2007)
Highways total: 913,000 km


paved: 353,331 km (including 1,363 km of expressways)


unpaved: 559,669 km (1996)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2%


highest 10%: 25% (1994)
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate 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 $68 billion (2002 est.) 23,520 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain
Imports - partners Developing countries 31.7%, EU 21.6%, US 18.9%, ASEAN 14.8%, Japan 13.0% (2001) China 42%, South Korea 28%, Russia 9%, Thailand 8% (2005)
Independence 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate 4.3% (2002 est.) NA%
Industries mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism
Infant mortality rate 4.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 22.56 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 20.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.8% (2002 est.) NA%
International organization participation ANZUS, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 571 (2002) -
Irrigated land 24,000 sq km (1998 est.) 14,600 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force 9.2 million (December 2001 ) 9.6 million (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5% (1997 est.) agriculture: 36%


industry and services: 64% (2002)
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: 6.88%


permanent crops: 0.03%


other: 93.09% (1998 est.)
arable land: 22.4%


permanent crops: 1.66%


other: 75.94% (2005)
Languages English, native languages Korean
Legal system based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations based on Prussian civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and two from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of the members elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (150 seats - this is up from 148 seats in 2001 election; members elected by popular vote on the basis of preferential representation to serve three-year terms; no state can have fewer than five representatives)


elections: Senate - last held 10 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2004); House of Representatives - last held 10 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2004)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 35, Australian Labor Party 28, Australian Democrats 8, Green Party 2, One Nation Party 1, Country Labor Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 82, Australian Labor Party 65, independent and other 3
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: 80 years


male: 77.15 years


female: 83 years (2002 est.)
total population: 71.92 years


male: 69.18 years


female: 74.8 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 100%


male: 100%


female: 100% (1980 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99%
Location Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references Oceania Asia
Maritime claims contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


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: 55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,469,362 GRT/1,869,262 DWT


ships by type: bulk 26, cargo 5, chemical tanker 4, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 2, United Kingdom 2, United States 14 (2002 est.)
total: 171 ships (1000 GRT or over) 854,268 GRT/1,225,453 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 12, cargo 131, chemical tanker 1, container 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 3


foreign-owned: 29 (Egypt 1, India 1, Israel 1, Lebanon 3, Lithuania 1, Pakistan 1, Romania 6, Russia 1, Syria 7, Turkey 1, UAE 4, Yemen 2)


registered in other countries: (unknown 1) (2007)
Military branches Royal Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force North Korean People's Army: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $9.3 billion (FY01/02 est.) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2% (FY01/02) NA
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 5,013,406 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 4,321,387 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 17 years of age (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 142,686 (2002 est.) -
National holiday Australia Day, 26 January (1788) Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality noun: Australian(s)


adjective: Australian
noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
Natural hazards cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate 4.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km oil 154 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders Australian Democrats [Andrew BARTLETT]; Australian Labor Party [Simon CREAN]; Country Labor Party [leader NA]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; National Party [John ANDERSON]; One Nation Party [Pauline HANSON] 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 Australian Monarchist League [leader NA]; Australian Republican Movement [leader NA] none
Population 19,546,792 (July 2002 est.) 23,301,725 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% NA%
Population growth rate 0.96% (2002 est.) 0.785% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville -
Radio broadcast stations AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station; North Korea has a "national intercom" cable radio station wired throughout the country that is a significant source of information for the average North Korean citizen; it is wired into most residences and workplaces and carries news and commentary), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2006)
Radios 25.5 million (1997) -
Railways total: 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified)


broad gauge: 3,719 km 1.600-m gauge


standard gauge: 15,422 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge


dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999 est.)
total: 5,214 km


standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2006)
Religions Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11%, other 12.6% 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: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.555 male(s)/female


total population: 0.945 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal and compulsory 17 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: excellent domestic and international service


domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones


international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998)
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 10.05 million (2000) 980,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 8.6 million (2000) -
Television broadcast stations 104 (1997) 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003)
Terrain mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate 1.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 6.3% (2002) NA%
Waterways 8,368 km (mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft) 2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007)
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