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Compare Benin (2005) - Korea, North (2008)

Compare Benin (2005) z Korea, North (2008)

 Benin (2005)Korea, North (2008)
 BeninKorea, North
Administrative divisions 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou 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: 46.5% (male 1,752,243/female 1,719,458)


15-64 years: 51.2% (male 1,868,630/female 1,948,610)


65 years and over: 2.3% (male 70,367/female 100,717) (2005 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 cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports 5 (2004 est.) 77 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
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: 4


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)
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: 112,620 sq km


land: 110,620 sq km


water: 2,000 sq km
total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Pennsylvania slightly smaller than Mississippi
Background Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. 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 Sung, 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 approximately 1 million. North Korea's history of regional military provocations, proliferation of military-related items, and 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 conducted a nuclear test in October 2006. North Korea returned to the Six-Party Talks in December 2006 and subsequently signed two agreements on denuclearization. The 13 February 2007 Initial Actions Agreement shut down the North's nuclear facilities at Yongbyon in July 2007. In the 3 October 2007 Second Phase Actions Agreement, Pyongyang pledged to disable those facilities and provide a correct and complete declaration of its nuclear programs. Under the supervision of US nuclear experts, North Korean personnel completed a number of agreed-upon disablement actions at the three core facilities at the Yongbyon nuclear complex by the end of 2007. North Korea also began the discharge of spent fuel rods in December 2007, but it did not provide a declaration of its nuclear programs by the end of the year.
Birth rate 41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 15.06 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $869.4 million


expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
revenues: $2.88 billion $NA


expenditures: $2.98 billion $NA
Capital Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government 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; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline 121 km 2,495 km
Constitution December 1990 adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Benin


conventional short form: Benin


local long form: Republique du Benin


local short form: Benin


former: Dahomey
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 13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 7.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $1.6 billion (2000) $12.5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Wayne NEILL


embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou


mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou


telephone: [229] 30-06-50


FAX: [229] 30-06-70
none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN


chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656


FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996
none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Disputes - international two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and the states expect a ruling in 2005 from the ICJ over the disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; a joint task force was established in 2004 that resolved disputes over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km land boundary with Nigeria, including the sovereignty over seven villages along the Okpara River; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones 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 - recipient $342.6 million (2000) $372 million


note: approximately 65,000 metric tons in food aid through the World Food Program appeals in 2007, plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations (2007 est.)
Economy - overview The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past six years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere. As a result, smuggling and criminality along the Benin-Nigeria border has been on the rise. North Korea, one of the world's most centrally directed and least open economies, faces chronic economic problems. 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 from pre-1990 levels. Due in part to severe summer flooding followed by dry weather conditions in the fall of 2006, the nation suffered its 13th year of food shortages because of on-going systemic problems including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel. During the summer of 2007, severe flooding again occurred. Large-scale international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape widespread starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Large-scale military spending draws off resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Since 2002, the government has 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 government tried to reverse some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. By December 2005, the government 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. During the October 2007 summit, South Korea also agreed to develop some of North Korea's infrastructure and natural resources and light industry. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations.
Electricity - consumption 565.2 million kWh (2002) 18.57 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2002) 0 kWh (2007)
Electricity - imports 300 million kWh (2002) 0 kWh (2007)
Electricity - production 285.2 million kWh (2002) 22.5 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m
Environment - current issues inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) official: North Korean won per US dollar - 140 (2007), 141 (2006), 170 (December 2004), market: North Korean won per US dollar - 2,500-3,000 (December 2006)
Executive branch chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held March 2006)


election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9%


note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match"
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 NA 0 bbl/day (2006)
Exports - commodities cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, agricultural and fishery products
Exports - partners China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%, Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004) South Korea 32%, China 29%, Thailand 9% (2006)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side 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: 36.3%


industry: 14.3%


services: 49.4% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 23.3%


industry: 43.1%


services: 33.6% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 5% (2004 est.) -1.1% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 9 30 N, 2 15 E 40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports - 23 (2007)
Highways total: 6,787 km


paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways)


unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure 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 NA 10,520 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain
Imports - partners China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004) China 27%, South Korea 16%, Thailand 9%, Russia 7% (2006)
Independence 1 August 1960 (from France) 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate 8.3% (2001 est.) NA%
Industries textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001) 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 total: 85 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 90 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 79.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 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% (2004 est.) NA%
International organization participation ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO 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
Irrigated land 120 sq km (1998 est.) 14,600 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force NA (1996) 20 million


note: estimates vary widely (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture: 37%


industry and services: 63% (2004 est.)
Land boundaries total: 1,989 km


border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
total: 1,673 km


border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use arable land: 18.08%


permanent crops: 2.4%


other: 79.52% (2001)
arable land: 22.4%


permanent crops: 1.66%


other: 75.94% (2005)
Languages French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) Korean
Legal system based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction 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 unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 30 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31
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: 52.66 years


male: 51.53 years


female: 53.82 years (2005 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: 33.6%


male: 46.4%


female: 22.6% (2002 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99%
Location Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references Africa Asia
Maritime claims territorial sea: 200 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: 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 Army, Navy, Air Force North Korean People's Army: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $96.5 million (2004) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.4% (2004) NA
National holiday National Day, 1 August (1960) Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality noun: Beninese (singular and plural)


adjective: Beninese
noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
Natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines - oil 154 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and four small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]


note: approximately 20 additional minor parties
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 7,460,025


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)
23,301,725 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 33% (2001 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 2.82% (2005 est.) 0.785% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Cotonou -
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) 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)
Railways total: 578 km


narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)
total: 5,235 km


standard gauge: 5,235 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2006)
Religions indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% 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: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 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 17 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections


international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
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 66,500 (2003) 980,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 236,200 (2003) -
Television broadcast stations 1 (2001) 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003)
Terrain mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate 5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.) 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate NA NA%
Waterways 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004) 2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007)
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