Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Korea, North (2005)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) z Korea, North (2005)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)	Korea, North (2005)

Administrative divisions	-	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: 24.2% (male 2,816,844/female 2,735,478) 15-64 years: 67.9% (male 7,668,581/female 7,883,267) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 625,819/female 1,182,188) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports	1 (2001)	78 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	total: 35 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 43 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago	total: 120,540 sq km land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Mississippi
Background	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.	An independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium, 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 in the southern portion by force, North Korea, 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. It 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 KIM's successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994. He assumed full power without opposition. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the North since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States 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." From August 2003, North Korea has participated on and off in six-party talks with the China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs.
Birth rate	-	16.09 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: NA expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
Capital	-	Pyongyang
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline	698 km	2,495 km
Constitution	-	adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea conventional short form: North Korea local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk local short form: none note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country abbreviation: DPRK
Death rate	-	7.05 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	-	$12 billion (1996 est.)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Disputes - international	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain	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	-	NA; note - over $117 million in food aid through the World Food Program in 2003 plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations
Economy - overview	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing.	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 spare parts shortages. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. The nation has suffered its eleventh year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land, collective farming, weather-related problems, and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995, but the population remains the victim of prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In July 2002, the government took limited steps toward a freer market economy. In 2004, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid. Black market prices have continued to rise following the increase in official prices and wages in the summer of 2002, leaving some vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and unemployed, less able to buy goods. In 2004, the regime allowed private markets to sell a wider range of goods and permitted private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will constrain any further loosening of economic regulations.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	31.26 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	33.62 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 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	-	racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates	-	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 ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch	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: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the SPA elections: election 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
Exports - commodities	-	minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products
Exports - partners	-	China 29.9%, South Korea 24.1%, Japan 13.2% (2004)
Fiscal year	-	calendar year
Flag description	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag	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: 30.2% industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	1% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note	archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility	strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports	-	19 (2004 est.)
Highways	total: NA km paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km	total: 31,200 km paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	-	for years, from the 1970's into the 2000's, 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; in recent years, police investigations in Taiwan and Japan 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; all indications point to North Korea emerging as an important regional source of illicit drugs targeting markets in Japan, Taiwan, the Russian Far East, and China
Imports	-	11,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities	-	petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain
Imports - partners	-	China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004)
Independence	-	15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA
Industries	-	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: 24.04 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.77 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	NA (2003 est.)
International organization participation	-	ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	14,600 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force	-	9.6 million
Labor force - by occupation	-	agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 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: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 20.76% permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001)
Languages	-	Korean
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	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 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: 71.37 years male: 68.65 years female: 74.22 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%
Location	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references	Political Map of the World	Asia
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 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: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 985,108 GRT/1,389,389 DWT by type: bulk carrier 13, cargo 191, container 2, livestock carrier 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 52 (China 1, Denmark 2, France 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 4, Lithuania 1, Netherlands 1, Pakistan 2, Romania 10, Russia 2, Singapore 2, South Korea 2, Syria 9, Turkey 6, Ukraine 1, UAE 3) (2005)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	-
Military branches	-	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	-	Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality	-	noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean
Natural hazards	NA	late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	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.)
Pipelines	-	oil 154 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	-	major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il, general secretary]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong, chairwoman] (under KWP control); Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae, chairman] (under KWP control)
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	none
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.)	22,912,177 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA
Population growth rate	-	0.9% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2003)
Radios	NA	-
Railways	-	total: 5,214 km standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2004)
Religions	-	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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.53 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	-	17 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)	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	NA	1.1 million (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	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 and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate	-	2.15 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	NA (2003)
Waterways	none	2,250 km note: most navigable only by small craft (2004)

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