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Compare British Virgin Islands (2002) - Korea, South (2006)
Compare British Virgin Islands (2002) z Korea, South (2006)
| British Virgin Islands (2002) | Korea, South (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities (gwangyoksi, singular and plural)
provinces: Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto (North Cholla), Cholla-namdo (South Cholla), Ch'ungch'ong-bukto (North Ch'ungch'ong), Ch'ungch'ong-namdo (South Ch'ungch'ong), Kangwon-do, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto (North Kyongsang), Kyongsang-namdo (South Kyongsang) metropolitan cities: Inch'on-gwangyoksi (Inch'on), Kwangju-gwangyoksi (Kwangju), Pusan-gwangyoksi (Pusan), Soul-t'ukpyolsi (Seoul), Taegu-gwangyoksi (Taegu), Taejon-gwangyoksi (Taejon), Ulsan-gwangyoksi (Ulsan) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 22.4% (male 2,401; female 2,351)
15-64 years: 72.7% (male 7,962; female 7,509) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 565; female 484) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.9% (male 4,844,083/female 4,368,139)
15-64 years: 71.9% (male 17,886,148/female 17,250,862) 65 years and over: 9.2% (male 1,818,677/female 2,678,914) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish |
| Airports | 3 (2001) | 107 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 69
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 20 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 38
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 35 (2006) |
| Area | total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada |
total: 98,480 sq km
land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Indiana |
| Background | First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. | Korea was an independent kingdom for much of its millennia-long history. Following its victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Japan occupied Korea; five years later it formally annexed the entire peninsula. After World War II, a Republic of Korea (ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north (the DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought alongside soldiers from the ROK to defend South Korea from DPRK attacks supported by China and the Soviet Union. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 14 times the level of North Korea. In 1993, KIM Yo'ng-sam became South Korea's first civilian president following 32 years of military rule. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place between the South's President KIM Dae-jung and the North's leader KIM Jong Il. |
| Birth rate | 15.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $195 billion
expenditures: $189 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
| Capital | Road Town | name: Seoul
geographic coordinates: 37 34 N, 127 00 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter |
| Coastline | 80 km | 2,413 km |
| Constitution | 1 June 1977 | 17 July 1948 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
conventional long form: Republic of Korea
conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: Han'guk abbreviation: ROK |
| Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
| Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.85 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $153.9 billion (2005 est.) |
| Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW
embassy: 32 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: US Embassy Seoul, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-5550 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador LEE Tae-sik
chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle |
| Disputes - international | none | Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with North Korea over the Northern Limit Line; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954 |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $423.3 million (2004) |
| Economic aid - recipient | NA | - |
| Economy - overview | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. | Since the early 1960s, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth and integration into the high-tech modern world economy. Four decades ago, GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. In 2004, South Korea joined the trillion dollar club of world economies. Today its GDP per capita is equal to the lesser economies of the EU. This success through the late 1980s was achieved by a system of close government/business ties, including directed credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a strong labor effort. The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. GDP plunged by 6.9% in 1998, then recovered 9.5% in 1999 and 8.5% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.3% in 2001 because of the slowing global economy, falling exports, and the perception that much-needed corporate and financial reforms had stalled. Led by consumer spending and exports, growth in 2002 was an impressive 7%, despite anemic global growth. Between 2003 and 2005, growth moderated to about 4%. A downturn in consumer spending was offset by rapid export growth. In 2005, the government proposed labor reform legislation and a corporate pension scheme to help make the labor market more flexible, and new real estate policies to cool property speculation. Moderate inflation, low unemployment, an export surplus, and fairly equal distribution of income characterize this solid economy. |
| Electricity - consumption | 39.1 million kWh (1999) | 321.1 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - production | 42 million kWh (1999) | 342.1 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
| Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing |
| Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,024.1 (2005), 1,145.3 (2004), 1,191.6 (2003), 1,251.1 (2002), 1,291 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 15 May 1995) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
chief of state: President ROH Moo-hyun (since 25 February 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister HAN Myeong-sook (since 20 April 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers KIM Woo-sik (since 10 February 2006); KWON O-kyu (since 18 July 2006); KIM Shin-il (since 20 September 2006) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections: president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 19 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2007); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by president on prime minister's recommendation election results: ROH Moo-hyun elected president; percent of vote - ROH Moo-hyun (MDP) 48.9%; LEE Hoi-chang (GNP) 46.6%; other 4.5% |
| Exports | $6.2 million | 645,200 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand | semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals |
| Exports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US | China 21.8%, US 14.6%, Japan 8.5%, Hong Kong 5.5% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
| Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) | white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $311 million (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 6% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 3.3%
industry: 40.3% services: 56.3% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | 4% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 30 N, 64 30 W | 37 00 N, 127 30 E |
| Geography - note | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | strategic location on Korea Strait |
| Heliports | - | 540 (2006) |
| Highways | total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25% (2005 est.) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center | - |
| Imports | $230 million (2000 est.) | 2.263 million bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics |
| Imports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US | Japan 18.5%, China 14.8%, US 11.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.2% (2005) |
| Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1985) | 5.9% (2005 est.) |
| Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center | electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel |
| Infant mortality rate | 19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 6.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2000) | 2.8% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate) | AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 8,780 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction | Supreme Court (justices appointed by president with consent of National Assembly); Constitutional Court (justices appointed by president based partly on nominations by National Assembly and Chief Justice of the court) |
| Labor force | 4,911 (1980) | 23.53 million (2005 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 6.4%
industry: 26.4% services: 67.2% (2005 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 238 km
border countries: North Korea 238 km |
| Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 16.58%
permanent crops: 2.01% other: 81.41% (2005) |
| Languages | English (official) | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school |
| Legal system | English law | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VIP 7, CCM 1, NDP 5 |
unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 243 in single-seat constituencies, 56 by proportional representation)
elections: last held 15 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2008; byelections held on 30 April 2005 and on 26 October 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, DP 3%, others 2%; seats by party - Uri 144, GNP 127, DP 11, DLP 9, ULD 3, independents 5 note: percent of vote is for 2004 general election; seats by party reflect results of April and October 2005 byelections involving six and four seats respectively; MDP became DP in May 2005; United Liberal Democrats (ULD) merged with GNP in February 2006. (2006) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.85 years
male: 74.9 years female: 76.84 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 77.04 years
male: 73.61 years female: 80.75 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.9% male: 99.2% female: 96.6% (2002) |
| Location | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
| Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the Korea Strait
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified |
| Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 70,285 GRT/6,946 DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 669 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,634,188 GRT/13,733,624 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 157, cargo 193, chemical tanker 98, container 81, liquefied gas 22, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 24, petroleum tanker 57, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 6 foreign-owned: 22 (France 12, Japan 1, UK 2, US 7) registered in other countries: 365 (Belize 4, Cambodia 23, China 2, Cyprus 1, Georgia 1, Honduras 6, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 1, Liberia 3, Malaysia 1, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 291, Singapore 17, unknown 2) (2006) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
| Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Republic of Korea Air Force (Han-guk Kong Goon), Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (coast guard) (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $21.06 billion FY05 (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.6% FY05 (2005 est.) |
| National holiday | Territory Day, 1 July | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) |
| Nationality | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest |
| Natural resources | NEGL | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential |
| Net migration rate | 10.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | gas 1,482 km; refined products 827 km (2006) |
| Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] | Democratic Labor Party or DLP [MOON Seong-hyun]; Democratic Party or DP [HAHN Hwa-kap]; Grand National Party or GNP [KANG Jae-sup]; People-Centered Party or PCP [SHIN Kook-hwan]; Uri Party [KIM Geun-tae] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations |
| Population | 21,272 (July 2002 est.) | 48,846,823 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 15% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.16% (2002 est.) | 0.42% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Road Town | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 61, FM 150, shortwave 2 (2005) |
| Radios | 9,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | total: 3,472 km
standard gauge: 3,472 km 1.435-m gauge (1,361 km electrified) (2005) |
| Religions | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) | no affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, other 1% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 19 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda |
general assessment: excellent domestic and international services
domestic: NA international: country code - 82; 10 fiber-optic submarine cables - 1 Korea-Russia-Japan, 1 Korea-Japan-Hong Kong, 3 Korea-Japan-China, 1 Korea-Japan-China-Europe, 1 Korea-Japan-China-US-Taiwan, 1 Korea-Japan-China, 1 Korea-Japan-Hong Kong-Taiwan, 1 Korea-Japan; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 3 Inmarsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 10,000 (1996) | 23.745 million (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 38.342 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) | terrestrial stations 43; cable operators 59; relay cable operators 190 (2005) |
| Terrain | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south |
| Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.27 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 3% (1995) | 3.7% (2005 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 1,608 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2006) |
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