Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) - Korea, North (2004)

Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) z Korea, North (2004)

	British Virgin Islands (2008)	Korea, North (2004)

Administrative divisions	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337) 15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 24.6% (male 2,836,991; female 2,755,127) 15-64 years: 67.8% (male 7,575,590; female 7,812,878) 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 583,463; female 1,133,504) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish	rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports	3 (2007)	78 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	total: 35 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)	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 (2003 est.)
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 islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke	total: 120,540 sq km land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Mississippi
Background	First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.	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 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 KIM's future successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994, when 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 food 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), and in January 2003 declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Since August 2003 North Korea has participated in six-party talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs.
Birth rate	14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $204.7 million expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)	revenues: NA expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
Capital	name: Road Town geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Pyongyang
Climate	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds	temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline	80 km	2,495 km
Constitution	13 June 2007	adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI	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
Currency	-	North Korean won (KPW)
Death rate	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$36.1 million (1997)	$12 billion (1996 est.)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing	-
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	none	with China, certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute; a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; China has been attempting to stop mass illegal migration of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and oppression into northern China; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South Korea
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	$NA; note - over $133 million in food aid through the World Food Program in 2003 plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations
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 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. 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, made 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 US dollar as its currency since 1959.	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 tenth 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 1995-96, 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 2003, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid as well. Black market prices 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. The regime, however, relaxed restrictions on farmers' market activities in spring 2003, leading to an expansion of market activity.
Electricity - consumption	41.85 million kWh (2005)	27.91 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	45 million kWh (2005)	30.01 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m	lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 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)	water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne 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	black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed)	racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates	the US dollar is used	official: North Korean won per US dollar - 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001), 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002), 200 (December 2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006) head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly 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 premier by the governor	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	0 bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand	minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products
Exports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)	South Korea 28.5%, China 28.4%, Japan 24.7% (2002)
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)	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 - $29.58 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)	agriculture: 30.2% industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1% (2002 est.)	1% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	18 30 N, 64 30 W	40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico	strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports	-	19 (2003 est.)
Highways	-	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%	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering	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	604.3 bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery	petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain
Imports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)	China 39.7%, Thailand 14.6%, Japan 11.2%, Germany 7.6%, South Korea 6.2% (2002)
Independence	none (overseas territory of the UK)	15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	NA
Industries	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center	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: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 24.84 deaths/1,000 live births male: 26.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2% (2005)	NA (2003 est.)
International organization participation	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU	ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Irrigated land	NA	14,600 sq km (1998 est.)
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	Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force	12,770 (2004)	9.6 million
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 0.6% industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005)	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: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005)	arable land: 20.76% permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001)
Languages	English (official)	Korean
Legal system	English law	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 House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1	unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; the KWP approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 76.86 years male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.)	total population: 71.08 years male: 68.38 years female: 73.92 years (2004 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: 99% male: 99% female: 99%
Location	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico	Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 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: 203 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 921,577 GRT/1,339,929 DWT by type: bulk 6, cargo 166, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Albania 1, Belize 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 3, Germany 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 2, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 1, Portugal 1, Romania 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Syria 9, Tanzania 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 5, Ukraine 2, United States 3 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	-
Military branches	-	Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$5,217.4 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	22.9% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 6,181,038 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 3,694,855 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 189,014 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Territory Day, 1 July (1956)	Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander	noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean
Natural hazards	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)	late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources	NEGL	coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate	8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	-	oil 154 km (2004)
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]	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	NA	none
Population	23,552 (July 2007 est.)	22,697,553 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA
Population growth rate	1.923% (2007 est.)	0.98% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999)
Railways	-	total: 5,214 km standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2003)
Religions	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991)	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: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	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: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	17 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007)	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Telephones - main lines in use	11,700 (2002)	1.1 million (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular	8,000 (2002)	NA
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997)	38 (1999)
Terrain	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly	mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate	1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.2 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	3.6% (1997)	NA (2003)
Waterways	-	2,250 km note: most navigable only by small craft (2004)

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