Cayman Islands (2001) | Korea, North (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 special cities* (si, singular and plural); Chagang-do (Chagang Province), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong Province), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong Province), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae Province), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae Province), Kaesong-si* (Kaesong City), Kangwon-do (Kangwon Province), Najin Sonbong-si*, Namp'o-si* (Namp'o City), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan Province), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan Province), P'yongyang-si* (Pyongyang City), Yanggang-do (Yanggang Province) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
22.21% (male 3,807; female 4,084) 15-64 years: 69.74% (male 12,102; female 12,676) 65 years and over: 8.05% (male 1,318; female 1,540) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 25.4% (male 2,888,478; female 2,747,133)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 7,380,183; female 7,612,275) 65 years and over: 7.2% (male 527,256; female 1,068,870) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruit; livestock, turtle farming | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 87 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 39
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 48
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
Area | total:
259 sq km land: 259 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Mississippi |
Background | The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries. Administered by Jamaica from 1863, they remained a British dependency after 1962 when the former became independent. | Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Communist domination and the southern portion becoming Western oriented. KIM Chong-il has ruled North Korea since his father and the country's founder, president KIM Il-song, died in 1994. After decades of mismanagement, the North relies 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, North Korea repudiated a 1994 agreement that shut down its nuclear reactors and expelled UN monitors, further raising fears it would produce nuclear weapons. |
Birth rate | 13.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$265.2 million expenditures: $248.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | George Town | Pyongyang |
Climate | tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer |
Coastline | 160 km | 2,495 km |
Constitution | 1959, revised 1972 and 1992 | adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
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 | Caymanian dollar (KYD) | North Korean won (KPW) |
Death rate | 5.15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.96 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $70 million (1996) | $12 billion (1996 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (Swedish Embassy in P'yongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none; note - North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York |
Disputes - international | none | 33-km section of boundary with China in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $NA; note - nearly $300 million in food aid alone from US, South Korea, Japan, and EU in 2001 plus much additional aid from the UN and non-governmental organizations |
Economy - overview | With no direct taxation, the islands are a thriving offshore financial center. More than 40,000 companies were registered in the Cayman Islands as of 1997, including almost 600 banks and trust companies; banking assets exceed $500 billion. A stock exchange was opened in 1997. Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP and 75% of foreign currency earnings. The tourist industry is aimed at the luxury market and caters mainly to visitors from North America. Total tourist arrivals exceeded 1.2 million visitors in 1997. About 90% of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of the highest standards of living in the world. | 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. Despite a good harvest in 2001, the nation faces its ninth year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land; collective farming; weather-related problems, including major drought in 2000; 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 vulnerable to prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Recently, the regime has placed emphasis on earning hard currency, developing information technology, addressing power shortages, and attracting foreign aid, but in no way at the expense of relinquishing central control over key national assets or undergoing widespread market-oriented reforms. In 2002, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue have held down the flow of desperately needed food aid and threaten fuel aid as well. |
Electricity - consumption | 306.9 million kWh (1999) | 31.062 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 330 million kWh (1999) | 33.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 33%
hydro: 67% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: The Bluff 43 m |
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
Environment - current issues | no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchment | 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese |
Exchange rates | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.83 (3 November 1995), 0.85 (22 November 1993) | official: North Korean won per US dollar - 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 - 200 (December 2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Governor and President of the Executive Council Peter SMITH (since 5 May 1999) head of government: Kurt TIBBETTS (since November 2000) cabinet: Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: KIM Chong-il (since NA July 1994); note - in September 1998, KIM Chong-il was reelected Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded the nation's "highest administrative authority"; KIM Yong-nam was named President of the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium and given the responsibility of representing the state and receiving diplomatic credentials
head of government: Premier HONG Song-nam (since 5 September 1998); Vice Premiers CHO Ch'ang-tok (since NA), KWAK Pom-ki (since NA), Sin IL-nam (since NA April 2002) cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly elections: premier elected by the Supreme People's Assembly; election last held NA September 1998 (next to be held NA) election results: HONG Song-nam elected premier; percent of Supreme People's Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | $1.5 million (1998) | $826 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | turtle products, manufactured consumer goods | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products |
Exports - partners | mostly US | Japan 36.3%, South Korea 21.5%, China 5.2% (2000) |
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 Caymanian coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS | 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 - $930 million (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $22 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.4% industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 32% services: 37% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $24,500 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (1999 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 30 N, 80 30 W | 40 00 N, 127 00 E |
Geography - note | important location between Cuba and Central America | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated |
Highways | total:
406 km paved: 304 km unpaved: 102 km |
total: 31,200 km
paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | vulnerable to drug money laundering and drug transshipment to the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $507.6 million (1998) | $1.874 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain |
Imports - partners | US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan | China 26.7%, South Korea 16.2%, Japan 12.3% (2000) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture | 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 | 10.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 22.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (1998) | NA% |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate) | ARF (dialogue partner), ESCAP, 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) | 16 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) |
Labor force | 19,820 (1995) | 9.6 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1.4%, industry 12.6%, services 86% (1995) | 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:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 23% other: 69% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 14.12%
permanent crops: 2.49% other: 83.39% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | Korean |
Legal system | British common law and local statutes | 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 Legislative Assembly (18 seats, three appointed members and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
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 26 July 1998 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - the KWP approves a single list of candidates who are elected without opposition; minor parties hold a few seats |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.03 years male: 76.24 years female: 81.43 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.3 years
male: 68.31 years female: 74.44 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write Korean
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras | 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 | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM note: military boundary line 50 NM in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned |
Merchant marine | total:
106 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,656,452 GRT/2,643,036 DWT ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 5, chemical tanker 27, container 4, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 2, Denmark 2, Finland 1, Greece 11, Norway 3, UK 3, US 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 738,886 GRT/1,037,506 DWT
ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 102, combination bulk 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 6, refrigerated cargo 3, short-sea passenger 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1, Greece 2, Pakistan 1, Singapore 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | Royal Cayman Islands Police Force (RCIPF) | Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $5,124.1 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 31.3% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 6,032,376 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 3,619,535 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 179,136 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, first Monday in July | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) |
Nationality | noun:
Caymanian(s) adjective: Caymanian |
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to November) | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall |
Natural resources | fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 12.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 37 km; petroleum product 180 km |
Political parties and leaders | there are no formal political parties but the following loose groupings act as political organizations; National Team; Democratic Alliance; Team Cayman | Chondoist Chongu Party [YU Mi-yong, chairwoman]; Korean Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong-tae, chairman]; major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Chong-il, General Secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 35,527 (July 2001 est.) | 22,224,195 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.12% (2001 est.) | 1.1% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cayman Brac, George Town | 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 (1998) | AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999) |
Radios | 36,000 (1997) | 3.36 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 5,000 km
standard gauge: 4,095 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified; 159 km double-tracked) narrow gauge: 665 km 0.762-m gauge dual gauge: 240 km 1.435-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails provide two gauges) (1996) |
Religions | United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of God, other Protestant | 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:
0.86 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: 1 submarine coaxial cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 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 | 19,000 (1995) | 1.1 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,534 (1995) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 38 (1999) |
Terrain | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.22 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (1997) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 2,253 km
note: mostly navigable by small craft only |