Cayman Islands (2001) | Korea, South (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western | 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:
22.21% (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: 19.4% (male 4,952,177/female 4,450,821)
15-64 years: 72% (male 17,715,267/female 17,147,808) 65 years and over: 8.6% (male 1,670,971/female 2,485,600) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruit; livestock, turtle farming | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 179 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 88
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 38 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 91
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 88 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
259 sq km land: 259 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 98,480 sq km
land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Indiana |
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. | Korea was an independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium. 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 was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north. During the Korean War (1950-53), US and other UN forces intervened to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. 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 1987, South Korean voters elected ROH Tae-woo to the presidency, ending 26 years of military dictatorships. 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 Tae-chung and the North's leader KIM Jong Il. |
Birth rate | 13.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.08 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$265.2 million expenditures: $248.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $150.5 billion
expenditures: $155.8 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | George Town | Seoul |
Climate | tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter |
Coastline | 160 km | 2,413 km |
Constitution | 1959, revised 1972 and 1992 | 17 July 1948 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Korea
conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: none note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Han'guk" to refer to their country abbreviation: ROK |
Currency | Caymanian dollar (KYD) | - |
Death rate | 5.15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $70 million (1996) | $160 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher R. HILL
embassy: 82 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: American Embassy, 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 (designated)
chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Agana (Guam) and New York |
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 $334 million (2003) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
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. | 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, it joined the trillion dollar club of world economies. Today its GDP per capita is 14 times North Korea's and equal to the lesser economies of the European Union. 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. Growth plunged to a negative 6.9% in 1998, then strongly recovered to 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 7.0%, despite anemic global growth. Economic growth fell to 3.1% in 2003 because of a downturn in consumer spending and recovered to an estimated 4.6% in 2004 on the strength of rapid export growth. The government plans to boost infrastructure spending in 2005. Moderate inflation, low unemployment, an export surplus, and fairly equal distribution of income characterize this solid economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 306.9 million kWh (1999) | 293.6 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 330 million kWh (1999) | 322.5 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: The Bluff 43 m |
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
Environment - current issues | no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchment | 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 | mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) |
Exchange rates | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.83 (3 November 1995), 0.85 (22 November 1993) | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,145.3 (2004), 1,191.6 (2003), 1,251.1 (2002), 1,291 (2001), 1,131 (2000) |
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: President ROH Moo-hyun (since 25 February 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister LEE Hae-chan (since 25 May 2004); Deputy Prime Ministers HAN Duck-soo (14 March 2005), KIM Jin-pyo (since 28 January 2005), and OH Myung (since 18 October 2004) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections: president elected by popular vote for single five-year term; election last held 19 December 2002 (next to be held in February 2008); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by president on prime minister's recommendation election results: results of the 19 December 2002 election - ROH Moo-hyun elected president; percent of vote - ROH Moo-hyun (MDP) 48.9%; LEE Hoi-chang (GNP) 46.6%; other 4.5% |
Exports | $1.5 million (1998) | 630,100 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | turtle products, manufactured consumer goods | semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals |
Exports - partners | mostly US | China 19.7%, US 17%, Japan 8.6%, Hong Kong 7.2% (2004) |
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 | 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 - $930 million (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.4% industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
agriculture: 3.2%
industry: 40.4% services: 56.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $24,500 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,200 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (1999 est.) | 4.6% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 30 N, 80 30 W | 37 00 N, 127 30 E |
Geography - note | important location between Cuba and Central America | strategic location on Korea Strait |
Heliports | - | 206 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
406 km paved: 304 km unpaved: 102 km |
total: 86,990 km
paved: 66,721 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 20,269 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1999 est.) |
Illicit drugs | vulnerable to drug money laundering and drug transshipment to the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $507.6 million (1998) | 2.263 million bbl/day (2003) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics |
Imports - partners | US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan | Japan 20.6%, China 13.2%, US 12.9%, Saudi Arabia 5.3% (2004) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 10.1% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture | electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel |
Infant mortality rate | 10.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (1998) | 3.6% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate) | AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 11,590 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal | 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 | 19,820 (1995) | 22.9 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1.4%, industry 12.6%, services 86% (1995) | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 238 km
border countries: North Korea 238 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 23% other: 69% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 17.18%
permanent crops: 1.95% other: 80.87% (2001) |
Languages | English | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school |
Legal system | British common law and local statutes | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought |
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 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) election results: percent of vote by party - Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, DP 3%, others 2%; seats by party - Uri 146, GNP 125, DLP 10, DP 9, ULD 3, independents 6 note: percent of vote is for 2004 general election; seats by party reflect results of 2005 byelections involving six seats; MDP became DP in May 2005 (2005) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.03 years male: 76.24 years female: 81.43 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.85 years
male: 73.42 years female: 80.57 years (2005 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
total population: 97.9% male: 99.2% female: 96.6% (2002) |
Location | Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras | 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: 12 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:
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: 601 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,992,656 GRT/11,081,142 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 125, cargo 196, chemical tanker 88, container 71, liquefied gas 20, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 22, petroleum tanker 51, refrigerated cargo 15, roll on/roll off 5, vehicle carrier 3 foreign-owned: 2 (Germany 1, United Kingdom 1) registered in other countries: 366 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | Royal Cayman Islands Police Force (RCIPF) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $16.18 billion (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.8% (2004) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, first Monday in July | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) |
Nationality | noun:
Caymanian(s) adjective: Caymanian |
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to November) | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest |
Natural resources | fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential |
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 (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,433 km; refined products 827 km (2004) |
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 | Democratic Labor Party or DLP [KIM Hye-kyung, chairwoman]; Democratic Party or DP [HAHN Hwa-kap, chairman]; Grand National Party or GNP [PARK Geun-hye, chairwoman]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Hak-won, chairman]; Uri Party [MOON Hee-sang, chairman] |
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 | 35,527 (July 2001 est.) | 48,422,644 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 4% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.12% (2001 est.) | 0.38% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cayman Brac, George Town | Inch'on, Masan, P'ohang, Pusan, Ulsan |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 58, FM 150, shortwave 2 (2004) |
Radios | 36,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,472 km
standard gauge: 3,472 km 1.435-m gauge (1,342 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of God, other Protestant | no affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, other 1% |
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: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 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: excellent domestic and international services
domestic: NA international: country code - 82; fiber-optic submarine cable to China; the Russia-Korea-Japan submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19,000 (1995) | 22.877 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,534 (1995) | 33,591,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 64 (additionally 119 Cable Operators; 239 Relay Cable Operators) (2004) |
Terrain | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south |
Total fertility rate | 2.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.26 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (1997) | 3.6% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,608 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) |