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Compare Cuba (2008) - Korea, North (2007)

Compare Cuba (2008) z Korea, North (2007)

 Cuba (2008)Korea, North (2007)
 CubaKorea, North
Administrative divisions 14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara 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)


municipalities: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin-Sonbong), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)
Age structure 0-14 years: 18.8% (male 1,100,672/female 1,042,327)


15-64 years: 70.5% (male 4,019,648/female 4,016,429)


65 years and over: 10.7% (male 554,043/female 660,924) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 23.3% (male 2,758,826/female 2,679,093)


15-64 years: 68.1% (male 7,852,282/female 8,024,429)


65 years and over: 8.5% (male 709,599/female 1,277,496) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports 165 (2007) 77 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 70


over 3,047 m: 7


2,438 to 3,047 m: 9


1,524 to 2,437 m: 18


914 to 1,523 m: 5


under 914 m: 31 (2007)
total: 36


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 22


1,524 to 2,437 m: 8


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 95


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 23


under 914 m: 71 (2007)
total: 41


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 19


914 to 1,523 m: 13


under 914 m: 7 (2007)
Area total: 110,860 sq km


land: 110,860 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Pennsylvania slightly smaller than Mississippi
Background The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule, marked initially by neglect, became increasingly repressive, provoking an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the regime together since then. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic downturn in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the southwest border - is a continuing problem. The US Coast Guard intercepted 2,864 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2006. An independent kingdom for much of its long history, 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 of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il-so'ng, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, 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 his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development, as well as its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and massive conventional armed forces, are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations that the DPRK was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the US 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." Beginning in August 2003, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US have participated in the Six-Party Talks aimed at resolving the stalemate over the DPRK's nuclear programs. North Korea pulled out of the talks in November 2005. It test-fired ballistic missiles in July 2006 and tested a nuclear weapon in October 2006. In October 2006, the DRPK announced that it would return to the Six-Party Talks. The Talks reconvened in December 2006.
Birth rate 11.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 15.06 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $35.01 billion


expenditures: $36.73 billion (2007 est.)
revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA
Capital name: Havana


geographic coordinates: 23 07 N, 82 21 W


time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
name: Pyongyang


geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E


time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline 3,735 km 2,495 km
Constitution 24 February 1976; amended July 1992 and June 2002 adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Cuba


conventional short form: Cuba


local long form: Republica de Cuba


local short form: Cuba
conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea


conventional short form: North Korea


local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk


local short form: Choson


abbreviation: DPRK
Death rate 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 7.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $16.79 billion (convertible currency); another $15-20 billion owed to Russia (31 December 2007 est.) $12 billion (1996 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Michael E. PARMLY; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado, Havana; telephone: [53] (7) 833-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: [53] (7) 833-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power
Diplomatic representation in the US none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Jorge BOLANOS Suarez; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518; FAX: [1] (202) 797-8521 none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Disputes - international US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)
Economic aid - recipient $87.8 million (2005 est.) $NA; note - approximately 350,000 metric tons in food aid, worth approximately $118 million, through the World Food Program appeal in 2004, plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations (2005)
Economy - overview The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has rolled back limited reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. Since late 2000, Venezuela has been providing oil on preferential terms, and it currently supplies about 100,000 barrels per day of petroleum products. Cuba has been paying for the oil, in part, with the services of Cuban personnel in Venezuela, including some 20,000 medical professionals. In 2007, high metals prices continued to boost Cuban earnings from nickel and cobalt production. Havana continued to invest in the country's energy sector to mitigate electrical blackouts that had plagued the country since 2004. 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 shortages of spare parts. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. Due in part to severe summer flooding followed by dry weather conditions in the fall of 2006, the nation has suffered its 12th year of food shortages because of on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, and chronic shortages of tractors and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape mass starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2004, the regime formalized an arrangement whereby private "farmers' markets" were allowed to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. In October 2005, the regime reversed some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. By December 2005, the regime terminated most international humanitarian assistance operations in North Korea (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and restricted the activities of remaining international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. External food aid now comes primarily from China and South Korea in the form of grants and long-term concessional loans. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations.
Electricity - consumption 13.87 billion kWh (2006) 18.57 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2006) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2006) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 16.45 billion kWh (2006) 22.19 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m
Environment - current issues air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
Environment - international agreements party to: 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, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates Convertible pesos per US dollar - 0.9259 (2007), 0.9231 (2006)


note: Cuba has two currencies in circulation: the Cuban peso (CUP) and the convertible peso (CUC); in April 2005 the official exchange rate changed from $1 per CUC to $1.08 per CUC (0.93 CUC per $1), both for individuals and enterprises; individuals can buy 24 Cuban pesos (CUP) for each CUC sold, or sell 25 Cuban pesos for each CUC bought; enterprises, however, must exchange CUP and CUC at a 1:1 ratio.
official: North Korean won per US dollar - 141 (2006), 170 (December 2004), 150 (December 2002), market: North Korean won per US dollar - 2,500-3,000 (December 2006)
Executive branch chief of state: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (president since 24 February 2008); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura (since 24 February 2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (president since 24 February 2008); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura (since 24 February 2008)


cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State and appointed by the National Assembly or the 31-member Council of State, elected by the Assembly to act on its behalf when it is not in session


elections: president and vice presidents elected by the National Assembly for a term of five years; election last held 24 February 2008 (next to be held in 2013)


election results: Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100%
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


head of government: Premier KIM Yong Il (since 11 April 2007); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003), THAE Jong Su (since 16 October 2007)


cabinet: Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA


elections: 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 (2006) NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, agricultural and fishery products
Exports - partners Netherlands 21.8%, Canada 21.6%, China 18.7%, Spain 5.9% (2006) China 35%, South Korea 24%, Thailand 9%, Japan 9% (2005)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description five equal horizontal bands of blue (top, center, and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center 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: 4.6%


industry: 26.1%


services: 69.3% (2007 est.)
agriculture: 30%


industry: 34%


services: 36% (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 7% (2007 est.) 1.6% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 21 30 N, 80 00 W 40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports - 23 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for US- and European-bound drugs; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999 for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, 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; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years 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
Imports 98,100 bbl/day (2005) 23,520 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain
Imports - partners Venezuela 26.6%, China 15.6%, Spain 9.8%, Germany 6.4%, Canada 5.6%, Italy 4.4%, US 4.3%, Brazil 4.2% (2006) China 42%, South Korea 28%, Russia 9%, Thailand 8% (2005)
Independence 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902); not acknowledged by the Cuban Government as a day of independence 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate 8% (2007 est.) NA%
Industries sugar, petroleum, tobacco, construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism
Infant mortality rate total: 6.04 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 6.76 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 5.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total: 22.56 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 20.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.6% (2007 est.) NA%
International organization participation ACP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Irrigated land 8,700 sq km (2003) 14,600 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force 4.853 million


note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (2007 est.)
9.6 million (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 20%


industry: 19.4%


services: 60.6% (2005)
agriculture: 36%


industry and services: 64% (2002)
Land boundaries total: 29 km


border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km


note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and remains part of Cuba
total: 1,673 km


border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use arable land: 27.63%


permanent crops: 6.54%


other: 65.83% (2005)
arable land: 22.4%


permanent crops: 1.66%


other: 75.94% (2005)
Languages Spanish Korean
Legal system based on Spanish civil law and influenced by American legal concepts, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on Prussian 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 National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (number of seats in the National Assembly is based on population; 614 seats; members elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 20 January 2008 (next to be held in January 2013)


election results: Cuba's Communist Party is the only legal party, and officially sanctioned candidates run unopposed
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: 77.08 years


male: 74.85 years


female: 79.43 years (2007 est.)
total population: 71.92 years


male: 69.18 years


female: 74.8 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.8%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.8% (2002 census)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99%
Location Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida 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: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic 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: 12 ships (1000 GRT or over) 35,030 GRT/51,388 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 2


foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1)


registered in other countries: 16 (Bahamas 1, Cyprus 2, Netherlands Antilles 1, Panama 11, Spain 1) (2007)
total: 171 ships (1000 GRT or over) 854,268 GRT/1,225,453 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 12, cargo 131, chemical tanker 1, container 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 3


foreign-owned: 29 (Egypt 1, India 1, Israel 1, Lebanon 3, Lithuania 1, Pakistan 1, Romania 6, Russia 1, Syria 7, Turkey 1, UAE 4, Yemen 2)


registered in other countries: (unknown 1) (2007)
Military - note Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993 -
Military branches Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, FAR): Revolutionary Army (ER; includes Territorial Militia Troops, MTT), Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, MGR; includes Marine Corps), Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Youth Labor Army (EJT) (2008) North Korean People's Army: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 3.8% (2006 est.) NA
National holiday Triumph of the Revolution, 1 January (1959) Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality noun: Cuban(s)


adjective: Cuban
noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
Natural hazards the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate -1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
People - note illicit emigration is a continuing problem; Cubans attempt to depart the island and enter the US using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, direct flights, or falsified visas; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US including direct flights to Miami and over-land via the southwest border -
Pipelines gas 49 km; oil 230 km (2007) oil 154 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under KWP control), Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under KWP control)
Political pressure groups and leaders NA none
Population 11,394,043 (July 2007 est.) 23,301,725 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% NA%
Population growth rate 0.273% (2007 est.) 0.785% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station; North Korea has a "national intercom" cable radio station wired throughout the country that is a significant source of information for the average North Korean citizen; it is wired into most residences and workplaces and carries news and commentary), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2006)
Railways total: 4,226 km


standard gauge: 4,226 km 1.435-m gauge (140 km electrified)


note: an additional 7,742 km of track is used by sugar plantations; about 65% of this track is standard gauge; the rest is narrow gauge (2006)
total: 5,214 km


standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2006)
Religions nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented 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: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.056 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.838 male(s)/female


total population: 0.992 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.555 male(s)/female


total population: 0.945 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage 16 years of age; universal 17 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: greater investment beginning in 1994 and the establishment of a new Ministry of Information Technology and Communications in 2000 has resulted in improvements in the system; wireless service is expensive and must be paid in convertible pesos which effectively limits mobile cellular subscribership


domestic: national fiber-optic system under development; 95% of switches digitized by end of 2006; fixed telephone line density remains low, at less than 10 per 100 inhabitants; domestic cellular service expanding but remains at only about 2 per 100 persons


international: country code - 53; fiber-optic cable laid to but not linked to US network; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)
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 972,900 (2006) 980,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 152,700 (2006) -
Television broadcast stations 58 (1997) 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003)
Terrain mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate 1.6 children born/woman (2007 est.) 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 1.9% (2007 est.) NA%
Waterways 240 km (2007) 2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007)
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