Jamaica (2002) | Korea, North (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland | 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: 29.1% (male 399,249; female 380,864)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 858,433; female 859,174) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 81,321; female 100,988) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 25% (male 2,845,727; female 2,763,800)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 7,485,310; female 7,746,603) 65 years and over: 7.2% (male 541,155; female 1,083,886) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs |
Airports | 35 (2001) | 72 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
total: 34
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
total: 38
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Area | total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than Mississippi |
Background | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. | 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 | 17.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 17.61 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Kingston | Pyongyang |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 2,495 km |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
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 | Jamaican dollar (JMD) | North Korean won (KPW) |
Death rate | 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.93 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.2 billion (2001 est.) | $12 billion (1996 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Sue McCourt COBB
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743 |
none (Swedish Embassy in P'yongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Seymour MULLINGS
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
none; note - 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 objects to illegal migration of North Koreans into northern China; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953 |
Economic aid - recipient | $102.7 million (1995) (1995) | $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 | The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy grew 0.8% in 2000 and 1.1% in 2001, but the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September terrorist attacks, has stunted the economic recovery. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. | 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, 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 the victim of 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 2003, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue have held down the flow of desperately needed food aid and have threatened fuel aid as well. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.27 billion kWh (2000) | 27.91 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 6.74 billion kWh (2000) | 30.01 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 89%
hydro: 3% nuclear: 0% other: 7% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 29%
hydro: 71% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
Environment - current issues | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese |
Exchange rates | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 47.277 (December 2001), 45.996 (2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997) | 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 General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
chief of state: KIM Chong-il (since NA July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, KIM Chong-il was reelected Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded the nation's "highest administrative authority"; KIM Yong-nam was reelected President of the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium and given the responsibility of representing the state and receiving diplomatic credentials
head of government: Premier PAK Pong-chu (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom-ki (since 5 September 1998), CHON Sung-hun (since 3 September 2003), NO Tu-chol (since 3 September 2003) 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 | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products |
Exports - partners | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.9%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) | China 23.5%, Japan 19.9%, Costa Rica 12.4%, Brazil 6.5% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) | 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 - $9.8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $22.26 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7%
industry: 28% services: 65% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 30.4%
industry: 32.3% services: 37.3% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.1% (2001 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 40 00 N, 127 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated |
Highways | total: 19,000 km
paved: 13,433 km unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
total: 31,200 km
paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29% (1996) (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions | - |
Imports | $3.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain |
Imports - partners | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) | China 24.9%, Brazil 12.1%, India 9.2%, Thailand 9.2%, Germany 7.8%, Japan 7.1%, Singapore 4.5%, Qatar 4% (2002) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products | 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 | 13.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 25.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2001 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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) | 21 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1998 est.) | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) |
Labor force | 1.13 million (1998) (1998) | 9.6 million |
Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) (1998) | 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: 16.07%
permanent crops: 9.23% other: 74.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 14.12%
permanent crops: 2.49% other: 83.39% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, patois English | Korean |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26 |
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: 75.64 years
male: 73.65 years female: 77.73 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 70.79 years
male: 68.1 years female: 73.61 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 85% male: 80.8% female: 89.1% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write Korean
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | 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 | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin exclusive economic 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: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 21,954 GRT/25,250 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Latvia 2, United States 2 (2002 est.) |
total: 149 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 881,276 GRT/1,309,547 DWT
ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 120, combination bulk 2, container 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 8, refrigerated cargo 4, 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 branches | Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force | Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) | $5,217.4 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 33.9% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 747,043 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 6,103,615 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 523,550 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 3,654,223 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 27,729 (2002 est.) | males: 180,875 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) |
Nationality | noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -6.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 10 km | oil 136 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] | Chondoist Chongu Party [YU Mi-yong, chairwoman]; Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong-tae, chairman]; major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Chong-il, general secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | NA |
Population | 2,680,029 (July 2002 est.) | 22,466,481 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.56% (2002 est.) | 1.07% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999) |
Radios | 1.215 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km, belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation, were in common carrier service but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite (2000) |
total: 5,214 km
standard gauge: 4,549 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) narrow gauge: 665 km 0.762-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other, including some spiritual cults 34.7% | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 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: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
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 | 353,000 (1996) | 1.1 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,640 (1996) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 38 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.05 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.25 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 2,253 km
note: mostly navigable by small craft only |