Korea, North (2001) | Reunion (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 3 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), Namp'o-si* (Namp'o City), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan Province), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan Province), P'yongyang-si* (P'yongyang City), Yanggang-do (Yanggang Province) | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
25.52% (male 2,873,390; female 2,733,163) 15-64 years: 67.63% (male 7,301,531; female 7,556,554) 65 years and over: 6.85% (male 486,805; female 1,016,785) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 30.4% (male 120,698/female 115,108)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 243,668/female 250,143) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 19,234/female 28,097) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 87 (2000 est.) | 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
120,540 sq km land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Mississippi | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
Background | Following World War II, Korea was split into a northern, communist half and a southern, Western-oriented half. 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 and chemical weapons are of major concern to the international community. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 19.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998) |
Capital | P'yongyang | Saint-Denis |
Climate | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 2,495 km | 207 km |
Constitution | adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | North Korean won (KPW) | - |
Death rate | 6.92 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $12 billion (1996 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (Swedish Embassy in P'yongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) | none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; note - North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, headed by YI Hyong-chol | none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | 33-km section of boundary with China in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - an estimated $200 million to $300 million in humanitarian aid from US, South Korea, Japan, and EU in 1997 plus much additional aid from the UN and non-governmental organizations; substantial continuing humanitarian aid, 1998-2000 | NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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. The nation faces its seventh year of food shortages because of 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 the major consequence of spreading economic failure, such as mass starvation, but the population remains vulnerable to prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for expanding investment and consumption goods. In 2000, the regime placed emphasis on expanding foreign trade links, embracing modern technology, and attracting foreign investment, but in no way at the expense of relinquishing central control over key national assets or undergoing market-oriented reforms. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 26.598 billion kWh (1999) | 1.084 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 28.6 billion kWh (1999) | 1.166 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
34.62% hydro: 65.38% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation | NA |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | official: North Korean won per US dollar - 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990), 2.3 (December 1989); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 200 | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | 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) 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% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Laurent CAYREL (since 16 July 2005)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $520 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); agricultural and fishery products | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | Japan 28%, South Korea 21%, China 5%, Germany 4%, Russia 1% (1995) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $22 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
30% industry: 42% services: 28% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -3% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 127 00 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | total:
31,200 km paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1996) |
total: 1,214 km (including 88 km of four-lane roads) (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $960 million (c.i.f., 1999 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; consumer goods, grain | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | China 33%, Japan 17%, Russia 5%, South Korea 4%, Germany 3% (1995) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 23.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | NA% |
International organization participation | ARF (dialogue partner), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 14,600 sq km (1993 est.) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 9.6 million | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,673 km border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
14% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 61% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.6%
permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.2% (2001) |
Languages | Korean | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | 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 | French law |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.02 years male: 68.04 years female: 74.15 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.95 years
male: 70.55 years female: 77.52 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write Korean total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Asia | World |
Maritime claims | 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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
110 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 661,792 GRT/903,367 DWT ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 94, combination bulk 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 1, short-sea passenger 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.7 billion to $4.9 billion (FY98 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 25% to 33% (FY98 est.) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
5,943,735 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
3,574,050 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
179,136 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Korean(s) adjective: Korean |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 37 km; petroleum product 180 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Chondoist Chongu Party [YU Mi-yong, chairwoman]; Korean Social Democratic Party [KIM Pyong-sik, chairman]; major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Chong-il, General Secretary] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 21,968,228 (July 2001 est.) | 776,948 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.22% (2001 est.) | 1.38% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan | Le Port |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 3.36 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
5,000 km standard gauge: 4,095 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified; 159 km double track) narrow gauge: 665 km 0.762-m gauge dual gauge: 240 km 1.435-m and 1.600-m gauges (four rails interlaced) (1996 est.) |
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Religions | 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 |
Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.48 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: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.1 million (1997) | 300,000 est (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 489,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 38 (1999) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 2.26 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.47 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 2,253 km
note: mostly navigable by small craft only |
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