Korea, North (2003) | Montserrat (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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) | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 23.5% (male 1,144/female 1,094)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 2,989/female 3,281) 65 years and over: 10.8% (male 527/female 503) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products |
Airports | 72 (2002) | 2 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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) |
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Area | total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Mississippi | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | English and Irish colonists from St. Kitts first settled on Montserrat in 1632; the first African slaves arrived three decades later. The British and French fought for possession of the island for most of the 18th century, but it finally was confirmed as a British possession in 1783. The island's sugar plantation economy was converted to small farm landholdings in the mid 19th century. Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in July 2003. |
Birth rate | 17.61 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 17.51 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Pyongyang | name: Plymouth
geographic coordinates: 16 42 N, 62 13 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Plymouth was abandoned in 1997 because of volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat |
Climate | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 2,495 km | 40 km |
Constitution | adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 | effective 19 December 1989 |
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: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
Currency | North Korean won (KPW) | - |
Death rate | 6.93 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 7.02 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $12 billion (1996 est.) | $8.9 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (Swedish Embassy in P'yongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; note - North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $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 | Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance (2002 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. 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. | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcanic activity and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.91 billion kWh (2001) | 18.6 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 30.01 billion kWh (2001) | 20 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 29%
hydro: 71% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: lava dome in English's Crater (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) estimated at over 930 m (2006) |
Environment - current issues | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation |
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 | black, white |
Exchange rates | 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) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Peter A. WATERWORTH (since 27 July 2007)
head of government: Chief Minister Lowell LEWIS (since 2 June 2006) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister |
Exports | NA (2001) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel; hot peppers, limes, live plants; cattle |
Exports - partners | China 23.5%, Japan 19.9%, Costa Rica 12.4%, Brazil 6.5% (2002) | US, Antigua and Barbuda (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $22.26 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30.4%
industry: 32.3% services: 37.3% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 23.1% services: 75.7% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | -1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 127 00 E | 16 45 N, 62 12 W |
Geography - note | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and comprised of three major volcanic centers of differing ages |
Highways | total: 31,200 km
paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | 458 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials |
Imports - partners | China 24.9%, Brazil 12.1%, India 9.2%, Thailand 9.2%, Germany 7.8%, Japan 7.1%, Singapore 4.5%, Qatar 4% (2002) | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (2006) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances |
Infant mortality rate | 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.) |
total: 7.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 2.6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | Caricom, CDB, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) |
Labor force | 9.6 million | 4,521
note: lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% | - |
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: 14.12%
permanent crops: 2.49% other: 83.39% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (2005) |
Languages | Korean | English |
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 | English common law and statutory 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 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 |
unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held 31 May 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - MCAP 36.1%, NPLM 29.4%, MDP 24.4%, independents 10.1%; seats by party - MCAP 4, NPLM 3, MDP 1, independents 1 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.79 years
male: 68.1 years female: 73.61 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 79 years
male: 76.8 years female: 81.31 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write Korean
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
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: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces | no regular military forces; Royal Montserrat Police Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5,217.4 million (FY02) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 33.9% (FY02) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 6,103,615 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,654,223 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 180,875 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
Natural hazards | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) |
Natural resources | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 136 km (2003) | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Montserrat Democratic Party or MDP [Lowell LEWIS]; Movement for Change and Prosperity or MCAP [Roselyn CASSELL-SEALY]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 22,466,481 (July 2003 est.) | 9,538
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.07% (2003 est.) | 1.048% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | 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) |
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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 |
Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.046 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.911 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.048 male(s)/female total population: 0.955 male(s)/female (2007 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: modern and fully digitalized
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-664; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.1 million (1997) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 38 (1999) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east | volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 2.25 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.77 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 6% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 2,253 km
note: mostly navigable by small craft only |
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