Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / Korea, North (2003) - World (2002) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Korea, North (2003) - World (2002)

Compare Korea, North (2003) z World (2002)

 Korea, North (2003)World (2002)
 Korea, NorthWorld
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) 268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
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: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)


15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201)


65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs -
Airports 72 (2002) -
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)
-
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)
-
Area total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Mississippi land area about 16 times the size of the US
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. Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Birth rate 17.61 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 21.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
-
Capital Pyongyang -
Climate temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Coastline 2,495 km 356,000 km
Constitution adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 -
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
-
Currency North Korean won (KPW) -
Death rate 6.93 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $12 billion (1996 est.) $2 trillion for less developed countries (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US none (Swedish Embassy in P'yongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) -
Diplomatic representation in the US none; note - North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York -
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 -
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 official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion (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. 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. Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001. The causes: slowdowns in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (20% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.3% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 7.3% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 5.2% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations were strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2001, see the individual country entries.)
Electricity - consumption 27.91 billion kWh (2001) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) -
Electricity - production 30.01 billion kWh (2001) -
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 29%


hydro: 71%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
fossil fuel: NA%


hydro: NA%


nuclear: NA%


other: NA%
Elevation extremes lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Environment - current issues water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
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
-
Ethnic groups racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese -
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) -
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%
-
Exports NA (2001) $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners China 23.5%, Japan 19.9%, Costa Rica 12.4%, Brazil 6.5% (2002) in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Fiscal 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 -
GDP purchasing power parity - $22.26 billion (2002 est.) GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $47 trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 30.4%


industry: 32.3%


services: 37.3% (2000 est.)
agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 1% (2002 est.) 2.2% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 40 00 N, 127 00 E -
Geography - note strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe
Highways total: 31,200 km


paved: 1,997 km


unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.)
total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


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


highest 10%: NA%
Imports NA (2001) $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
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) in value, about 75% of imports into the developed countries
Independence 15 August 1945 (from Japan) -
Industrial production growth rate NA% 6% (2000 est.)
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 dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
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.)
51.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA% developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2001 est.); national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries
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 -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 10,350 (2000 est.)
Irrigated land 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) -
Labor force 9.6 million NA
Labor force - by occupation agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries total: 1,673 km


border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Land use arable land: 14.12%


permanent crops: 2.49%


other: 83.39% (1998 est.)
arable land: 10.58%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 88.42% (1998 est.)
Languages Korean Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
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 all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
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
-
Life expectancy at birth total population: 70.79 years


male: 68.1 years


female: 73.61 years (2003 est.)
total population: 63.94 years


male: 62.28 years


female: 65.67 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write Korean


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99%
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 77%


male: 83%


female: 71% (1995 est.)
Location Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea -
Map references Asia Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the 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
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
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.)
-
Military branches Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $5,217.4 million (FY02) aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 33.9% (FY02) roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)
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) -
Nationality noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
-
Natural hazards late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Natural resources coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 22,466,481 (July 2003 est.) 6,233,821,945 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate 1.07% (2003 est.) 1.23% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Radio broadcast stations AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999) AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios - NA
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)
total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line


broad gauge: 251,153 km


standard gauge: 710,754 km


narrow gauge: 239,430 km
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
Christians 32.88% (of which Roman Catholics 17.39%, Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.54%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.54%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.92%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions 12.6%, non-religious 12.63%, atheists 2.47% (2000 est.)
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: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 17 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: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
Telephones - main lines in use 1.1 million (1997) NA
Telephones - mobile cellular NA NA
Television broadcast stations 38 (1999) NA
Terrain mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Total fertility rate 2.25 children born/woman (2003 est.) 2.7 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2001 est.)
Waterways 2,253 km


note: mostly navigable by small craft only
-
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.