Compare Korea, North (2004) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

Compare Korea, North (2004) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

	Korea, North (2004)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

Administrative divisions	9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural) provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang) municipalites: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 24.6% (male 2,836,991; female 2,755,127) 15-64 years: 67.8% (male 7,575,590; female 7,812,878) 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 583,463; female 1,133,504) (2004 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs	-
Airports	78 (2003 est.)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 35 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2003 est.)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 43 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 8 (2003 est.)	-
Area	total: 120,540 sq km land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km	total: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Mississippi	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	An independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War; five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split, with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed republic in the southern portion by force, North Korea under its founder President KIM Il Sung adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as KIM's future successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994, when he assumed full power without opposition. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the North since the mid-1990s has relied 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, following revelations it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and in January 2003 declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Since August 2003 North Korea has participated in six-party talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: NA expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA	-
Capital	Pyongyang	-
Climate	temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	2,495 km	698 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	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Currency	North Korean won (KPW)	-
Death rate	6.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Debt - external	$12 billion (1996 est.)	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none; 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 has been attempting to stop mass illegal migration of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and oppression into northern China; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South Korea	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain
Economic aid - recipient	$NA; note - over $133 million in food aid through the World Food Program in 2003 plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations	-
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, 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. In 2003, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid as well. Black market prices continued to rise following the increase in official prices and wages in the summer of 2002, leaving some vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and unemployed, less able to buy goods. The regime, however, relaxed restrictions on farmers' market activities in spring 2003, leading to an expansion of market activity.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.
Electricity - consumption	27.91 billion kWh (2001)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - production	30.01 billion kWh (2001)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 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: 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 Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam President of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju Premier head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003) cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the SPA elections: election last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	NA (2001)	-
Exports - commodities	minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products	-
Exports - partners	South Korea 28.5%, China 28.4%, Japan 24.7% (2002)	-
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	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
GDP	purchasing power parity - $29.58 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 30.2% industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.)	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	1% (2003 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	40 00 N, 127 00 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E
Geography - note	strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Heliports	19 (2003 est.)	-
Highways	total: 31,200 km paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	-
Illicit drugs	for years, from the 1970's into the 2000's, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; in recent years, police investigations in Taiwan and Japan have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003; all indications point to North Korea emerging as an important regional source of illicit drugs targeting markets in Japan, Taiwan, the Russian Far East, and China	-
Imports	NA (2001)	-
Imports - commodities	petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain	-
Imports - partners	China 39.7%, Thailand 14.6%, Japan 11.2%, Germany 7.6%, South Korea 6.2% (2002)	-
Independence	15 August 1945 (from Japan)	-
Industrial production growth rate	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	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 24.84 deaths/1,000 live births male: 26.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA (2003 est.)	-
International organization participation	ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO	-
Irrigated land	14,600 sq km (1998 est.)	0 sq km
Judicial branch	Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)	-
Labor force	9.6 million	-
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: 20.76% permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	Korean	-
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	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
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: 71.08 years male: 68.38 years female: 73.92 years (2004 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%	-
Location	Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Asia	Political Map 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	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 203 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 921,577 GRT/1,339,929 DWT by type: bulk 6, cargo 166, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Albania 1, Belize 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 3, Germany 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 2, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 1, Portugal 1, Romania 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Syria 9, Tanzania 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 5, Ukraine 2, United States 3 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Military branches	Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$5,217.4 million (FY02)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	22.9% (2003)	-
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 6,181,038 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 3,694,855 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 189,014 (2004 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	NA
Natural resources	coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Pipelines	oil 154 km (2004)	-
Political parties and leaders	major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il, general secretary]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong, chairwoman] (under KWP control); Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae, chairman] (under KWP control)	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	-
Population	22,697,553 (July 2004 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia
Population below poverty line	NA	-
Population growth rate	0.98% (2004 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: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2003)	-
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	-
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: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)	-
Suffrage	17 years of age; universal	-
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing	general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	1.1 million (2001)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	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	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	2.2 children born/woman (2004 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	NA (2003)	-
Waterways	2,250 km note: most navigable only by small craft (2004)	-

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