##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Korea, North (2004) - Laos (2008)
Compare Korea, North (2004) z Laos (2008)
| Korea, North (2004) | Laos (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) |
16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural) and 1 capital city* (nakhon luang, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xekong, Xiangkhoang |
| 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.) |
0-14 years: 41.2% (male 1,349,352/female 1,338,252)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 1,795,029/female 1,835,168) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 90,188/female 114,009) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
| Airports | 78 (2003 est.) | 42 (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: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (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.) |
total: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 23 (2007) |
| Area | total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Mississippi | slightly larger than Utah |
| 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. | Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For three hundred years Lan Xang had influence reaching into present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as over all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came under the domination of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1986. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997. |
| Birth rate | 16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 34.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $470.4 million
expenditures: $643.5 million (2007 est.) |
| Capital | Pyongyang | name: Vientiane
geographic coordinates: 17 58 N, 102 36 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 2,495 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
| 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: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
| Currency | North Korean won (KPW) | - |
| Death rate | 6.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 11.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $12 billion (1996 est.) | $3.179 billion (2006) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) | chief of mission: Ambassador Ravic R. HUSO
embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, That Dam, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy Vientiane, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] 21-26-7000 FAX: [856] 21-26-7190 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York | chief of mission: Ambassador PHIANE Philakone
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
| 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 | Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels |
| 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 | $379 million (2006 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, 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. | The government of Laos, one of the few remaining one-party Communist states, began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 6% per year in 1988-2007 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a underdeveloped infrastructure, particularly in rural areas. It has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications, though the government is sponsoring major improvements in the road system with support from Japan and China. Electricity is available in urban areas and in most rural districts. Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice, accounts for about 40% of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from international donors and from foreign investment in hydropower and mining. Construction will be another strong economic driver, especially as hydroelectric dam and road projects gain steam. Several policy changes since 2004 may help spur growth. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to benefit from lower tariffs on exports. Laos is taking steps to join the World Trade Organization in the next few years; the resulting trade policy reforms will improve the business environment. On the fiscal side, a value-added tax (VAT) regime, slated to begin in 2008, should help streamline the government's inefficient tax system. |
| Electricity - consumption | 27.91 billion kWh (2001) | 1.193 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 728 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 326 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 30.01 billion kWh (2001) | 1.715 billion kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
| Environment - current issues | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water |
| 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
| 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) | kips per US dollar - 9,658 (2007), 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003) |
| 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: President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006); Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit (since 8 June 2006), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and THONGLOUN Sisoulit (since 27 March 2001) cabinet: Ministers appointed by president, approved by National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 8 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by president and elected by National Assembly for five-year term election results: CHOUMMALI Saignason elected president; BOUN-GNANG Volachit elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100%; BOUASONE Bouphavanh elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 97% |
| Exports | NA (2001) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products | wood products, coffee, electricity, tin, copper, gold |
| Exports - partners | South Korea 28.5%, China 28.4%, Japan 24.7% (2002) | Thailand 42.1%, Vietnam 9.5%, China 4% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
| 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 | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $29.58 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30.2%
industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 41.2%
industry: 32.5% services: 26.3% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2003 est.) | 7% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 127 00 E | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated | landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand |
| 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 |
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 28.5% (2002) |
| 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 | estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2005 was 5,600 hectares, about a 45% decrease from 2004; estimated potential opium production in 2005 was 28 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem |
| Imports | NA (2001) | 2,898 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | China 39.7%, Thailand 14.6%, Japan 11.2%, Germany 7.6%, South Korea 6.2% (2002) | Thailand 68.8%, China 11.3%, Vietnam 5.6% (2006) |
| Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA | 12% (2007 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 | copper, tin, gold, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement |
| 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.) |
total: 81.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 71.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA (2003 est.) | 5% (2007 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 | ACCT, ADB, APT, ARF, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Irrigated land | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,750 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) | People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee) |
| Labor force | 9.6 million | 2.1 million (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2005 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
total: 5,083 km
border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km |
| Land use | arable land: 20.76%
permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001) |
arable land: 4.01%
permanent crops: 0.34% other: 95.65% (2005) |
| Languages | Korean | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
| 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 | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| 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 National Assembly (115 seats; members elected by popular vote from a list of candidates selected by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 30 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPRP 113, independents 2 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.08 years
male: 68.38 years female: 73.92 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 55.89 years
male: 53.82 years female: 58.04 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.7% male: 77% female: 60.9% (2001 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
| Map references | Asia | Southeast Asia |
| 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 |
none (landlocked) |
| 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.) |
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2007) |
| Military - note | - | Laos is one of the world's least developed countries; the Lao People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; there is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue; the massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005) |
| Military branches | Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces | Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF): Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force (2008) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5,217.4 million (FY02) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 22.9% (2003) | 0.5% (2006) |
| 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) | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
| Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
| Natural hazards | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall | floods, droughts |
| Natural resources | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | oil 154 km (2004) | refined products 540 km (2007) |
| 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) | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [CHOUMMALI Saignason]; other parties proscribed |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none | political parties and groups other than LPRP are proscribed |
| Population | 22,697,553 (July 2004 est.) | 6,521,998 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | 30.7% (2005 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.98% (2004 est.) | 2.37% (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 7, FM 14, shortwave 2 (2006) |
| 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 |
Buddhist 65%, animist 32.9%, Christian 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.8% (1995 census) |
| 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.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.978 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.791 male(s)/female total population: 0.984 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal | 18 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: service to general public is poor but improving; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas
domestic: multiple service providers; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership about 10 per 100 persons international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.1 million (2001) | 90,067 (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 638,200 (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 38 (1999) | 7 (includes 1 station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi) (2006) |
| Terrain | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
| Total fertility rate | 2.2 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.59 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA (2003) | 2.4% (2005 est.) |
| Waterways | 2,250 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) |
4,600 km
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,900 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2007) |
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