Korea, North (2004) | New Caledonia (2001) | |
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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) |
none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud |
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:
30.31% (male 31,674; female 30,416) 15-64 years: 63.95% (male 66,014; female 65,006) 65 years and over: 5.74% (male 5,548; female 6,205) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products |
Airports | 78 (2003 est.) | 29 (2000 est.) |
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:
6 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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:
23 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
total:
19,060 sq km land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Mississippi | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s seems to have dissipated. |
Birth rate | 16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 20.37 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues:
$861.3 million expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Pyongyang | Noumea |
Climate | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
Coastline | 2,495 km | 2,254 km |
Constitution | adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
conventional short form: North Korea local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk local short form: none note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country abbreviation: DPRK |
conventional long form:
Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
Currency | North Korean won (KPW) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF) |
Death rate | 6.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.62 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $12 billion (1996 est.) | $79 million (1998 est.) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1956 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) | none (overseas territory of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York | none (overseas territory of France) |
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 | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |
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 | $880 million annual subsidy from France |
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. | New Caledonia has more than 20% of the world's known nickel resources. In recent years, the economy has suffered because of depressed international demand for nickel, the principal source of export earnings. Only a negligible amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, the substantial financial support from France and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. The situation in 1998 was clouded by the spillover of financial problems in East Asia and by lower prices for nickel. Nickel prices jumped in 1999-2000, and large additions were made to capacity. French Government interests in the New Caledonian nickel industry are being transferred to local ownership. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.91 billion kWh (2001) | 1.414 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 30.01 billion kWh (2001) | 1.52 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
78.95% hydro: 21.05% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
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 | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
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) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 127.11 (January 2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998), 106.11 (1997), 93.00 (1996); note - linked at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro |
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 of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Thierry LATASTE (since 19 July 1999) head of government: President of the Government Jean LEQUES (since 28 May 1999) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress |
Exports | NA (2001) | $411 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
Exports - partners | South Korea 28.5%, China 28.4%, Japan 24.7% (2002) | Japan 27%, France 17%, Taiwan 12%, South Korea 9% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $29.58 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3 billion (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30.2%
industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 30% services: 66% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2003 est.) | 3.5% (1998 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 127 00 E | 21 30 S, 165 30 E |
Geography - note | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated | - |
Heliports | 19 (2003 est.) | 6 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 31,200 km
paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.) |
total:
4,825 km paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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) | $843 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain | transport equipment, machinery and electrical equipment, fuels, minerals, wine, sugar, rice |
Imports - partners | China 39.7%, Thailand 14.6%, Japan 11.2%, Germany 7.6%, South Korea 6.2% (2002) | France 49%, Australia 14%, Singapore 6%, New Zealand 5%, US 5% (1999) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | -0.6% (1996) |
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 | nickel mining and smelting |
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.) |
8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA (2003 est.) | 1.5% (1998 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 | ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) | 160 sq km (1991) |
Judicial branch | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
Labor force | 9.6 million | 79,395 (including 15, 018 unemployed, 1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) |
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% permanent pastures: 12% forests and woodland: 39% other: 49% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Korean | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
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 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 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 Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR 24, FLNKS 12, UNI 6, FCCI 4, FN 4, Alliance pour la Caledonie 3, LKS 1 note: New Caledonia elects 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA September 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May-1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.08 years
male: 68.38 years female: 73.92 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
73.02 years male: 70.08 years female: 76.11 years (2001 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: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Asia | Oceania |
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 |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 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.) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces | French Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5,217.4 million (FY02) | $192.3 million (1996) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 22.9% (2003) | 5.3% (1996) |
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) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun:
New Caledonian(s) adjective: New Caledonian |
Natural hazards | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
Natural resources | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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) | Alliance pour la Caledonie [Didier LEROUX]; Developper Ensemble pour Construire l'Avenir or DEPCA [Robert FROUIN]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Leopald SOREDIE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Groupe de l'Alliance Multiraciale or GAM [Dany DALMAYRAE]; Independance et Progres [Alphonse PUJAPUJANE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [Rock WAMYTAN] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); La Caledonie Autrement [Denis MILLIARD]; Loyalty Islands Development Front or FDIL [Cono HAMU]; National Front or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Charles WASHETINE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic or RPCR [Jacques LAFLEUR]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [leader NA]; Renouveau [Thierry VALET]; Socialist Kanak Liberation or LKS [Nidoish NAISSELINE]; Union Caledonienne or UC [Bernard LEPEU]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Andre GOPEA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 22,697,553 (July 2004 est.) | 204,863 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.98% (2004 est.) | 1.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan | Mueo, Noumea, Thio |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 107,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 5,214 km
standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2003) |
0 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 |
Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 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:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.1 million (2001) | 47,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 13,040 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 38 (1999) | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east | coastal plains with interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.2 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.48 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003) | 19% (1996) |
Waterways | 2,250 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) |
none |