Korea, North (2005) | Luxembourg (2004) | |
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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) |
3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.2% (male 2,816,844/female 2,735,478)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 7,668,581/female 7,883,267) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 625,819/female 1,182,188) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 19% (male 45,422; female 42,638)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 155,519; female 151,891) 65 years and over: 14.5% (male 26,981; female 40,239) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs | barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes; livestock products |
Airports | 78 (2004 est.) | 2 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 35
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 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 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
total: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Mississippi | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. It 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 successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994. 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 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). In January 2003, it 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." From August 2003, North Korea has participated on and off in six-party talks with the China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs. | Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area. |
Birth rate | 16.09 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $11.82 billion
expenditures: $12.06 billion, including capital expenditures of $760 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Pyongyang | Luxembourg |
Climate | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer | modified continental with mild winters, cool summers |
Coastline | 2,495 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998 | 17 October 1868, occasional revisions |
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: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg |
Currency | - | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | 7.05 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.42 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $12 billion (1996 est.) | NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) | chief of mission: Ambassador Peter TERPELUK, Jr.
embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: [352] 46 01 23 FAX: [352] 46 14 01 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York | chief of mission: Ambassador Arlette CONZEMIUS-PACCOURD
chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens of thousands of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers and a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South over the Northern Limit Line; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima) | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $147 million (2002) |
Economic aid - recipient | NA; note - over $117 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 eleventh 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, 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 July 2002, the government took limited steps toward a freer market economy. In 2004, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid. Black market prices have 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. In 2004, the regime allowed private markets to sell a wider range of goods and permitted private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will constrain any further loosening of economic regulations. | This stable, high-income economy features solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector, which now accounts for about 22% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and trans-border workers for more than 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country has maintained a fairly strong growth rate and enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living. |
Electricity - consumption | 31.26 billion kWh (2002) | 6.07 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 744 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 6.389 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 33.62 billion kWh (2002) | 457 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation | air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese | Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers) |
Exchange rates | official: North Korean won per US dollar - 170 (December 2004), 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002) | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
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: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Jean ASSELBORN (since 31 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the monarch; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies note: government coalition - CSV and LSAP |
Exports | NA | 634 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products | machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass |
Exports - partners | China 29.9%, South Korea 24.1%, Japan 13.2% (2004) | Germany 23.3%, France 19%, Belgium 10.4%, UK 9.1%, Italy 6.8%, Spain 4.6%, Netherlands 4.3% (2003) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $25.01 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30.2%
industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 0.5%
industry: 16.6% services: 82.9% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $55,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | 1.2% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 127 00 E | 49 45 N, 6 10 E |
Geography - note | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated | landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world |
Heliports | 19 (2004 est.) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 31,200 km
paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.) |
total: 5,189 km
paved: 5,189 km (including 114 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
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 | 11,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) | 50,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain | minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods |
Imports - partners | China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004) | Belgium 29%, Germany 22.9%, France 11.4%, China 10.9%, Netherlands 4.8% (2003) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | 1839 (from the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 1.7% (2003 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 | banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum |
Infant mortality rate | total: 24.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.77 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA (2003 est.) | 2% (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 | ACCT, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) | 40 sq km (includes Belgium) (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) | judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch |
Labor force | 9.6 million | 200,000 (of whom 87,400 are foreign cross-border workers primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany) (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% | agriculture 1.9%, industry 8%, services 90.1% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
total: 359 km
border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km |
Land use | arable land: 20.76%
permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001) |
arable land: 23.28%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 76.32% (includes Belgium) (2001) |
Languages | Korean | Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language) |
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 civil law system; accepts 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; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties |
unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 13 June 2004 (next to be held by June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 36.1%, LSAP 23.4%, DP 16.1%, Green Party 11.6%, ADR 10%; seats by party - CSV 24, LSAP 14, DP 10, Green Party 7, ADR 5 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.37 years
male: 68.65 years female: 74.22 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 78.58 years
male: 75.31 years female: 82.07 years (2004 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: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea | Western Europe, between France and Germany |
Map references | Asia | Europe |
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: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 985,108 GRT/1,389,389 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 13, cargo 191, container 2, livestock carrier 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 52 (China 1, Denmark 2, France 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 4, Lithuania 1, Netherlands 1, Pakistan 2, Romania 10, Russia 2, Singapore 2, South Korea 2, Syria 9, Turkey 6, Ukraine 1, UAE 3) (2005) |
total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 652,454 GRT/805,101 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 11, container 8, liquefied gas 4, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 7 foreign-owned: Belgium 7, Denmark 1, Finland 3, France 3, Germany 10, Monaco 1, Netherlands 5, Switzerland 1, United Kingdom 7, United States 3 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | North Korean People's Army: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force; Civil Security Forces (2005) | Army |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5,217.4 million (FY02) | $231.6 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 0.9% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 115,721 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 95,107 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 2,601 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) | National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June |
Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg |
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 | iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 154 km (2004) | gas 155 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) | Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Gast GIBERYOEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (known also as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Francois BILTGEN]; Democratic Party or DP [Claude MEISCH]; Green Party [Francois BAUSCH]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party DEI LENK (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); LCGP (center-right trade union); OGBL (center-left trade union) |
Population | 22,912,177 (July 2005 est.) | 462,690 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.9% (2005 est.) | 1.28% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan | Mertert |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2003) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Railways | total: 5,214 km
standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2004) |
total: 274 km
standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (242 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 |
87% Roman Catholic, 13% Protestants, Jews, and Muslims (2000) |
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: 0.53 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: country code - 352; 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.1 million (2001) | 355,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 473,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003) | 5 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east | mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast |
Total fertility rate | 2.15 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003) | 3.6% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 2,250 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) |
37 km (on Moselle River) (2003) |