##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Korea, North (2006) - Belgium (2005)
Compare Korea, North (2006) z Belgium (2005)
| Korea, North (2006) | Belgium (2005) | |
 |  | |
| 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) |
10 provinces (French: provinces, singular - province; Dutch: provincies, singular - provincie) and 3 regions* (French: regions; Dutch: gewesten); Antwerpen, Brabant Wallon, Brussels* (Bruxelles), Flanders*, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaams-Brabant, Wallonia*, West-Vlaanderen
note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.8% (male 2,788,944/female 2,708,331)
15-64 years: 68% (male 7,762,442/female 7,955,522) 65 years and over: 8.2% (male 667,792/female 1,229,988) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.9% (male 892,995/female 855,177)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 3,435,282/female 3,373,917) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 745,178/female 1,061,839) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs | sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk |
| Airports | 77 (2006) | 43 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 36
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 22 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
total: 25
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 41
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 7 (2006) |
total: 18
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 16 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
total: 30,528 sq km
land: 30,278 sq km water: 250 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Mississippi | about the size of Maryland |
| Background | An independent kingdom for much of its long history, 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 of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il-so'ng, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, 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 his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development, as well as its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and massive conventional armed forces, are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations that the DPRK was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the US 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." Since August 2003, North Korea has participated in the Six-Party Talks with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US designed to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs. The fourth round of Six-Party Talks were held in Beijing during July-September 2005. All parties agreed to a Joint Statement of Principles in which, among other things, the six parties unanimously reaffirmed the goal of verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner. In the Joint Statement, the DPRK committed to "abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning, at an early date, to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to IAEA safeguards." The Joint Statement also commits the US and other parties to certain actions as the DPRK denuclearizes. The US offered a security assurance, specifying that it had no nuclear weapons on ROK territory and no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nuclear or other weapons. The US and DPRK will take steps to normalize relations, subject to the DPRK's implementing its denuclearization pledge and resolving other longstanding concerns. While the Joint Statement provides a vision of the end-point of the Six-Party process, much work lies ahead to implement the elements of the agreement. | Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. It has prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy. |
| Birth rate | 15.54 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.48 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $173.7 billion
expenditures: $174.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.56 billion (2004 est.) |
| Capital | name: Pyongyang
geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Brussels |
| Climate | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer | temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy |
| Coastline | 2,495 km | 66.5 km |
| Constitution | adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998 | 7 February 1831; amended many times; revised 14 July 1993 to create a federal state |
| 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: Choson abbreviation: DPRK |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium
conventional short form: Belgium local long form: Royaume de Belgique/Koninkrijk Belgie local short form: Belgique/Belgie |
| Death rate | 7.13 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $12 billion (1996 est.) | $28.3 billion (1999 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power | chief of mission: Ambassador Tom C. KOROLOGOS
embassy: Regentlaan 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: PSC 82, Box 002, APO AE 09710 telephone: [32] (2) 508-2111 FAX: [32] (2) 511-2725 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York | chief of mission: Ambassador Franciskus VAN DAELE
chancery: 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 333-3079 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York |
| 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, $1.072 billion (2002) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - approximately 350,000 metric tons in food aid, worth approximately $118 million, through the World Food Program appeal in 2004, 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 shortages of spare parts. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. Despite an increased harvest in 2005 because of more stable weather conditions, fertilizer assistance from South Korea, and an extraordinary mobilization of the population to help with agricultural production, the nation has suffered its 11th year of food shortages because of on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, and chronic shortages of tractors and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape mass starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2004, the regime formalized an arrangement whereby private "farmers markets" were allowed to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. In October 2005, the regime reversed some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. In December 2005, the regime confirmed that it intended to carry out earlier threats to terminate all international humanitarian assistance operations in the DPRK (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and to restrict the activities of international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations. | This modern private enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north. With few natural resources, Belgium must import substantial quantities of raw materials and export a large volume of manufactures, making its economy unusually dependent on the state of world markets. Roughly three-quarters of its trade is with other EU countries. Public debt is nearly 100% of GDP. On the positive side, the government has succeeded in balancing its budget, and income distribution is relatively equal. Belgium began circulating the euro currency in January 2002. Economic growth in 2001-03 dropped sharply because of the global economic slowdown, with moderate recovery in 2004. |
| Electricity - consumption | 17.43 billion kWh (2003) | 78.82 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 9.1 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 16.7 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 18.75 billion kWh (2003) | 76.58 billion kWh (2002) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
lowest point: North Sea 0 m
highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m |
| Environment - current issues | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation | the environment is exposed to intense pressures from human activities: urbanization, dense transportation network, industry, extensive animal breeding and crop cultivation; air and water pollution also have repercussions for neighboring countries; uncertainties regarding federal and regional responsibilities (now resolved) have slowed progress in tackling environmental challenges |
| 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-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
| Ethnic groups | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese | Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11% |
| 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 - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
| 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: Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA elections: 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: King ALBERT II (since 9 August 1993); Heir Apparent Prince PHILIPPE, son of the monarch
head of government: Prime Minister Guy VERHOFSTADT (since 13 July 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers formally appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch and then approved by parliament note: government coalition - VLD, MR, PS, SP.A-Spirit |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | 450,000 bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, fishery products | machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | China 45.6%, South Korea 20.2%, Japan 12.9% (2004) | Germany 19.9%, France 17.2%, Netherlands 11.8%, UK 8.6%, US 6.5%, Italy 5.2% (2004) |
| 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 vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 34% services: 36% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 1.3%
industry: 25.7% services: 73% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $30,600 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2005 est.) | 2.6% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 127 00 E | 50 50 N, 4 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated | crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and NATO |
| Heliports | 22 (2006) | 1 (2004 est.) |
| Highways | - | total: 149,028 km
paved: 116,540 km (including 1,729 km of expressways) unpaved: 32,488 km (2002) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 23% (1996) |
| Illicit drugs | for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, 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; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years 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 | growing producer of synthetic drugs; transit point for US-bound ecstasy; source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for cocaine, heroin, hashish, and marijuana entering Western Europe; despite a strengthening of legislation, the country remains vulnerable to money laundering related to narcotics, automobiles, alcohol, and tobacco |
| Imports | 22,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 1.042 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain | machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products |
| Imports - partners | China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004) | Germany 18.4%, Netherlands 17%, France 12.5%, UK 6.8%, Ireland 6.3%, US 5.5% (2004) |
| Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | 4 October 1830 (a provisional government declares independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King Leopold I ascends to the throne) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.5% (2004 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 | engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 23.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.97 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 1.9% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Irrigated land | 14,600 sq km (2003) | 40 sq km (includes Luxembourg) (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) | Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van Cassatie (in Dutch) or Cour de Cassation (in French) (judges are appointed for life by the Government; candidacies have to be submitted by the High Justice Council) |
| Labor force | 9.6 million | 4.75 million (2004 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 36%
industry and services: 64% |
agriculture 1.3%, industry 24.5%, services 74.2% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
total: 1,385 km
border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km |
| Land use | arable land: 22.4%
permanent crops: 1.66% other: 75.94% (2005) |
arable land: 23.28%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 76.32% note: includes Luxembourg (2001) |
| Languages | Korean | Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) |
| 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 | civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate or Senaat in Dutch, Senat in French (71 seats; 40 members are directly elected by popular vote, 31 are indirectly elected; members serve four-year terms) and a Chamber of Deputies or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Dutch, Chambre des Representants in French (150 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 May 2003 (next to be held no later than May 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - SP.A-Spirit 15.5%, VLD 15.4%, CD & V 12.7%, PS 12.8%, MR 12.1%, VB 9.4%, CDH 5.6%; seats by party - SP.A-Spirit 7, VLD 7, CD & V 6, PS 6, MR 5, VB 5, CDH 2, other 2 (note - there are also 31 indirectly elected senators); Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - VLD 15.4%, SP.A-Spirit 14.9%, CD & V 13.3%, PS 13.0%, VB 11.6%, MR 11.4%, CDH 5.5%, Ecolo 3.1%; seats by party - VLD 25, SP.A-Spirit 23, CD & V 21, PS 25, VB 18, MR 24, CDH 8 Ecolo 4, other 2 note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities; this reality leaves six governments each with its own legislative assembly |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.65 years
male: 68.92 years female: 74.51 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 78.62 years
male: 75.44 years female: 81.94 years (2005 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: 98% male: NA% female: NA% |
| 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, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands |
| 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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: geographic coordinates define outer limit continental shelf: median line with neighbors |
| Merchant marine | total: 232 ships (1000 GRT or over) 983,182 GRT/1,370,104 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 14, cargo 176, chemical tanker 1, container 4, livestock carrier 3, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 8, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 60 (British Virgin Islands 1, China 1, Denmark 1, Egypt 2, Greece 1, India 1, Lebanon 6, Lithuania 1, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 3, Romania 11, Russia 1, Singapore 1, Syria 14, Turkey 4, UAE 6, US 3, Yemen 2) registered in other countries: 5 (Belize 2, Mongolia 3) (2006) |
total: 53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,146,301 GRT/1,588,184 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 15, cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, container 8, liquefied gas 17, petroleum tanker 9 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 4, France 4, Greece 4) registered in other countries: 101 (2005) |
| Military branches | North Korean People's Army: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005) | Land, Naval, and Air Components (2005) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5,217.4 million (FY02) | $3.999 billion (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.3% (2003) |
| National holiday | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) | 21 July (1831) ascension to the Throne of King Leopold I |
| Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun: Belgian(s)
adjective: Belgian |
| Natural hazards | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall | flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes |
| Natural resources | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower | construction materials, silica sand, carbonates |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | oil 154 km (2006) | gas 1,485 km; oil 158 km; refined products 535 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under KWP control), Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under KWP control) | Flemish parties: Christian Democrats and Flemish or CD & V [Jo VANDEURZEN]; Flemish Liberal Democrats or VLD [Bart SOMERS]; GROEN! (formerly AGALEV, Flemish Greens) [Vera DUA]; New Flemish Alliance or NVA [Bart DE WEVER]; Socialist Party.Alternative or SP.A [Caroline GENNEZ]; Spirit [Geert LAMBERT] (new party now associated with SP.A); Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) or VB [Frank VANHECKE]
Francophone parties: Ecolo (Francophone Greens) [Jean-Michel JAVAUX, Evelyne HUYTEBROECK, Claude BROUIR]; Humanist and Democratic Center of CDH [Joelle MILQUET]; National Front or FN [Daniel FERET]; Reformist Movement or MR [Didier REYNDERS]; Socialist Party or PS [Elio DI RUPO]; other minor parties |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Christian, Socialist, and Liberal Trade Unions; Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions; various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as Pax Christi and groups representing immigrants |
| Population | 23,113,019 (July 2006 est.) | 10,364,388 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 4% (1989 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.84% (2006 est.) | 0.15% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Antwerp, Brussels, Gent, Liege, Oostende, Zeebrugge |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2003) | FM 79, AM 7, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 5,214 km
standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2005) |
total: 3,521 km
standard gauge: 3,521 km 1.435-m gauge (2,927 km electrified) (2004) |
| 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 75%, Protestant or other 25% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.54 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 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, technologically advanced, and completely automated domestic and international telephone and telegraph facilities
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; extensive cable network; limited microwave radio relay network international: country code - 32; 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 980,000 (2003) | 5,120,400 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 8,135,500 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003) | 25 (plus 10 repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east | flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast |
| Total fertility rate | 2.1 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.64 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 12% (first half, 2004) |
| Waterways | 2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2006) | 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use) (2003) |
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