Korea, North (2006) | Belize (2006) | |
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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) |
6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo |
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: 39.5% (male 57,923/female 55,678)
15-64 years: 57% (male 82,960/female 81,046) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 4,888/female 5,235) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs | bananas, coca, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments |
Airports | 77 (2006) | 43 (2006) |
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: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
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: 38
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 26 (2006) |
Area | total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
total: 22,966 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Mississippi | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
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. | Belize was the site of several Mayan city states until their decline at the end of the first millennium A.D. The British and Spanish disputed the region in the 17th and 18th centuries; it formally became the colony of British Honduras in 1854. Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increasing urban crime. |
Birth rate | 15.54 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 28.84 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $262 million
expenditures: $329 million; including capital expenditures of $70 million (2005 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) |
name: Belmopan
geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 46 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer | tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) |
Coastline | 2,495 km | 386 km |
Constitution | adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998 | 21 September 1981 |
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: none
conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras |
Death rate | 7.13 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 5.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $12 billion (1996 est.) | $1.362 billion (June 2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert J. DIETER
embassy: 29 Gabourel Lane, Belize City mailing address: P. O. Box 286, Belize City telephone: [501] 227-7161 through 7163 FAX: [501] 223-0802 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York | chief of mission: Ambassador Lisa M. SHOMAN
chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
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) | Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the largely uninhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; OAS seeks to revive the 2002 failed Belize-Guatemala Differendum that created a small adjustment to land boundary, a Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, joint ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and substantial US-UK financial package |
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 | $NA |
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. | In this small, essentially private-enterprise economy the tourism industry is the number one foreign exchange earner followed by marine products, citrus, cane sugar, bananas, and garments. The government's expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in September 1998, led to sturdy GDP growth averaging nearly 5% in 1999-2005. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and foreign debt. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors. |
Electricity - consumption | 17.43 billion kWh (2003) | 111.6 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 18.75 billion kWh (2003) | 120 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation | deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese | mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% |
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) | Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam president of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju premier
head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003) cabinet: 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG, Sr. (since 17 November 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Said Wilbert MUSA (since 28 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister John BRICENO (since 1 September 1998) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, fishery products | sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood |
Exports - partners | China 45.6%, South Korea 20.2%, Japan 12.9% (2004) | US 30.6%, UK 25%, France 4.8% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 34% services: 36% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 14.2%
industry: 15.2% services: 61.2% (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2005 est.) | 3.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 127 00 E | 17 15 N, 88 45 W |
Geography - note | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | 22 (2006) | - |
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 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 | transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector |
Imports | 22,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco |
Imports - partners | China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004) | US 31%, Mexico 11.6%, Russia 8.8%, Cuba 6%, Guatemala 5.6%, China 4.6%, Spain 4.4% (2005) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | 21 September 1981 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.6% (1999) |
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 | garment production, food processing, tourism, construction |
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: 24.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 3% (2005 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 14,600 sq km (2003) | 30 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) |
Labor force | 9.6 million | 90,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 36%
industry and services: 64% |
agriculture: 27%
industry: 18% services: 55% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
total: 516 km
border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km |
Land use | arable land: 22.4%
permanent crops: 1.66% other: 75.94% (2005) |
arable land: 3.05%
permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005) |
Languages | Korean | English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole |
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 | English 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; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties |
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 members appointed by the governor general - 6 on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 1 each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, and the National Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee; members are appointed for five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PUP 21, UDP 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.65 years
male: 68.92 years female: 74.51 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 68.3 years
male: 66.43 years female: 70.26 years (2006 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: 94.1% male: 94.1% female: 94.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico |
Map references | Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
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 in the north, 3 nm in the south; note - from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's territorial sea is 3 nm; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act, 1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for negotiating a definitive agreement on territorial differences with Guatemala
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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: 285 ships (1000 GRT or over) 985,464 GRT/1,322,629 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 36, cargo 203, chemical tanker 7, container 4, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 225 (China 103, Croatia 1, Cyprus 2, Estonia 3, Germany 3, Greece 2, Hong Kong 8, Iceland 2, Indonesia 2, Italy 4, Japan 2, North Korea 2, South Korea 4, Latvia 6, Lithuania 1, Malaysia 1, Mexico 1, Norway 2, Poland 2, Russia 36, Singapore 6, Spain 3, Switzerland 1, Turkey 11, UAE 5, Ukraine 7, US 5) (2006) |
Military branches | North Korean People's Army: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005) | Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5,217.4 million (FY02) | $19 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.7% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) | Independence Day, 21 September (1981) |
Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun: Belizean(s)
adjective: Belizean |
Natural hazards | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall | frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
Natural resources | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower | arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 154 km (2006) | - |
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) | People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Dean BARROW, party leader; Douglas SINGH, party chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Adele CATZIM] |
Population | 23,113,019 (July 2006 est.) | 287,730 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 33% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.84% (2006 est.) | 2.31% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2003) | AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 5,214 km
standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2005) |
- |
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 49.6%, Protestant 27% (Pentecostal 7.4%, Anglican 5.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5.2%, Mennonite 4.1%, Methodist 3.5%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.5%), other 14%, none 9.4% (2000) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 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: above-average system
domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay international: country code - 501; satellite earth station - 8 (Intelsat - 2, unknown - 6) (2005) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 980,000 (2003) | 33,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 93,100 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east | flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 2.1 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 3.6 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 12.9% (2003) |
Waterways | 2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2006) | 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2005) |