Compare Korea, North (2007) - Cuba (2008)

Compare Korea, North (2007) z Cuba (2008)

	Korea, North (2007)	Cuba (2008)

Administrative divisions	9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural) provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang) municipalities: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin-Sonbong), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)	14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara
Age structure	0-14 years: 23.3% (male 2,758,826/female 2,679,093) 15-64 years: 68.1% (male 7,852,282/female 8,024,429) 65 years and over: 8.5% (male 709,599/female 1,277,496) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 18.8% (male 1,100,672/female 1,042,327) 15-64 years: 70.5% (male 4,019,648/female 4,016,429) 65 years and over: 10.7% (male 554,043/female 660,924) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs	sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock
Airports	77 (2007)	165 (2007)
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 (2007)	total: 70 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 31 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 41 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 7 (2007)	total: 95 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 71 (2007)
Area	total: 120,540 sq km land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km	total: 110,860 sq km land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Mississippi	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
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." Beginning in August 2003, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US have participated in the Six-Party Talks aimed at resolving the stalemate over the DPRK's nuclear programs. North Korea pulled out of the talks in November 2005. It test-fired ballistic missiles in July 2006 and tested a nuclear weapon in October 2006. In October 2006, the DRPK announced that it would return to the Six-Party Talks. The Talks reconvened in December 2006.	The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule, marked initially by neglect, became increasingly repressive, provoking an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the regime together since then. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic downturn in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the southwest border - is a continuing problem. The US Coast Guard intercepted 2,864 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2006.
Birth rate	15.06 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	11.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $35.01 billion expenditures: $36.73 billion (2007 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: Havana geographic coordinates: 23 07 N, 82 21 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate	temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer	tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October)
Coastline	2,495 km	3,735 km
Constitution	adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998	24 February 1976; amended July 1992 and June 2002
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: Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba
Death rate	7.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$12 billion (1996 est.)	$16.79 billion (convertible currency); another $15-20 billion owed to Russia (31 December 2007 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power	none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Michael E. PARMLY; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado, Havana; telephone: [53] (7) 833-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: [53] (7) 833-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland
Diplomatic representation in the US	none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York	none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Jorge BOLANOS Suarez; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518; FAX: [1] (202) 797-8521
Disputes - international	risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)	US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease
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 (2005)	$87.8 million (2005 est.)
Economy - overview	North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and shortages of spare parts. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. Due in part to severe summer flooding followed by dry weather conditions in the fall of 2006, the nation has suffered its 12th 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. By December 2005, the regime terminated most international humanitarian assistance operations in North Korea (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and restricted the activities of remaining international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. External food aid now comes primarily from China and South Korea in the form of grants and long-term concessional loans. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations.	The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has rolled back limited reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. Since late 2000, Venezuela has been providing oil on preferential terms, and it currently supplies about 100,000 barrels per day of petroleum products. Cuba has been paying for the oil, in part, with the services of Cuban personnel in Venezuela, including some 20,000 medical professionals. In 2007, high metals prices continued to boost Cuban earnings from nickel and cobalt production. Havana continued to invest in the country's energy sector to mitigate electrical blackouts that had plagued the country since 2004.
Electricity - consumption	18.57 billion kWh (2005)	13.87 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2006)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2006)
Electricity - production	22.19 billion kWh (2005)	16.45 billion kWh (2006)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m
Environment - current issues	water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation	air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation
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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese	mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%
Exchange rates	official: North Korean won per US dollar - 141 (2006), 170 (December 2004), 150 (December 2002), market: North Korean won per US dollar - 2,500-3,000 (December 2006)	Convertible pesos per US dollar - 0.9259 (2007), 0.9231 (2006) note: Cuba has two currencies in circulation: the Cuban peso (CUP) and the convertible peso (CUC); in April 2005 the official exchange rate changed from $1 per CUC to $1.08 per CUC (0.93 CUC per $1), both for individuals and enterprises; individuals can buy 24 Cuban pesos (CUP) for each CUC sold, or sell 25 Cuban pesos for each CUC bought; enterprises, however, must exchange CUP and CUC at a 1:1 ratio.
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 head of government: Premier KIM Yong Il (since 11 April 2007); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003), THAE Jong Su (since 16 October 2007) 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: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (president since 24 February 2008); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura (since 24 February 2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (president since 24 February 2008); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura (since 24 February 2008) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State and appointed by the National Assembly or the 31-member Council of State, elected by the Assembly to act on its behalf when it is not in session elections: president and vice presidents elected by the National Assembly for a term of five years; election last held 24 February 2008 (next to be held in 2013) election results: Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100%
Exports	NA bbl/day	0 bbl/day (2006)
Exports - commodities	minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, agricultural and fishery products	sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee
Exports - partners	China 35%, South Korea 24%, Thailand 9%, Japan 9% (2005)	Netherlands 21.8%, Canada 21.6%, China 18.7%, Spain 5.9% (2006)
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	five equal horizontal bands of blue (top, center, and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 30% industry: 34% services: 36% (2002 est.)	agriculture: 4.6% industry: 26.1% services: 69.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.6% (2006 est.)	7% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	40 00 N, 127 00 E	21 30 N, 80 00 W
Geography - note	strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated	largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles
Heliports	23 (2007)	-
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	territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for US- and European-bound drugs; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999
Imports	23,520 bbl/day (2004 est.)	98,100 bbl/day (2005)
Imports - commodities	petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain	petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners	China 42%, South Korea 28%, Russia 9%, Thailand 8% (2005)	Venezuela 26.6%, China 15.6%, Spain 9.8%, Germany 6.4%, Canada 5.6%, Italy 4.4%, US 4.3%, Brazil 4.2% (2006)
Independence	15 August 1945 (from Japan)	20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902); not acknowledged by the Cuban Government as a day of independence
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	8% (2007 est.)
Industries	military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism	sugar, petroleum, tobacco, construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals
Infant mortality rate	total: 22.56 deaths/1,000 live births male: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 6.04 deaths/1,000 live births male: 6.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA%	3.6% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO	ACP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	14,600 sq km (2003)	8,700 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)	People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly)
Labor force	9.6 million (2002 est.)	4.853 million note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 36% industry and services: 64% (2002)	agriculture: 20% industry: 19.4% services: 60.6% (2005)
Land boundaries	total: 1,673 km border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km	total: 29 km border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and remains part of Cuba
Land use	arable land: 22.4% permanent crops: 1.66% other: 75.94% (2005)	arable land: 27.63% permanent crops: 6.54% other: 65.83% (2005)
Languages	Korean	Spanish
Legal system	based on Prussian civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on Spanish civil law and influenced by American legal concepts, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties	unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (number of seats in the National Assembly is based on population; 614 seats; members elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 20 January 2008 (next to be held in January 2013) election results: Cuba's Communist Party is the only legal party, and officially sanctioned candidates run unopposed
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 71.92 years male: 69.18 years female: 74.8 years (2007 est.)	total population: 77.08 years male: 74.85 years female: 79.43 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2002 census)
Location	Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea	Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida
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 contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 171 ships (1000 GRT or over) 854,268 GRT/1,225,453 DWT by type: bulk carrier 12, cargo 131, chemical tanker 1, container 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 29 (Egypt 1, India 1, Israel 1, Lebanon 3, Lithuania 1, Pakistan 1, Romania 6, Russia 1, Syria 7, Turkey 1, UAE 4, Yemen 2) registered in other countries: (unknown 1) (2007)	total: 12 ships (1000 GRT or over) 35,030 GRT/51,388 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1) registered in other countries: 16 (Bahamas 1, Cyprus 2, Netherlands Antilles 1, Panama 11, Spain 1) (2007)
Military - note	-	Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993
Military branches	North Korean People's Army: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005)	Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, FAR): Revolutionary Army (ER; includes Territorial Militia Troops, MTT), Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, MGR; includes Marine Corps), Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Youth Labor Army (EJT) (2008)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	3.8% (2006 est.)
National holiday	Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)	Triumph of the Revolution, 1 January (1959)
Nationality	noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean	noun: Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban
Natural hazards	late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall	the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common
Natural resources	coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower	cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
People - note	-	illicit emigration is a continuing problem; Cubans attempt to depart the island and enter the US using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, direct flights, or falsified visas; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US including direct flights to Miami and over-land via the southwest border
Pipelines	oil 154 km (2006)	gas 49 km; oil 230 km (2007)
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)	Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	NA
Population	23,301,725 (July 2007 est.)	11,394,043 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA%
Population growth rate	0.785% (2007 est.)	0.273% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station; North Korea has a "national intercom" cable radio station wired throughout the country that is a significant source of information for the average North Korean citizen; it is wired into most residences and workplaces and carries news and commentary), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2006)	AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	total: 5,214 km standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2006)	total: 4,226 km standard gauge: 4,226 km 1.435-m gauge (140 km electrified) note: an additional 7,742 km of track is used by sugar plantations; about 65% of this track is standard gauge; the rest is narrow gauge (2006)
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	nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.555 male(s)/female total population: 0.945 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.056 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.838 male(s)/female total population: 0.992 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	17 years of age; universal	16 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: greater investment beginning in 1994 and the establishment of a new Ministry of Information Technology and Communications in 2000 has resulted in improvements in the system; wireless service is expensive and must be paid in convertible pesos which effectively limits mobile cellular subscribership domestic: national fiber-optic system under development; 95% of switches digitized by end of 2006; fixed telephone line density remains low, at less than 10 per 100 inhabitants; domestic cellular service expanding but remains at only about 2 per 100 persons international: country code - 53; fiber-optic cable laid to but not linked to US network; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use	980,000 (2003)	972,900 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	152,700 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003)	58 (1997)
Terrain	mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east	mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast
Total fertility rate	2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.6 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	1.9% (2007 est.)
Waterways	2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007)	240 km (2007)

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