Korea, South (2001) | Martinique (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities* (gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*, Ulsan-gwangyoksi* | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
21.59% (male 5,475,453; female 4,864,918) 15-64 years: 71.14% (male 17,291,202; female 16,789,380) 65 years and over: 7.27% (male 1,352,312; female 2,131,105) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.1% (male 48,988/female 47,525)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 147,082/female 146,470) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 20,791/female 25,275) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
Airports | 102 (2000 est.) | 2 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
68 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
34 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total:
98,480 sq km land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Indiana | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | After World War II, a republic was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a communist-style government was installed in the north. The Korean War (1950-53) had US and other UN forces intervene to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953 splitting the peninsula at the 38th parallel known as the DMZ. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth, with per capita income rising to 13 times the level of North Korea. In 1997, the nation suffered a severe financial crisis from which it continues to make a solid recovery. South Korea has also maintained its commitment to democratize its political processes. In June 2000, a historic first south-north summit took place between the south's President KIM Dae-jung and the north's leader KIM Chong-il. In December 2000, President KIM Dae-jung won the Noble Peace Prize for his lifeling committment to democracy and human rights in Asia. He is the first Korean to win a Nobel Prize. | The French began to settle this island in 1635, overcoming resistance from the local Carib inhabitants. In 1660, the suviving natives were rounded up and permanently expelled. The island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. |
Birth rate | 14.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$81.8 billion expenditures: $94.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $6.1 billion (1999) |
revenues: $317.5 million
expenditures: $317.5 million; including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
Capital | Seoul | name: Fort-de-France
geographic coordinates: 14 36 N, 61 05 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter | tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid |
Coastline | 2,413 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 25 February 1988 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Korea conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: none note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Han-guk" to refer to their country abbreviation: ROK |
conventional long form: Department of Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
Currency | South Korean won (KRW) | - |
Death rate | 5.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $137 billion (November 2000) | $180 million (1994) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) embassy: 82 Sejong-ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-0001 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador YANG Song-chol chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with Japan | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France (1998) |
Economy - overview | As one of the Four Dragons of East Asia, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth. Three decades ago GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per capita is seven times India's, 16 times North Korea's, and comparable to the lesser economies of the European Union. This success through the late 1980s was achieved by a system of close government/business ties, including directed credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a strong labor effort. The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed certain longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. By 1999 GDP growth had recovered, reversing the substantial decline of 1998. Seoul has pressed the country's largest business groups to restructure and to strengthen their financial base. Growth in 2001 likely will be a more sustainable rate of 5%. | The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism, which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. |
Electricity - consumption | 232.767 billion kWh (1999) | 1.12 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 250.287 billion kWh (1999) | 1.205 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
59.22% hydro: 1.64% nuclear: 39.12% other: 0.02% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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Ethnic groups | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian and Chinese less than 5% |
Exchange rates | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,271.89 (January 2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82 (1999), 1,401.44 (1998), 951.29 (1997), 804.45 (1996) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President KIM Dae-jung (since 25 February 1998) head of government: Prime Minister YI Han-tong (since 23 May 2000) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections: president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by 18 December 2002); prime minister appointed by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation election results: KIM Dae-jung elected president; percent of vote - KIM Dae-jung (NCNP) 40.3% (with ULD partnership), YI Hoe-chang (GNP) 38.7%, YI In-che (NPP) 19.2% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Yves DASSONVILLE (since 14 January 2004); note - took office 8 February 2004
head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils for six-year terms |
Exports | $172.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples |
Exports - partners | US 20.5%, Japan 11%, China 9.5%, Hong Kong 6.3%, Taiwan 4.4% (1999) | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field | unofficial flag, derives from the civil ensign flown by French merchant ships and dates to 1766; a blue field quartered by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white, coiled snake representing the venomous Fer-de-lance; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $764.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5.6% industry: 41.4% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,100 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 9% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 37 00 N, 127 30 E | 14 40 N, 61 00 W |
Geography - note | - | the island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants |
Heliports | 203 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
87,534 km paved: 65,388 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,146 km (1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 24.3% (1993) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | $160.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US 20.8%, Japan 20.2%, China 7.4%, Saudi Arabia 4.7%, Australia 3.9% (1999) | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2004) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 17% (2000) | NA% |
Industries | electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 7.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 6.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2000) | NA |
International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 13,350 sq km (1993 est.) | 70 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly) | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 22 million (2000) | 165,900 (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 68%, industry 20%, agriculture 12% (1999) | agriculture: 10%
industry: 17% services: 73% (1997) |
Land boundaries | total:
238 km border countries: North Korea 238 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
19% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 65% other: 13% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 9.09%
permanent crops: 10% other: 80.91% (2005) |
Languages | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school | French, Creole patois |
Legal system | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought | French legal system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (273 seats total - 227 elected by direct, popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNP 133, MDP 115, ULD 17, other 8 |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held March 2000 (next to be held in 2006); Regional Council - last held on 28 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - left-wing candidates 13, PPM 11, RPR 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCM 3, UDF 3, PMS 2, independents 2; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - MIM 53.8%, PPM 30.6%; seats by party - MIM 28, PPM 9, other 4 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held September 2004 (next to be held September 2008); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPM 1, left-wing candidate 1; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held not later than June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PMS 1, MIM 1, left-wing candidate 1 (candidacy of the left-wing candidate was found invalid by the Constitutional Council; new elections will be called) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
74.65 years male: 70.97 years female: 78.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.18 years
male: 79.5 years female: 78.85 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99.3% female: 96.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.7% male: 97.4% female: 98.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the Korea Strait |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
496 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,421,993 GRT/8,757,034 DWT ships by type: bulk 105, cargo 168, chemical tanker 38, combination bulk 5, container 49, liquefied gas 16, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 70, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 5 (2000 est.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $12 billion (2000) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.2% (FY98/99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
14,148,552 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
8,979,778 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
394,397 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Korean(s) adjective: Korean |
noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) |
Natural resources | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 455 km; note - additionally, there is a parallel petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) pipeline being completed | - |
Political parties and leaders | Grand National Party or GNP [YI Hoe-chang, president]; Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [KIM Dae-jung, president]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-p'il, honorary chairman, KIM Chong-ho, acting president]
note: on 20 January 2000, the National Congress for New Politics or NCNP was renamed the Millennium Democratic Party or MDP |
Martinique Communist Party or PCM [Georges ERICHOT]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Pierre SUEDILE]; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Movement of Democrats and Ecologists for a Sovereign Martinique or Modemas [Garcin MALSA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Jean MAREN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations | Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP |
Population | 47,904,370 (July 2001 est.) | 436,131 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.89% (2001 est.) | 0.72% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 106, FM 97, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 47.5 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
6,240 km standard gauge: 6,240 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) (1998 est.) |
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Religions | Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1% | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.11 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
excellent domestic and international services domestic: NA international: fiber-optic submarine cable to China; the Russia-Korea-Japan submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) |
general assessment: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 596; microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24 million (1999) | 172,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 27 million (June 2000) | 319,900 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999) | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano |
Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (2000 est.) | 27.2% (1998) |
Waterways | 1,609 km
note: restricted to small native craft |
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