Korea, South (2001) | Niue (2001) | |
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; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages each with its own village council whose members are elected and serve three-year terms |
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:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 102 (2000 est.) | 1 (2000 est.) |
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 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
34 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
98,480 sq km land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
total:
260 sq km land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Indiana | 1.5 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. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to 2,100 in 2000) with substantial emigration to New Zealand. |
Birth rate | 14.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues:
$81.8 billion expenditures: $94.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $6.1 billion (1999) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Seoul | Alofi |
Climate | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 2,413 km | 64 km |
Constitution | 25 February 1988 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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:
none conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | South Korean won (KRW) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 5.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $137 billion (November 2000) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs |
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 (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with Japan | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $8.3 million (1995) |
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%. | Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry. |
Electricity - consumption | 232.767 billion kWh (1999) | 2.8 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 250.287 billion kWh (1999) | 3 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
59.22% hydro: 1.64% nuclear: 39.12% other: 0.02% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
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) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.2502 (January 2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998), 1.5082 (1997), 1.4543 (1996) |
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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000) head of government: Premier Sani LAKATANI (since 1 April 1999) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 19 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: Sani LAKATANI elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | $172.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $117,500 (f.o.b., 1989) |
Exports - commodities | electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 20.5%, Japan 11%, China 9.5%, Hong Kong 6.3%, Taiwan 4.4% (1999) | NZ 89%, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $764.6 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.5 million (1997 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5.6% industry: 41.4% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (1997 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 9% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 37 00 N, 127 30 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | - | one of world's largest coral islands |
Heliports | 203 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
87,534 km paved: 65,388 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,146 km (1999) |
total:
234 km paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (106 km of which is access and plantation road) (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 24.3% (1993) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $160.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $4.1 million (c.i.f., 1989) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | US 20.8%, Japan 20.2%, China 7.4%, Saudi Arabia 4.7%, Australia 3.9% (1999) | NZ 59%, Fiji 20%, Japan 13%, Samoa, Australia, US |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | 17% (2000) | NA% |
Industries | electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 7.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2000) | 1% (1995) |
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 | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 13,350 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly) | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 22 million (2000) | 450 (1992 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 68%, industry 20%, agriculture 12% (1999) | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
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:
19% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 19% other: 50% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school | Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English |
Legal system | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought | English common law |
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 Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 19 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
74.65 years male: 70.97 years female: 78.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99.3% female: 96.7% (1995 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Asia | Oceania |
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 |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 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.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) | Police Force |
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.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
8,979,778 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
394,397 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun:
Korean(s) adjective: Korean |
noun:
Niuean(s) adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest | typhoons |
Natural resources | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
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 |
Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Sani LAKATANI] |
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 | NA |
Population | 47,904,370 (July 2001 est.) | 2,124 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.89% (2001 est.) | 0.5% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 106, FM 97, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 47.5 million (1997) | 1,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
6,240 km standard gauge: 6,240 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) (1998 est.) |
0 km |
Religions | Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1% | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
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.) |
- |
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:
primitive system domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24 million (1999) | 376 (1991) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 27 million (June 2000) | 0 (1991) |
Television broadcast stations | 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 1,609 km
note: restricted to small native craft |
none |