Korea, South (2003) | Libya (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* | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.6% (male 5,256,451; female 4,703,853)
15-64 years: 71.5% (male 17,527,407; female 16,991,229) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 1,512,157; female 2,297,940) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
35.41% (male 947,645; female 907,854) 15-64 years: 60.64% (male 1,645,085; female 1,533,066) 65 years and over: 3.95% (male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 102 (2002) | 136 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 69
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 21 (2002) |
total:
58 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 33
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 31 (2002) |
total:
78 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 98,480 sq km
land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
total:
1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Indiana | slightly larger than Alaska |
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. During the Korean War (1950-1953), US and other UN forces intervened to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the Peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 20 times the level of North Korea. South Korea has maintained its commitment to democratize its political processes. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place between the South's President KIM Dae-jung and the North's leader KIM Chong-il. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 27.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $118.1 billion
expenditures: $95.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $22.6 billion (2000) |
revenues:
$6.85 billion expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Seoul | Tripoli |
Climate | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 2,413 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | 17 July 1948 | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
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:
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | South Korean won (KRW) | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 6.03 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 3.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $135.2 billion (yearend 2002 est.) | $4.1 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. HUBBARD
embassy: 82 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-5550 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 |
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador HAN Sung-chu (HAN Sung-joo)
chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): New York, Tamuning (Guam) |
Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) are disputed with Japan | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria |
Economic aid - donor | ODA $200 million | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $8.4 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | As one of the Four Tigers of East Asia, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth and integration into the high-tech modern world economy. Three decades ago GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per capita is 18 times North Korea's and equal 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 longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. Growth plunged to a negative 6.6% in 1998, then strongly recovered to 10.8% in 1999 and 9.2% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.3% in 2001 because of the slowing global economy, falling exports, and the perception that much-needed corporate and financial reforms had stalled. Led by consumer spending and exports, growth in 2002 was an impressive 6.2%, despite anemic global growth, followed by moderate 2.8% growth in 2003. In 2003 the six-day work week was reduced to five days. | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts. |
Electricity - consumption | 270.3 billion kWh (2001) | 17.577 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 290.7 billion kWh (2001) | 18.9 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 62.4%
hydro: 0.8% nuclear: 36.6% other: 0.2% (2001) |
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:
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
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:
Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,251.09 (2002), 1,290.99 (2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82 (1999), 1,401.44 (1998) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January 2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651 (1996)
note: Libya currently has two rates for foreign trade; one for government operations and foreign companies and one for Libyan individuals (0.45 dinars per US dollar in December 1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President NO Mu-hyun (ROH Moo-hyun) (since 25 February 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister KO Kun (KOH Kun) (since 27 February 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers KIM Chin-p'yo (KIM Jin-pyo) (since 27 February 2003) and YUN Tok-hong (since 6 March 2003) 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 19 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2007); prime minister appointed by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation election results: results of the 19 December 2002 election - NO Muh-hyun elected president, took office 25 February 2003; percent of vote - NO Muh-hyun (MDP) 48.9%; YI Hoe-ch'ang (GNP) 46.6%; other 4.5% |
chief of state:
Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | 804,700 bbl/day (2001) | $13.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish | crude oil, refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | US 20.4%, China 14.7%, Japan 9.4%, Hong Kong 6.3% (2002) | Italy 33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%, Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999) |
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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $941.5 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $45.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4.4%
industry: 41.6% services: 54% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
7% industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,600 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.3% (2002 est.) | 6.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 37 00 N, 127 30 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Korea Strait | - |
Heliports | 204 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 86,990 km
paved: 64,808 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,182 km (1999 est.) |
total:
24,484 km paved: 6,800 km unpaved: 17,684 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 24.8% (1998 est.) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | 2.965 million bbl/day (2001) | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Japan 19.6%, US 15.2%, China 11.4%, Saudi Arabia 5% (2002) | Italy 24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%, France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.5% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.77 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
28.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2002 est.) | 18.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 11,590 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,700 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 22 million (2001) | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 69%, industry 21.5%, agriculture 9.5% (2001) | services and government 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 238 km
border countries: North Korea 238 km |
total:
4,383 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.44%
permanent crops: 2.05% other: 80.51% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (273 seats total - 227 elected by direct, popular vote; members serve four-year terms); note - beginning in 2004, all members will be directly elected; possible redistricting before 2004 may affect the number of seats in the National Assembly
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; note - the distribution of seats as of April 2003 was: GNP 153, MDP 101, ULD 11, DPP 1, PPR 1, independents 5; one seat vacant |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.36 years
male: 71.73 years female: 79.32 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
75.65 years male: 73.53 years female: 77.88 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.1% male: 99.3% female: 97% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Asia | Africa |
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 note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | total: 541 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,490,521 GRT/10,602,751 DWT
ships by type: bulk 114, cargo 174, chemical tanker 63, combination bulk 9, container 52, liquefied gas 17, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 69, refrigerated cargo 21, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bulgaria 1, China 1, Greece 1, Japan 1, Malaysia 1, Norway 1, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, UK 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $13,094.3 million (FY02) | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (FY02) | 3.9% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 14,252,851 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,459,400 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 8,994,941 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
866,012 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 345,331 (2003 est.) | males:
61,694 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun:
Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,433 km; refined products 827 km (2003) | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic People's Party or DPP [leader NA]; Grand National Party or GNP [CH'OE Pyong-ryol, chairman]; Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [CHO Sun-hyong, chairman]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-p'il, president]; Uri Party [KIM Kun-t'ae, chairman] | none |
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 | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 48,289,037 (July 2003 est.) | 5,240,599
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 4% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.66% (2003 est.) | 2.42% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 104, FM 136, shortwave 5 (2001) | AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.35 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 3,125 km
standard gauge: 3,125 km 1.435-m gauge (661 km electrified) (2002) |
note:
Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001) |
Religions | Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1% | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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:
telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996 domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24 million (2000) | 380,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 28 million (September 2000) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 1.56 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.1% (2002 est.) | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 1,609 km
note: restricted to small native craft |
none |