Korea, South (2003) | Western Sahara (2007) | |
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 (under de facto control of Morocco) |
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: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)
15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish |
Airports | 102 (2002) | 9 (2007) |
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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 33
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 31 (2002) |
total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total: 98,480 sq km
land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Indiana | about the size of Colorado |
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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. |
Birth rate | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $118.1 billion
expenditures: $95.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $22.6 billion (2000) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | Seoul | none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
Coastline | 2,413 km | 1,110 km |
Constitution | 17 July 1948 | - |
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: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
Currency | South Korean won (KRW) | - |
Death rate | 6.03 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $135.2 billion (yearend 2002 est.) | $NA |
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 |
none |
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) |
none |
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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria |
Economic aid - donor | ODA $200 million | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA |
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. | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006, the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. |
Electricity - consumption | 270.3 billion kWh (2001) | 79.05 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 290.7 billion kWh (2001) | 85 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 62.4%
hydro: 0.8% nuclear: 36.6% other: 0.2% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing | sparse water and lack of arable land |
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: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) | Arab, Berber |
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) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002) |
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% |
none |
Exports | 804,700 bbl/day (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish | phosphates 62% |
Exports - partners | US 20.4%, China 14.7%, Japan 9.4%, Hong Kong 6.3% (2002) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) |
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 | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $941.5 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4.4%
industry: 41.6% services: 54% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,600 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.3% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 37 00 N, 127 30 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on Korea Strait | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
Heliports | 204 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 86,990 km
paved: 64,808 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,182 km (1999 est.) |
- |
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) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Japan 19.6%, US 15.2%, China 11.4%, Saudi Arabia 5% (2002) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.5% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
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.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2002 est.) | NA% |
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 | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 11,590 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly) | - |
Labor force | 22 million (2001) | 12,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | services 69%, industry 21.5%, agriculture 9.5% (2001) | agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50% |
Land boundaries | total: 238 km
border countries: North Korea 238 km |
total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.44%
permanent crops: 2.05% other: 80.51% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005) |
Languages | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
Legal system | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought | - |
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 |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.36 years
male: 71.73 years female: 79.32 years (2003 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.1% male: 99.3% female: 97% (2003 est.) |
NA |
Location | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
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 |
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
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.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $13,094.3 million (FY02) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (FY02) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 14,252,851 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 8,994,941 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 345,331 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) | - |
Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
Natural resources | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential | phosphates, iron ore |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Pipelines | gas 1,433 km; refined products 827 km (2003) | - |
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] | - |
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 | none |
Population | 48,289,037 (July 2003 est.) | 382,617
note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 4% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.66% (2003 est.) | NA |
Ports and harbors | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 104, FM 136, shortwave 5 (2001) | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 3,125 km
standard gauge: 3,125 km 1.435-m gauge (661 km electrified) (2002) |
- |
Religions | Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1% | Muslim |
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.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
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: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24 million (2000) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 28 million (September 2000) | 0 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999) | NA |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.56 children born/woman (2003 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 3.1% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 1,609 km
note: restricted to small native craft |
- |