Korea, South (2005) | Mexico (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities (gwangyoksi, singular and plural)
provinces: Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto (North Cholla), Cholla-namdo (South Cholla), Ch'ungch'ong-bukto (North Ch'ungch'ong), Ch'ungch'ong-namdo (South Ch'ungch'ong), Kangwon-do, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto (North Kyongsang), Kyongsang-namdo (South Kyongsang) metropolitan cities: Inch'on-gwangyoksi (Inch'on), Kwangju-gwangyoksi (Kwangju), Pusan-gwangyoksi (Pusan), Soul-t'ukpyolsi (Seoul), Taegu-gwangyoksi (Taegu), Taejon-gwangyoksi (Taejon), Ulsan-gwangyoksi (Ulsan) |
31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 19.4% (male 4,952,177/female 4,450,821)
15-64 years: 72% (male 17,715,267/female 17,147,808) 65 years and over: 8.6% (male 1,670,971/female 2,485,600) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 32.8% (male 17,310,230; female 16,630,935)
15-64 years: 62.7% (male 31,552,877; female 33,246,668) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 2,069,826; female 2,589,629) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products |
Airports | 179 (2004 est.) | 1,852 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 88
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 38 (2004 est.) |
total: 231
over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 83 914 to 1,523 m: 82 under 914 m: 27 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 91
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 88 (2004 est.) |
total: 1,592 1,617
over 3,047 m: 1 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 69 69 914 to 1,523 m: 454 461 under 914 m: 1,067 1,085 (2002) |
Area | total: 98,480 sq km
land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Indiana | slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
Background | Korea was an independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium. Following its victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Japan occupied Korea; five years later it formally annexed the entire peninsula. 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 (1950-53), 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 14 times the level of North Korea. In 1987, South Korean voters elected ROH Tae-woo to the presidency, ending 26 years of military dictatorships. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place between the South's President KIM Tae-chung and the North's leader KIM Jong Il. | The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections. |
Birth rate | 10.08 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 22.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $150.5 billion
expenditures: $155.8 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $136 billion
expenditures: $140 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) (2001 est.) |
Capital | Seoul | Mexico (Distrito Federal) |
Climate | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter | varies from tropical to desert |
Coastline | 2,413 km | 9,330 km |
Constitution | 17 July 1948 | 5 February 1917 |
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: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
Currency | - | Mexican peso (MXN) |
Death rate | 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $160 billion (2004 est.) | $191 billion (2001) (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher R. HILL
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 520-9000 telephone: [52] 55 5080-2000 FAX: [52] 55 5511-9980 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Lee Tae-sik (designated)
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): Agana (Guam) and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Juan Jose BREMER Martino
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona) |
Disputes - international | Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with North Korea over the Northern Limit Line; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954 | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA $334 million (2003) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $1.166 billion (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | Since the early 1960s, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth and integration into the high-tech modern world economy. Four decades ago GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. In 2004, it joined the trillion dollar club of world economies. Today its GDP per capita is 14 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 6.9% in 1998, then strongly recovered to 9.5% in 1999 and 8.5% 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 7.0%, despite anemic global growth. Economic growth fell to 3.1% in 2003 because of a downturn in consumer spending and recovered to an estimated 4.6% in 2004 on the strength of rapid export growth. The government plans to boost infrastructure spending in 2005. Moderate inflation, low unemployment, an export surplus, and fairly equal distribution of income characterize this solid economy. | Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. Income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Following 6.9% growth in 2000, real GDP fell 0.3% in 2001, with the US slowdown the principal cause. Positive developments in 2001 included a drop in inflation to 6.5%, a sharp fall in interest rates, and a strong peso that appreciated 5% against the dollar. Mexico City implemented free trade agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the European Free Trade Area in 2001, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. Foreign direct investment reached $25 billion in 2001, of which $12.5 billion came from the purchase of Mexico's second largest bank, Banamex, by Citigroup. |
Electricity - consumption | 293.6 billion kWh (2003) | 182.83 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 77 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 2.145 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 322.5 billion kWh (2003) | 194.37 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 76%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 4% other: 3% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing | scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion
note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, 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, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,145.3 (2004), 1,191.6 (2003), 1,251.1 (2002), 1,291 (2001), 1,131 (2000) | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.1614 (January 2002), 9.3423 (2001), 9.4556 (2000), 9.5604 (1999), 9.1360 (1998), 7.9185 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President ROH Moo-hyun (since 25 February 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister LEE Hae-chan (since 25 May 2004); Deputy Prime Ministers HAN Duck-soo (14 March 2005), KIM Jin-pyo (since 28 January 2005), and OH Myung (since 18 October 2004) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections: president elected by popular vote for single five-year term; election last held 19 December 2002 (next to be held in February 2008); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by president on prime minister's recommendation election results: results of the 19 December 2002 election - ROH Moo-hyun elected president; percent of vote - ROH Moo-hyun (MDP) 48.9%; LEE Hoi-chang (GNP) 46.6%; other 4.5% |
chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006) election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74% |
Exports | 630,100 bbl/day (2003) | $159 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | China 19.7%, US 17%, Japan 8.6%, Hong Kong 7.2% (2004) | US 88.4%, Canada 2%, Germany 0.9%, Spain 0.8%, Netherlands Antilles 0.6%, Japan 0.4%, UK 0.4%, Venezuela 0.4%, (2001 est.) |
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 | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $920 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.2%
industry: 40.4% services: 56.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 26% services: 69% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,200 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (2004 est.) | -0.3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 37 00 N, 127 30 E | 23 00 N, 102 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on Korea Strait | strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico |
Heliports | 206 (2004 est.) | 2 (2002) |
Highways | total: 86,990 km
paved: 66,721 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 20,269 km (2001) |
total: 323,977 km
paved: 96,221 km (including 6,335 km of expressways) unpaved: 227,756 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1999 est.) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 41% (2001) (2001) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400 hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and cannabis cultivation in 2001 - 4,100 hectares; government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; growing producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center |
Imports | 2.263 million bbl/day (2003) | $168 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts |
Imports - partners | Japan 20.6%, China 13.2%, US 12.9%, Saudi Arabia 5.3% (2004) | US 68.4%, Japan 4.7%, Germany 3.6%, Canada 2.5%, China 2.2%, South Korea 2.1%, Taiwan 1.6%, Italy 1.3%, Brazil 1.1% (2001 est.) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 10.1% (2004 est.) | -3.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
24.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.6% (2004 est.) | 6.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 51 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 11,590 sq km (1998 est.) | 65,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (justices appointed by president with consent of National Assembly); Constitutional Court (justices appointed by president based partly on nominations by National Assembly and Chief Justice of the court) | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 22.9 million (2004 est.) | 39.8 million (2000) (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (2004 est.) | agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998) (1998) |
Land boundaries | total: 238 km
border countries: North Korea 238 km |
total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.18%
permanent crops: 1.95% other: 80.87% (2001) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 1.1% other: 85.7% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
Legal system | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 243 in single-seat constituencies, 56 by proportional representation
elections: last held 15 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2008; byelections held on 30 April 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, DP 3%, others 2%; seats by party - Uri 146, GNP 125, DLP 10, DP 9, ULD 3, independents 6 note: percent of vote is for 2004 general election; seats by party reflect results of 2005 byelections involving six seats; MDP became DP in May 2005 (2005) |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 15, PVEM 5, PT 1, CD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 211, PAN 207, PRD 50, PVEM 16, PT 8, PSN 3, PAS 2, CD 1, independents 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.85 years
male: 73.42 years female: 80.57 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 72.03 years
male: 68.99 years female: 75.21 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.9% male: 99.2% female: 96.6% (2002) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.6% male: 91.8% female: 87.4% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US |
Map references | Asia | North America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the Korea Strait
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 601 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,992,656 GRT/11,081,142 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 125, cargo 196, chemical tanker 88, container 71, liquefied gas 20, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 22, petroleum tanker 51, refrigerated cargo 15, roll on/roll off 5, vehicle carrier 3 foreign-owned: 2 (Germany 1, United Kingdom 1) registered in other countries: 366 (2005) |
total: 44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 656,594 GRT/987,822 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 27, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 2, Denmark 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) | National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) (including Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (including Naval Air and Marines) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $16.18 billion (2004) | $4 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (2004) | 1% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 27,229,581 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 19,761,440 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age
note: starting in 2000, females were allowed to volunteer for military service (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 1,077,536 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest | tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts |
Natural resources | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,433 km; refined products 827 km (2004) | crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Labor Party or DLP [KIM Hye-kyung, chairwoman]; Democratic Party or DP [HAHN Hwa-kap, chairman]; Grand National Party or GNP [PARK Geun-hye, chairwoman]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Hak-won, chairman]; Uri Party [MOON Hee-sang, chairman] | Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Guillermo CALDERON Dominguez]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] |
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 | Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 48,422,644 (July 2005 est.) | 103,400,165 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 4% (2001 est.) | 40% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.38% (2005 est.) | 1.47% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Inch'on, Masan, P'ohang, Pusan, Ulsan | Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 58, FM 150, shortwave 2 (2004) | AM 851, FM 598, shortwave 16 (2000) |
Radios | - | 31 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 3,472 km
standard gauge: 3,472 km 1.435-m gauge (1,342 km electrified) (2004) |
total: 18,000 km
standard gauge: 18,000 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | no affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, other 1% | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international services
domestic: NA international: country code - 82; 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: low telephone density with about 12 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development
domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service international: satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22.877 million (2003) | 12.332 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 33,591,800 (2003) | 2.02 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 64 (additionally 119 Cable Operators; 239 Relay Cable Operators) (2004) | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Total fertility rate | 1.26 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.57 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.6% (2004 est.) | urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2001) |
Waterways | 1,608 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) |
2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals |