Korea, South (2007) | Lesotho (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) |
10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 4,714,103/female 4,262,873)
15-64 years: 72.1% (male 18,004,719/female 17,346,594) 65 years and over: 9.6% (male 1,921,803/female 2,794,698) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 105 (2007) | 28 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 68
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 19 (2007) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 37
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 34 (2007) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 98,480 sq km
land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Indiana | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | An independent Korean state or collection of states has existed almost continuously for several millennia. Between its initial unification in the 7th century - from three predecessor Korean states - until the 20th century, Korea existed as a single independent country. In 1905, following the Russo-Japanese War, Korea became a protectorate of imperial Japan, and in 1910 it was annexed as a colony. Korea regained its independence following Japan's surrender to the United States in 1945. After World War II, a Republic of Korea (ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north (the DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought alongside soldiers from the ROK to defend South Korea from DPRK attacks supported by China and the Soviet Union. 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 1993, KIM Young-sam became South Korea's first civilian president following 32 years of military rule. 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 Dae-jung and the North's leader KIM Jong Il. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. |
Birth rate | 9.93 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $219.5 billion
expenditures: $215.7 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
Capital | name: Seoul
geographic coordinates: 37 33 N, 126 59 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Maseru |
Climate | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 2,413 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 17 July 1948; note - amended or rewritten nine times; current constitution approved on 29 October 1987 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Korea
conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: Han'guk abbreviation: ROK |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | - | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 5.99 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $187.2 billion (2006 est.) | $715 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW
embassy: 32 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: US Embassy Seoul, APO AP 96205-5550 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador LEE Tae-sik
chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
Disputes - international | Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents with North Korea in the Yellow Sea over the Northern Limiting Line, which South Korea claims as a maritime boundary; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954 | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $744 million (2005) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | Since the 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, South Korea joined the trillion dollar club of world economies. Today its GDP per capita is equal to the lesser economies of the EU. This success 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. GDP plunged by 6.9% in 1998, then recovered by 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%, despite anemic global growth. Between 2003 and 2006, growth moderated to about 4-5%. A downturn in consumer spending was offset by rapid export growth. Moderate inflation, low unemployment, an export surplus, and fairly equal distribution of income characterize this solid economy. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions. |
Electricity - consumption | 352.5 billion kWh (2005) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production | 366.2 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | South Korean won per US dollar - 955.3 (2006), 1,024.1 (2005), 1,145.3 (2004), 1,191.6 (2003), 1,251.1 (2002) | maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti |
Executive branch | chief of state: President ROH Moo-hyun (since 25 February 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister HAN Duck-soo (since 2 April 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers KIM Woo-sik (since 10 February 2006); KWON O-kyu (since 18 July 2006); KIM Shin-il (since 20 September 2006) 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 on 19 December 2007); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by president on prime minister's recommendation election results: 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: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile
head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
Exports | 644,100 bbl/day (2004) | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals |
Exports - partners | China 21.3%, US 13.3%, Japan 8.1%, Hong Kong 5.9% (2006) | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) |
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 | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.2%
industry: 39.6% services: 57.2% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2006 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 37 00 N, 127 30 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Korea Strait | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Heliports | 536 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25% (2005 est.) |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1986-87) |
Imports | 2.83 million bbl/day (2004) | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Japan 16.8%, China 15.7%, US 11%, Saudi Arabia 6.7%, UAE 4.2% (2006) | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (2006 est.) | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (2006 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 8,780 sq km (2003) | 10 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) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 23.98 million (2006 est.) | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 6.4%
industry: 26.4% services: 67.2% (2006 est.) |
86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | total: 238 km
border countries: North Korea 238 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.58%
permanent crops: 2.01% other: 81.41% (2005) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats; 243 members elected in single-seat constituencies, 56 elected by proportional representation; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, DP 3%, others 2%; seats by party - Uri 141, GNP 127, DP 12, DLP 9, PFP 5, independents 5 note: percent of vote is for 2004 general election; seats by party reflect results of 2005 and 2006 by-elections; MDP became DP in May 2005; United Liberal Democrats (ULD) merged with GNP in February 2006 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.23 years
male: 73.81 years female: 80.93 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 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: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Asia | Africa |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 738 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,636,466 GRT/17,371,943 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 187, cargo 202, carrier 1, chemical tanker 119, container 81, liquefied gas 26, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 21, petroleum tanker 57, refrigerated cargo 19, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 8 foreign-owned: 22 (China 2, France 8, Japan 1, Sweden 2, UK 1, US 7, Vietnam 1) registered in other countries: 386 (Belize 4, Cambodia 29, China 1, Cyprus 2, Greece 2, Honduras 6, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 1, Liberia 4, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 3, Netherlands 1, Panama 316, Russia 1, Singapore 7, unknown 4) (2007) |
- |
Military - note | - | The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs. |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Republic of Korea Air Force (Han-guk Kong Goon), Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (coast guard) (2006) | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (2006) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,482 km; refined products 827 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Labor Party or DLP [MOON Seong-hyun]; Democratic Party or DP [PARK Sang-chun]; Grand National Party or GNP [KANG Jae-sup]; People-First Party or PFP [SHIN Kook-hwan and SIM Dae-pyung]; Uri Party [Chung Sye-kyun] | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] |
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 | 49,044,790 (July 2007 est.) | 2,207,954
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 15% (2003 est.) | 49% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.394% (2007 est.) | 1.33% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 61, FM 150, shortwave 2 (2005) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA (2002) |
Railways | total: 3,472 km
standard gauge: 3,472 km 1.435-m gauge (1,342 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa
narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Christian 26.3% (Protestant 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist 23.2%, other or unknown 1.3%, none 49.3% (1995 census) | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.106 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.688 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 19 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international services
domestic: NA international: country code - 82; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 3 Inmarsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 26.866 million (2006) | 22,200 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 40.197 million (2006) | 21,600 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 43 (plus 59 cable operators and 190 relay cable operators) (2005) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.28 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.3% (2006 est.) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 1,608 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007) | none |