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Compare Mongolia (2005) - Korea, North (2005)

Compare Mongolia (2005) z Korea, North (2005)

 Mongolia (2005)Korea, North (2005)
 MongoliaKorea, North
Administrative divisions 21 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) and 1 municipality* (singular - hot); Arhangay, Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan Uul, Dornod, Dornogovi, Dundgovi, Dzavhan, Govi-Altay, Govi-Sumber, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol, Omnogovi, Orhon, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)

provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang)

municipalites: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)
Age structure 0-14 years: 28.7% (male 407,547/female 392,440)


15-64 years: 67.7% (male 943,418/female 945,063)


65 years and over: 3.7% (male 44,413/female 58,391) (2005 est.)
0-14 years: 24.2% (male 2,816,844/female 2,735,478)


15-64 years: 67.9% (male 7,668,581/female 7,883,267)


65 years and over: 7.9% (male 625,819/female 1,182,188) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products wheat, barley, vegetables, forage crops, sheep, goats, cattle, camels, horses rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports 46 (2004 est.) 78 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 15


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 11


1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.)
total: 35


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 23


1,524 to 2,437 m: 6


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 31


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 5


1,524 to 2,437 m: 18


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
total: 43


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 20


914 to 1,523 m: 14


under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.)
Area total: 1,564,116 sq km total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Alaska slightly smaller than Mississippi
Background The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Chinggis KHAN they conquered a huge Eurasian empire. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and later came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. A Communist regime was installed in 1924. During the early 1990s, the ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) gradually yielded its monopoly on power to the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC), which defeated the MPRP in a national election in 1996. Since then, parliamentary elections returned the MPRP overwhelmingly to power in 2000 and produced a coalition government in 2004. An independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War; five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed republic in the southern portion by force, North Korea, under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. It molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as KIM's successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994. He assumed full power without opposition. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the North since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In January 2003, it declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." From August 2003, North Korea has participated on and off in six-party talks with the China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs.
Birth rate 21.52 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 16.09 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $582 million


expenditures: $602 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
revenues: NA


expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
Capital Ulaanbaatar Pyongyang
Climate desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges) temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 2,495 km
Constitution 12 February 1992 adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Mongolia


local long form: none


local short form: Mongol Uls


former: Outer Mongolia
conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea


conventional short form: North Korea


local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk


local short form: none


note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country


abbreviation: DPRK
Death rate 7.03 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 7.05 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $1.191 billion (2004 est.) $12 billion (1996 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela J. SLUTZ


embassy: Micro Region 11, Big Ring Road, C.P.O. 1021, Ulaanbaatar 13


mailing address: PSC 461, Box 300, FPO AP 96521-0002


telephone: [976] (11) 329095


FAX: [976] (11) 320776
none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power)
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Ravdangiyn BOLD


chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117


FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227


consulate(s) general: New York
none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Disputes - international none China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens of thousands of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers and a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South over the Northern Limit Line; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)
Economic aid - recipient $215 million (2003) NA; note - over $117 million in food aid through the World Food Program in 2003 plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations
Economy - overview Economic activity in Mongolia has traditionally been based on herding and agriculture. Mongolia has extensive mineral deposits; copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten and gold account for a large part of industrial production. Soviet assistance, at its height one-third of GDP, disappeared almost overnight in 1990 and 1991 at the time of the dismantlement of the USSR. The following decade saw Mongolia endure both deep recession due to political inaction and natural disasters, as well as economic growth due to reform embracing free-market economics and extensive privatization of the formerly state-run economy. Severe winters and summer droughts in 2000, 2001, and 2002 resulted in massive livestock die-off and zero or negative GDP growth. This was compounded by falling prices for Mongolia's primary sector exports and widespread opposition to privatization. Growth improved from 2002 at 4% to 2003 at 5%, due largely to high copper prices and new gold production, with the government claiming a 10.6% growth rate for 2004 that is unconfirmed. Mongolia's economy continues to be heavily impacted by its neighbors. For example, Mongolia purchases 80% of its petroleum products and a substantial amount of electric power from Russia, leaving it vulnerable to price increases. China is Mongolia's chief export partner and a main source of the "shadow" or "grey" economy. The World Bank and other international financial institutions estimate the grey economy to be at least equal to that of the official economy. The actual size of this grey - largely cash - economy is difficult to calculate since the money does not pass through the hands of tax authorities or the banking sector. Remittances from Mongolians working abroad both legally and illegally constitute a sizeable portion. Money laundering is growing as an accompanying concern. Mongolia settled its $11 billion debt with Russia at the end of 2003 on very favorable terms. Mongolia, which joined the World Trade Organization in 1997, seeks to expand its participation and integration into Asian regional economic and trade regimes. North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and spare parts shortages. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. The nation has suffered its eleventh year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land, collective farming, weather-related problems, and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995, but the population remains the victim of prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In July 2002, the government took limited steps toward a freer market economy. In 2004, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid. Black market prices have continued to rise following the increase in official prices and wages in the summer of 2002, leaving some vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and unemployed, less able to buy goods. In 2004, the regime allowed private markets to sell a wider range of goods and permitted private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will constrain any further loosening of economic regulations.
Electricity - consumption 2.209 billion kWh (2004 est.) 31.26 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 8.2 million kWh (2004 est.) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 130.5 million kWh (2004 est.) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 2.692 billion kWh (2004 est.) 33.62 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m


highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m
Environment - current issues limited natural fresh water resources in some areas; the policies of former Communist regimes promoted rapid urbanization and industrial growth that had negative effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws severely polluted the air in Ulaanbaatar; deforestation, overgrazing, and the converting of virgin land to agricultural production increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification and mining activities had a deleterious effect on the environment water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000) racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates togrogs/tugriks per US dollar - 1,185.3 (2004), 1,146.5 (2003), 1,110.3 (2002), 1,097.7 (2001), 1,076.7 (2000) official: North Korean won per US dollar - 170 (December 2004), 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002)
Executive branch chief of state: President Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (since 24 June 2005)


head of government: Prime Minister Tsakhi ELBEGDORJ (since 20 August 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Chultem ULAAN (since 28 September 2004)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the State Great Hural (parliament) in consultation with the president


elections: presidential candidates nominated by political parties represented in State Great Hural and elected by popular vote for a four-year term; presidential tenure limited to two four-year terms; election last held 22 May 2005 (next to be held in May 2009); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by State Great Hural


election results: Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR elected president; percent of vote - Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (MPRP) 53.44%, Mendsaikhanin ENKHSAIKHAN (DP) 20.05%, Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN (MRP) 13.92%, Badarchyn ERDENEBAT (M-MNSDP) 12.59%; Tsakhi ELBEGDORJ elected prime minister by the State Great Hural 74 to 0
chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam President of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju Premier


head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003)


cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the SPA


elections: election last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008)


election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed
Exports 497 bbl/day (2004 est.) NA
Exports - commodities copper, apparel, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products
Exports - partners China 47.8%, US 17.9%, UK 15.7% (2004) China 29.9%, South Korea 24.1%, Japan 13.2% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red; centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol) three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 20.6%


industry: 21.4%


services: 58% (2003 est.)
agriculture: 30.2%


industry: 33.8%


services: 36% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 10.6% according to official estimate (2004 est.) 1% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 46 00 N, 105 00 E 40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports 2 (2004 est.) 19 (2004 est.)
Highways total: 49,256 km


paved: 8,874 km


unpaved: 40,376 km (2002)
total: 31,200 km


paved: 1,997 km


unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2.1%


highest 10%: 37% (1995)
lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs - for years, from the 1970's into the 2000's, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; in recent years, police investigations in Taiwan and Japan have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003; all indications point to North Korea emerging as an important regional source of illicit drugs targeting markets in Japan, Taiwan, the Russian Far East, and China
Imports 11,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) 11,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, fuel, cars, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain
Imports - partners Russia 33.3%, China 23.6%, Japan 7.4%, South Korea 6%, US 4.6% (2004) China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004)
Independence 11 July 1921 (from China) 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate 4.1% (2002 est.) NA
Industries construction and construction materials; mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, and gold); oil; food and beverages; processing of animal products, cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism
Infant mortality rate total: 53.79 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 57.25 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 50.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
total: 24.04 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 25.77 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 22.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 11% (2004 est.) NA (2003 est.)
International organization participation ARF, AsDB, CP, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Irrigated land 840 sq km (1998 est.) 14,600 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (serves as appeals court for people's and provincial courts but rarely overturns verdicts of lower courts; judges are nominated by the General Council of Courts and approved by the president) Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force 1.488 million (2003) 9.6 million
Labor force - by occupation herding/agriculture 42%, mining 4%, manufacturing 6%, trade 14%, services 29%, public sector 5%, other 3.7% (2003) agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%
Land boundaries total: 8,220 km


border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,543 km
total: 1,673 km


border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use arable land: 0.77%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 99.23% (2001)
arable land: 20.76%


permanent crops: 2.49%


other: 76.75% (2001)
Languages Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999) Korean
Legal system blend of Soviet, German, and US systems that combine "continental" or "civil" code and case-precedent; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral State Great Hural 76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms


elections: last held 27 June 2004 (next to be held in June 2008)


election results: percent of vote by party - MPRP 48.78%, MDC 44.8%, independents 3.5%, Republican Party 1.5%, others 1.42%; seats by party - MPRP 36, MDC 34, others 4; note - following June 2004 election, two seats in dispute and unoccupied
unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties
Life expectancy at birth total population: 64.52 years


male: 62.3 years


female: 66.86 years (2005 est.)
total population: 71.37 years


male: 68.65 years


female: 74.22 years (2005 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 97.8%


male: 98%


female: 97.5% (2002)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99%
Location Northern Asia, between China and Russia Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references Asia Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned
Merchant marine total: 65 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 339,423 GRT/533,853 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 54, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1


foreign-owned: 38 (China 2, Lebanon 1, Philippines 1, Russia 10, Singapore 10, South Korea 1, Syria 1, Thailand 1, Ukraine 1, UAE 4, Vietnam 6) (2005)
total: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 985,108 GRT/1,389,389 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 13, cargo 191, container 2, livestock carrier 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 5


foreign-owned: 52 (China 1, Denmark 2, France 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 4, Lithuania 1, Netherlands 1, Pakistan 2, Romania 10, Russia 2, Singapore 2, South Korea 2, Syria 9, Turkey 6, Ukraine 1, UAE 3) (2005)
Military branches Mongolian Armed Forces: Mongolian People's Army (MPA), Mongolian People's Air Force (MPAF) (2005) North Korean People's Army: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force; Civil Security Forces (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $23.1 million (FY02) $5,217.4 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.2% (FY02) NA
National holiday Independence Day/Revolution Day, 11 July (1921) Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality noun: Mongolian(s)


adjective: Mongolian
noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
Natural hazards dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud," which is harsh winter conditions late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines - oil 154 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Citizens' Will Republican Party or CWRP (also called Civil Courage Republican Party or CCRP) [Sanjaasurengiin OYUN]; Democratic Party or DP [R. GONCHIKDORJ]; Motherland-Mongolian New Socialist Democratic Party or M-MNSDP [Badarchyn ERDENEBAT]; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR]; Mongolian Republican Party or MRP [Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN]


note: DP and M-MNSDP formed Motherland-Democracy Coalition (MDC) in 2003 and with CWRP contested June 2004 elections as single party; MDC's leadership dissolved coalition in December 2004
major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il, general secretary]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong, chairwoman] (under KWP control); Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae, chairman] (under KWP control)
Political pressure groups and leaders NA none
Population 2,791,272 (July 2005 est.) 22,912,177 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 36.1% (2004 est.) NA
Population growth rate 1.45% (2005 est.) 0.9% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors - Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan
Radio broadcast stations AM 7, FM 62, shortwave 3 (2004) AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2003)
Railways total: 1,810 km


broad gauge: 1,810 km 1.524-m gauge (2004)
total: 5,214 km


standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2004)
Religions Buddhist Lamaist 50%, none 40%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4% (2004) traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)


note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female


total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.53 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 17 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: network is improving with international direct dialing available in many areas


domestic: very low density of about 6.5 telephones for each thousand persons; two wireless providers cover all but two provinces


international: country code - 976; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region)
general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Telephones - main lines in use 142,300 (2004) 1.1 million (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 404,400 (2004) NA
Television broadcast stations 52 (plus 21 provincial repeaters and many low power repeaters) (2004) 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003)
Terrain vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate 2.26 children born/woman (2005 est.) 2.15 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 6.7% (2003) NA (2003)
Waterways 580 km


note: only waterway in operation is Lake Khovsgol (135 km); Selenge River (270 km) and Orkhon River (175 km) are navigable but carry little traffic; lakes and rivers freeze in winter, are open from May to September (2004)
2,250 km


note: most navigable only by small craft (2004)
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