Norfolk Island (2005) | Korea, South (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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 (Inchon), Kwangju-gwangyoksi (Kwangju), Pusan-gwangyoksi (Pusan), Soul-t'ukpyolsi (Seoul), Taegu-gwangyoksi (Taegu), Taejon-gwangyoksi (Taejon), Ulsan-gwangyoksi (Ulsan) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.4% (male 5,223,344; female 4,681,594)
15-64 years: 71.4% (male 17,625,302; female 17,072,029) 65 years and over: 8.2% (male 1,597,085; female 2,398,821) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 102 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 91
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 88 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 98,480 sq km
land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Indiana |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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 (1950-1953), 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 18 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. |
Birth rate | NA | 12.33 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $135.5 billion
expenditures: $128.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $23.5 billion (2003) |
Capital | Kingston | Seoul |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter |
Coastline | 32 km | 2,413 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 17 July 1948 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
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 |
Currency | - | South Korean won (KRW) |
Death rate | NA | 6.13 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $130.3 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador HONG Seok-hyun
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) |
Disputes - international | none | 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; unresolved dispute with Japan over Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima) and occasional protests over fishing rights in grounds also claimed by Japan |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA $200 million |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | - |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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. 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 National Assembly approved legislation reducing the six-day work week to five days. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 270.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 290.7 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing |
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 |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,191.61 (2003), 1,251.09 (2002), 1,290.99 (2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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 KIM Jin-pyo (since 28 January 2005), LEE Hun-jai (since 10 February 2004), 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 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: 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% |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | 804,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | Semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | China 18.2%, US 17.8%, Japan 9%, Hong Kong 7.6% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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 - $857.8 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 36.4% services: 60% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $17,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 3.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 37 00 N, 127 30 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | strategic location on Korea Strait |
Heliports | - | 206 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
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%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1999 est.) |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | 2.965 million bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | NA | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Japan 20.3%, US 13.9%, China 12.3%, Saudi Arabia 5.2% (2003) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 5.1% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 7.18 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 3.6% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | AfDB, APEC, 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 |
Irrigated land | NA | 11,590 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | 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) |
Labor force | 1,345 | 22.92 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture 8.8%, industry 19.1%, services 72.1% (2001) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 238 km
border countries: North Korea 238 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 17.18%
permanent crops: 1.95% other: 80.87% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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; by-elections scheduled for April 2005)) election results: percent of vote by party - Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, MDP 3%, others 2%; seats by party - Uri 152, GNP 121, DLP 10, MDP 9, others 7 (2004) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 75.58 years
male: 71.96 years female: 79.54 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.9% male: 99.2% female: 96.6% (2002) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea |
Map references | Oceania | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
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 |
Merchant marine | - | total: 535 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,978,949 GRT/9,761,699 DWT
by type: bulk 97, cargo 174, chemical tanker 61, combination bulk 10, container 60, liquefied gas 19, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 73, refrigerated cargo 20, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea/passenger 2, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 3 foreign-owned: Bahrain 1, China 1, Gibraltar 1, Honduras 1, Indonesia 1, Japan 3, Malaysia 1, Panama 1, Philippines 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, United Kingdom 1, United States 1 registered in other countries: 442 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $14.522 billion (FY03) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.7% (FY03) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 14,233,895 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 8,966,241 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 341,697 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest |
Natural resources | fish | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | NA | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,433 km; refined products 827 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Democratic Labor Party or DLP [KIM Hye-kyung, chairwoman]; Grand National Party or GNP [PARK Geun-hye, chairwoman]; Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [HAHN Hwa-kap, chairman]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Hak-won, chairman]; Uri Party [LIM Chae-jung, interim chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | 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 |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 48,598,175 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 4% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 0.62% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 58, FM 150, shortwave 2 (2004) |
Railways | - | total: 3,125 km
standard gauge: 3,125 km 1.435-m gauge (661 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | no affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, other 1% |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.12 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 (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 22.877 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 33,591,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 64 (additionally 119 Cable Operators; 239 Relay Cable Operators) (2004) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.56 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 3.4% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,608 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) |