United Arab Emirates (2005) | Korea, North (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn | 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: 25.3% (male 331,269; female 317,977)
15-64 years: 71.1% (male 1,115,826; female 707,058) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 66,404; female 24,678) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.6% (male 2,836,991; female 2,755,127)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 7,575,590; female 7,812,878) 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 583,463; female 1,133,504) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, vegetables, watermelons; poultry, eggs, dairy products; fish | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs |
Airports | 35 (2004 est.) | 78 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 22
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 35
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (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 (2003 est.) |
Area | total: 82,880 sq km
land: 82,880 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly smaller than Mississippi |
Background | The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th century treaties. In 1971, six of these states - Abu Zaby, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn - merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were joined in 1972 by Ra's al Khaymah. The UAE's per capita GDP is on par with those of leading West European nations. Its generosity with oil revenues and its moderate foreign policy stance have allowed the UAE to play a vital role in the affairs of the region. | 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 and 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 future successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994, when 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 food 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), and in January 2003 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." Since August 2003 North Korea has participated in six-party talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs. |
Birth rate | 18.78 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $23.68 billion
expenditures: $25.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.4 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
Capital | Abu Dhabi | Pyongyang |
Climate | desert; cooler in eastern mountains | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer |
Coastline | 1,318 km | 2,495 km |
Constitution | 2 December 1971 (made permanent in 1996) | adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 |
Country name | conventional long form: United Arab Emirates
conventional short form: none local long form: Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah local short form: none former: Trucial Oman, Trucial States abbreviation: UAE |
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 |
Currency | - | North Korean won (KPW) |
Death rate | 4.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 6.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.9 billion (2004 est.) | $12 billion (1996 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michele SISON
embassy: Embassies District, Plot 38 Sector W59-02, Street No. 4, Abu Dhabi mailing address: P. O. Box 4009, Abu Dhabi telephone: [971] (2) 414-2200 FAX: [971] (2) 414-2469 consulate(s) general: Dubai |
none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Asri Said Ahmad al-DHAHIRI
chancery: 3522 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 243-2400 FAX: [1] (202) 243-2432 note: consulates in New York and Houston |
none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York |
Disputes - international | because the treaties have not been made public, the exact alignment of the boundary with Saudi Arabia is still unknown; boundary agreement was signed and ratified with Oman in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves, but contents of the agreement and maps showing the alignment have not been published; UAE engage in direct talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Lesser and Greater Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island | with China, certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute; a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; China has been attempting to stop mass illegal migration of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and oppression into northern China; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South Korea |
Economic aid - donor | since its founding in 1971, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has given about $5.2 billion in aid to 56 countries (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA; note - over $133 million in food aid through the World Food Program in 2003 plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations |
Economy - overview | The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 30% of GDP), and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE more than 30 years ago, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, oil and gas reserves should last for more than 100 years. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up its utilities to greater private sector involvement. In April 2004, the UAE signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with Washington and in November 2004 agreed to undertake negotiations toward a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US. | 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 tenth 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 1995-96, 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 2003, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid as well. Black market prices 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. The regime, however, relaxed restrictions on farmers' market activities in spring 2003, leading to an expansion of market activity. |
Electricity - consumption | 36.51 billion kWh (2002) | 27.91 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 45.12 billion kWh (2004) | 30.01 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m |
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
Environment - current issues | lack of natural freshwater resources compensated by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil spills | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Emirati 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8% (1982)
note: less than 20% are UAE citizens (1982) |
racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese |
Exchange rates | Emirati dirhams per US dollar - 3.6725 (2004), 3.6725 (2003), 3.6725 (2002), 3.6725 (2001), 3.6725 (2000)
note: officially pegged to the US dollar since February 2002 |
official: North Korean won per US dollar - 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001), 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002), 200 (December 2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Sheikh KHALIFA bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 3 November 2004), ruler of Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) (since 4 November 2004) and Vice President MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai)
head of government: Prime Minister MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai); Deputy Prime Minister SULTAN bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 20 November 1990); Deputy Prime Minister HAMDAN bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 20 October 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president note: there is also a Federal Supreme Council (FSC) composed of the seven emirate rulers; the FSC is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation; meets four times a year; Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power elections: president and vice president elected by the Federal Supreme Council (composed of rulers of the seven emirates) for five-year terms; election last held 3 November 2004 upon the death of the UAE's Founding Father and first President ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan (next to be held 2009); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results: Sheikh KHALIFA bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan elected president by a unanimous vote of the FSC; MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum unanimously reaffirmed vice president |
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 | 2.5 million bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products |
Exports - partners | Japan 24.9%, South Korea 9.9%, India 5.4%, Thailand 5.2% (2004) | South Korea 28.5%, China 28.4%, Japan 24.7% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a wider vertical red band on the hoist side | 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 | - | purchasing power parity - $29.58 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 58.5% services: 37.5% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 30.2%
industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,200 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (2004 est.) | 1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 00 N, 54 00 E | 40 00 N, 127 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated |
Heliports | 2 (2004 est.) | 19 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 1,088 km
paved: 1,088 km (including 253 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999 est.) |
total: 31,200 km
paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | the UAE is a drug transshipment point for traffickers given its proximity to southwest Asian drug producing countries; the UAE's position as a major financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering; anti-money-laundering controls improving | 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 | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain |
Imports - partners | China 10%, India 9.8%, Japan 6.8%, Germany 6.5%, UK 6.2%, France 6.1%, US 6% (2004) | China 39.7%, Thailand 14.6%, Japan 11.2%, Germany 7.6%, South Korea 6.2% (2002) |
Independence | 2 December 1971 (from UK) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000) | NA |
Industries | petroleum, fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, commercial ship repair, petrochemicals, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, textiles | 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: 14.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 24.84 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (2004 est.) | NA (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, 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 | 720 sq km (1998 est.) | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) |
Labor force | 2.36 million
note: 73.9% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2004 est.) |
9.6 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 7%, industry 15%, services 78% (2000 est.) | agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% |
Land boundaries | total: 867 km
border countries: Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 457 km |
total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.6%
permanent crops: 2.25% other: 97.15% (2001) |
arable land: 20.76%
permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu | Korean |
Legal system | federal court system introduced in 1971; applies to all emirates except Dubayy (Dubai) and Ra's al Khaymah, which are not fully integrated into the federal system; all emirates have secular courts to adjudicate criminal, civil, and commercial matters and Islamic courts to review family and religious disputes | 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 Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; members appointed by the rulers of the constituent states to serve two-year terms)
elections: none note: reviews legislation, but cannot change or veto |
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; the KWP approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.24 years
male: 72.73 years female: 77.87 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 71.08 years
male: 68.38 years female: 73.92 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77.9% male: 76.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea |
Map references | Middle East | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 578,477 GRT/739,823 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 11, chemical tanker 5, container 6, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 21, roll on/roll off 7 foreign-owned: 14 (Greece 2, Kuwait 6) registered in other countries: 200 (2005) |
total: 203 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 921,577 GRT/1,339,929 DWT
by type: bulk 6, cargo 166, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Albania 1, Belize 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 3, Germany 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 2, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 1, Portugal 1, Romania 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Syria 9, Tanzania 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 5, Ukraine 2, United States 3 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Marines and Coast Guard), Air and Air Defense Force, paramilitary forces (includes Federal Police Force) | Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.6 billion (FY00) | $5,217.4 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.1% (FY00) | 22.9% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 6,181,038 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 3,694,855 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 189,014 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 2 December (1971) | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) |
Nationality | noun: Emirati(s)
adjective: Emirati |
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | frequent sand and dust storms | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 469 km; gas 2,655 km; liquid petroleum gas 300 km; oil 2,936 km; oil/gas/water 5 km (2004) | oil 154 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | 2,563,212
note: includes an estimated 1,606,079 non-nationals; the 17 December 1995 census presents a total population figure of 2,377,453, and there are estimates of 3.44 million for 2002 (July 2005 est.) |
22,697,553 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.54% (2005 est.) | 0.98% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Al Fujayrah, Khawr Fakkan, Mina' Jabal 'Ali, Mina' Rashid, Mina' Saqr, Mina' Zayid, Sharjan | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 8, shortwave 2 (2004) | AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 5,214 km
standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 96% (Shi'a 16%), Christian, Hindu, and other 4% | 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: 1.58 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.691 male(s)/female total population: 1.442 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: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | none | 17 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai
domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber optic and coaxial cable international: country code - 971; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; submarine cables to Qatar, Bahrain, India, and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia |
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 | 1,135,800 (2003) | 1.1 million (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,972,300 (2003) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 15 (2004) | 38 (1999) |
Terrain | flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.94 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.2 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.4% (2001) | NA (2003) |
Waterways | - | 2,250 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) |