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Compare Virgin Islands (2001) - Korea, North (2005)
Compare Virgin Islands (2001) z Korea, North (2005)
| Virgin Islands (2001) | Korea, North (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas | 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:
27.27% (male 17,121; female 16,204) 15-64 years: 63.92% (male 35,391; female 42,727) 65 years and over: 8.81% (male 4,638; female 6,130) (2001 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 | fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs |
| Airports | 2
note: international airports on Saint Thomas and Saint Croix (2000 est.) |
78 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 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: 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:
352 sq km land: 349 sq km water: 3 sq km |
total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
| Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Mississippi |
| Background | During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. | 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 | 15.9 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.09 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$364.4 million expenditures: $364.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
| Capital | Charlotte Amalie | Pyongyang |
| Climate | subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to November | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer |
| Coastline | 188 km | 2,495 km |
| Constitution | Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 | adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
United States Virgin Islands conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies |
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 | US dollar (USD) | - |
| Death rate | 5.47 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.05 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $NA | $12 billion (1996 est.) |
| Dependency status | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | 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 | $NA | 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 | Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for more than 70% of GDP and 70% of employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, support construction projects in the private sector, expand tourist facilities, and protect the environment. | 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 | 948.6 million kWh (1999) | 31.26 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 1.02 billion kWh (1999) | 33.62 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Crown Mountain 474 m |
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
| Environment - current issues | lack of natural freshwater resources | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation |
| Environment - international 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 | black 80%, white 15%, other 5%
note: West Indian (45% born in the Virgin Islands and 29% born elsewhere in the West Indies) 74%, US mainland 13%, Puerto Rican 5%, other 8% |
racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | 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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (Since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) and Lieutenant Governor Gererd LUZ James II (since 5 January 1999) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL elected governor; percent of vote - Dr. Charles W. TURNBULL (Democrat) 58.9%, former Governor Roy L. SCHNEIDER (ICM) 41.1% |
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 | $NA | NA |
| Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products |
| Exports - partners | US, Puerto Rico | China 29.9%, South Korea 24.1%, Japan 13.2% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
| Flag description | white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel | 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 - $1.8 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 30.2%
industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 20 N, 64 50 W | 40 00 N, 127 00 E |
| Geography - note | important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural, deepwater harbors in the Caribbean | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated |
| Heliports | - | 19 (2004 est.) |
| Highways | total:
856 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (2000) |
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 | - | 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 | $NA | 11,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain |
| Imports - partners | US, Puerto Rico | China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004) |
| Independence | - | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
| Industries | tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics | 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 | 9.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) | NA% | NA (2003 est.) |
| International organization participation | ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC | ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 50 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) |
| Labor force | 47,443 (1990 est.) | 9.6 million |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry 20%, services 79% (1990 est.) | agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
| Land use | arable land:
15% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 6% other: 47% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 20.76%
permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001) |
| Languages | English (official), Spanish, Creole | Korean |
| Legal system | based on US laws | 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 Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 6, ICM 2, independents 7 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); results - Donna M. CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSON (Democrat) elected |
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:
78.27 years male: 74.38 years female: 82.39 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.37 years
male: 68.65 years female: 74.22 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% |
| Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
| Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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 | none (2000 est.) | 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 - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
| Military branches | - | North Korean People's Army: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force; Civil Security Forces (2005) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $5,217.4 million (FY02) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
| National holiday | Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917) | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) |
| Nationality | noun:
Virgin Islander(s) adjective: Virgin Islander |
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
| Natural hazards | several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall |
| Natural resources | sun, sand, sea, surf | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | oil 154 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHON]; Republican Party [Gary SCROUVE] | 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 | 122,211 (July 2001 est.) | 22,912,177 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
| Population growth rate | 1.06% (2001 est.) | 0.9% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted, Cruz Bay, Port Alucroix | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 11, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2003) |
| Radios | 107,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | total: 5,214 km
standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2004) |
| Religions | Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7% | 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:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.83 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 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; note - indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 17 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: modern, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay international: submarine cable and satellite communications; satellite earth stations - NA |
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 | 62,000 (1997) | 1.1 million (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,000 (1992) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003) |
| Terrain | mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east |
| Total fertility rate | 2.25 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.15 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 4.9% (March 1999) | NA (2003) |
| Waterways | none | 2,250 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) |
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