West Bank (2006) | Korea, South (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities* (gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*, Ulsan-gwangyoksi* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.9% (male 541,110/female 515,202)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 676,427/female 644,347) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 35,440/female 47,966) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
21.59% (male 5,475,453; female 4,864,918) 15-64 years: 71.14% (male 17,291,202; female 16,789,380) 65 years and over: 7.27% (male 1,352,312; female 2,131,105) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 3 (2006) | 102 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
68 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
34 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total:
98,480 sq km land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly larger than Indiana |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provided that Israel would retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifada that broke out in September 2000. In April 2003 the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in November 2004 and Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA President in January 2005, bringing hope of a turning point in the conflict. Israel and the PA agreed in February 2005 to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments, focused on security issues, in an effort to move the peace process forward. Progress has been slow because of different interpretations of the verbal agreement by the two sides. | 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. The Korean War (1950-53) had US and other UN forces intervene to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953 splitting the peninsula at the 38th parallel known as the DMZ. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth, with per capita income rising to 13 times the level of North Korea. In 1997, the nation suffered a severe financial crisis from which it continues to make a solid recovery. South Korea has also maintained its commitment to democratize its political processes. In June 2000, a historic first south-north summit took place between the south's President KIM Dae-jung and the north's leader KIM Chong-il. In December 2000, President KIM Dae-jung won the Noble Peace Prize for his lifeling committment to democracy and human rights in Asia. He is the first Korean to win a Nobel Prize. |
Birth rate | 31.67 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $964 million
expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2004) |
revenues:
$81.8 billion expenditures: $94.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $6.1 billion (1999) |
Capital | - | Seoul |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,413 km |
Constitution | - | 25 February 1988 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
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 | 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 5.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $0; note - includes Gaza Strip (2002) | $137 billion (November 2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) embassy: 82 Sejong-ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-0001 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission:
Ambassador YANG Song-chol chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
Disputes - international | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region | Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with Japan |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.14 billion; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004 est.) | $NA |
Economy - overview | The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- has experienced a general decline in economic growth and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities, due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally, stymied growth. | As one of the Four Dragons of East Asia, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth. Three decades ago GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per capita is seven times India's, 16 times North Korea's, and comparable 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 certain longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. By 1999 GDP growth had recovered, reversing the substantial decline of 1998. Seoul has pressed the country's largest business groups to restructure and to strengthen their financial base. Growth in 2001 likely will be a more sustainable rate of 5%. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 232.767 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 250.287 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
59.22% hydro: 1.64% nuclear: 39.12% other: 0.02% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point:
Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001) | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,271.89 (January 2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82 (1999), 1,401.44 (1998), 951.29 (1997), 804.45 (1996) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state:
President KIM Dae-jung (since 25 February 1998) head of government: Prime Minister YI Han-tong (since 23 May 2000) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections: president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by 18 December 2002); prime minister appointed by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation election results: KIM Dae-jung elected president; percent of vote - KIM Dae-jung (NCNP) 40.3% (with ULD partnership), YI Hoe-chang (GNP) 38.7%, YI In-che (NPP) 19.2% |
Exports | $270 million f.o.b.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | $172.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004) | US 20.5%, Japan 11%, China 9.5%, Hong Kong 6.3%, Taiwan 4.4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | - | white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $764.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
5.6% industry: 41.4% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $16,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2004 est.) | 9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 37 00 N, 127 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.) | - |
Heliports | - | 203 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
87,534 km paved: 65,388 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,146 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 24.3% (1993) |
Imports | $1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | $160.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004) | US 20.8%, Japan 20.2%, China 7.4%, Saudi Arabia 4.7%, Australia 3.9% (1999) |
Independence | - | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 17% (2000) |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 19.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
7.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 est.) | 2.3% (2000) |
International organization participation | - | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 11 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | 13,350 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 614,000 (April-June 2005) | 22 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18.4%
industry: 24% services: 57.6% (April-June 2005) |
services 68%, industry 20%, agriculture 12% (1999) |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total:
238 km border countries: North Korea 238 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
arable land:
19% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 65% other: 13% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school |
Legal system | - | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (273 seats total - 227 elected by direct, popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNP 133, MDP 115, ULD 17, other 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.27 years
male: 71.5 years female: 75.15 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
74.65 years male: 70.97 years female: 78.74 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99.3% female: 96.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea |
Map references | Middle East | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the Korea Strait |
Merchant marine | - | total:
496 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,421,993 GRT/8,757,034 DWT ships by type: bulk 105, cargo 168, chemical tanker 38, combination bulk 5, container 49, liquefied gas 16, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 70, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 5 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $12 billion (2000) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 3.2% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
14,148,552 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
8,979,778 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
394,397 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | - | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun:
Korean(s) adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | droughts | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest |
Natural resources | arable land | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | 2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 455 km; note - additionally, there is a parallel petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) pipeline being completed |
Political parties and leaders | - | Grand National Party or GNP [YI Hoe-chang, president]; Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [KIM Dae-jung, president]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-p'il, honorary chairman, KIM Chong-ho, acting president]
note: on 20 January 2000, the National Congress for New Politics or NCNP was renamed the Millennium Democratic Party or MDP |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations |
Population | 2,460,492
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
47,904,370 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46% including Gaza Strip (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.06% (2006 est.) | 0.89% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 20, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 106, FM 97, shortwave 6 (1999) |
Radios | - | 47.5 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
6,240 km standard gauge: 6,240 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) (1998 est.) |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.11 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 20 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 |
general assessment:
excellent domestic and international services domestic: NA international: 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 | 357,300 (includes Gaza Strip) (2004) | 24 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 27 million (June 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2005) | 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south |
Total fertility rate | 4.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 19.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (January-September 2005) | 4.1% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,609 km
note: restricted to small native craft |