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Compare Western Sahara (2007) - Korea, South (2006)

Compare Western Sahara (2007) z Korea, South (2006)

 Western Sahara (2007)Korea, South (2006)
 Western SaharaKorea, South
Administrative divisions none (under de facto control of Morocco) 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 (Inch'on), Kwangju-gwangyoksi (Kwangju), Pusan-gwangyoksi (Pusan), Soul-t'ukpyolsi (Seoul), Taegu-gwangyoksi (Taegu), Taejon-gwangyoksi (Taejon), Ulsan-gwangyoksi (Ulsan)
Age structure 0-14 years: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)


15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895)


65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 18.9% (male 4,844,083/female 4,368,139)


15-64 years: 71.9% (male 17,886,148/female 17,250,862)


65 years and over: 9.2% (male 1,818,677/female 2,678,914) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish
Airports 9 (2007) 107 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007)
total: 69


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 21


1,524 to 2,437 m: 14


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 20 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 6


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 2 (2007)
total: 38


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 35 (2006)
Area total: 266,000 sq km


land: 266,000 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 98,480 sq km


land: 98,190 sq km


water: 290 sq km
Area - comparative about the size of Colorado slightly larger than Indiana
Background Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. Korea was an independent kingdom for much of its millennia-long history. 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 of Korea (ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north (the DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought alongside soldiers from the ROK to defend South Korea from DPRK attacks supported by China and the Soviet Union. 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 14 times the level of North Korea. In 1993, KIM Yo'ng-sam became South Korea's first civilian president following 32 years of military rule. 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 Dae-jung and the North's leader KIM Jong Il.
Birth rate NA 10 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA
revenues: $195 billion


expenditures: $189 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital none


time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
name: Seoul


geographic coordinates: 37 34 N, 127 00 E


time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
Coastline 1,110 km 2,413 km
Constitution - 17 July 1948
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Western Sahara


former: Spanish Sahara
conventional long form: Republic of Korea


conventional short form: South Korea


local long form: Taehan-min'guk


local short form: Han'guk


abbreviation: ROK
Death rate NA 5.85 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external $NA $153.9 billion (2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US none chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW


embassy: 32 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710


mailing address: US Embassy Seoul, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-5550


telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114


FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845
Diplomatic representation in the US none chief of mission: Ambassador LEE Tae-sik


chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600


FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205


consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
Disputes - international Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria 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; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954
Economic aid - donor - ODA, $423.3 million (2004)
Economic aid - recipient $NA -
Economy - overview Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006, the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. 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. In 2004, South Korea joined the trillion dollar club of world economies. Today its GDP per capita is equal to the lesser economies of the EU. 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. GDP plunged by 6.9% in 1998, then recovered 9.5% in 1999 and 8.5% 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 7%, despite anemic global growth. Between 2003 and 2005, growth moderated to about 4%. A downturn in consumer spending was offset by rapid export growth. In 2005, the government proposed labor reform legislation and a corporate pension scheme to help make the labor market more flexible, and new real estate policies to cool property speculation. Moderate inflation, low unemployment, an export surplus, and fairly equal distribution of income characterize this solid economy.
Electricity - consumption 79.05 million kWh (2005) 321.1 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - production 85 million kWh (2005) 342.1 billion kWh (2004)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m


highest point: unnamed location 463 m
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m
Environment - current issues sparse water and lack of arable land 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: none of the selected agreements


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 Arab, Berber homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)
Exchange rates Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002) South Korean won per US dollar - 1,024.1 (2005), 1,145.3 (2004), 1,191.6 (2003), 1,251.1 (2002), 1,291 (2001)
Executive branch none chief of state: President ROH Moo-hyun (since 25 February 2003)


head of government: Prime Minister HAN Myeong-sook (since 20 April 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers KIM Woo-sik (since 10 February 2006); KWON O-kyu (since 18 July 2006); KIM Shin-il (since 20 September 2006)


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 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: ROH Moo-hyun elected president; percent of vote - ROH Moo-hyun (MDP) 48.9%; LEE Hoi-chang (GNP) 46.6%; other 4.5%
Exports NA bbl/day 645,200 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities phosphates 62% semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals
Exports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) China 21.8%, US 14.6%, Japan 8.5%, Hong Kong 5.5% (2005)
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 - composition by sector agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: 40%
agriculture: 3.3%


industry: 40.3%


services: 56.3% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate NA% 4% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 24 30 N, 13 00 W 37 00 N, 127 30 E
Geography - note the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas strategic location on Korea Strait
Heliports - 540 (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 2.9%


highest 10%: 25% (2005 est.)
Imports NA bbl/day 2.263 million bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics
Imports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) Japan 18.5%, China 14.8%, US 11.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.2% (2005)
Independence - 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 5.9% (2005 est.)
Industries phosphate mining, handicrafts electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel
Infant mortality rate total: NA


male: NA


female: NA
total: 6.16 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 6.54 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 5.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA% 2.8% (2005 est.)
International organization participation none AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land NA 8,780 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch - 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 12,000 23.53 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 50%


industry and services: 50%
agriculture: 6.4%


industry: 26.4%


services: 67.2% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries total: 2,046 km


border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
total: 238 km


border countries: North Korea 238 km
Land use arable land: 0.02%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 99.98% (2005)
arable land: 16.58%


permanent crops: 2.01%


other: 81.41% (2005)
Languages Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic 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 (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; byelections held on 30 April 2005 and on 26 October 2005)


election results: percent of vote by party - Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, DP 3%, others 2%; seats by party - Uri 144, GNP 127, DP 11, DLP 9, ULD 3, independents 5


note: percent of vote is for 2004 general election; seats by party reflect results of April and October 2005 byelections involving six and four seats respectively; MDP became DP in May 2005; United Liberal Democrats (ULD) merged with GNP in February 2006. (2006)
Life expectancy at birth total population: NA


male: NA


female: NA
total population: 77.04 years


male: 73.61 years


female: 80.75 years (2006 est.)
Literacy NA definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 97.9%


male: 99.2%


female: 96.6% (2002)
Location Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
Map references Africa Asia
Maritime claims contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue 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: 669 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,634,188 GRT/13,733,624 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 157, cargo 193, chemical tanker 98, container 81, liquefied gas 22, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 24, petroleum tanker 57, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 6


foreign-owned: 22 (France 12, Japan 1, UK 2, US 7)


registered in other countries: 365 (Belize 4, Cambodia 23, China 2, Cyprus 1, Georgia 1, Honduras 6, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 1, Liberia 3, Malaysia 1, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 291, Singapore 17, unknown 2) (2006)
Military branches - Army, Navy, Republic of Korea Air Force (Han-guk Kong Goon), Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (coast guard) (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $21.06 billion FY05 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 2.6% FY05 (2005 est.)
National holiday - Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)
Nationality noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)


adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian
noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
Natural hazards hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest
Natural resources phosphates, iron ore coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential
Net migration rate - 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines - gas 1,482 km; refined products 827 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders - Democratic Labor Party or DLP [MOON Seong-hyun]; Democratic Party or DP [HAHN Hwa-kap]; Grand National Party or GNP [KANG Jae-sup]; People-Centered Party or PCP [SHIN Kook-hwan]; Uri Party [KIM Geun-tae]
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 382,617


note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.)
48,846,823 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 15% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate NA 0.42% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 61, FM 150, shortwave 2 (2005)
Railways - total: 3,472 km


standard gauge: 3,472 km 1.435-m gauge (1,361 km electrified) (2005)
Religions Muslim no affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, other 1%
Sex ratio NA at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed 19 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: sparse and limited system


domestic: NA


international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco
general assessment: excellent domestic and international services


domestic: NA


international: country code - 82; 10 fiber-optic submarine cables - 1 Korea-Russia-Japan, 1 Korea-Japan-Hong Kong, 3 Korea-Japan-China, 1 Korea-Japan-China-Europe, 1 Korea-Japan-China-US-Taiwan, 1 Korea-Japan-China, 1 Korea-Japan-Hong Kong-Taiwan, 1 Korea-Japan; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 3 Inmarsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use about 2,000 (1999 est.) 23.745 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (1999) 38.342 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations NA terrestrial stations 43; cable operators 59; relay cable operators 190 (2005)
Terrain mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south
Total fertility rate NA 1.27 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 3.7% (2005 est.)
Waterways - 1,608 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2006)
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