Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / World (2002) - Korea, North (2001) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare World (2002) - Korea, North (2001)

Compare World (2002) z Korea, North (2001)

 World (2002)Korea, North (2001)
 WorldKorea, North
Administrative divisions 268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 3 special cities* (si, singular and plural); Chagang-do (Chagang Province), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong Province), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong Province), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae Province), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae Province), Kaesong-si* (Kaesong City), Kangwon-do (Kangwon Province), Namp'o-si* (Namp'o City), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan Province), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan Province), P'yongyang-si* (P'yongyang City), Yanggang-do (Yanggang Province)
Age structure 0-14 years: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)


15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201)


65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2002 est.)
0-14 years:
25.52% (male 2,873,390; female 2,733,163)

15-64 years:
67.63% (male 7,301,531; female 7,556,554)

65 years and over:
6.85% (male 486,805; female 1,016,785) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products - rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports - 87 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways - total:
39

over 3,047 m:
3

2,438 to 3,047 m:
26

1,524 to 2,437 m:
8

914 to 1,523 m:
1

under 914 m:
1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total:
48

2,438 to 3,047 m:
3

1,524 to 2,437 m:
24

914 to 1,523 m:
13

under 914 m:
8 (2000 est.)
Area total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
total:
120,540 sq km

land:
120,410 sq km

water:
130 sq km
Area - comparative land area about 16 times the size of the US slightly smaller than Mississippi
Background Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). Following World War II, Korea was split into a northern, communist half and a southern, Western-oriented half. KIM Chong-il has ruled North Korea since his father and the country's founder, president KIM Il-song, died in 1994. After decades of mismanagement, the North relies 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 and chemical weapons are of major concern to the international community.
Birth rate 21.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 19.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget - revenues:
$NA

expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Capital - P'yongyang
Climate two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline 356,000 km 2,495 km
Constitution - adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998
Country name - 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 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 6.92 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $2 trillion for less developed countries (2001 est.) $12 billion (1996 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US - none (Swedish Embassy in P'yongyang represents the US as consular protecting power)
Diplomatic representation in the US - none; note - North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, headed by YI Hyong-chol
Disputes - international - 33-km section of boundary with China in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea
Economic aid - recipient official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion (2001 est.) $NA; note - an estimated $200 million to $300 million in humanitarian aid from US, South Korea, Japan, and EU in 1997 plus much additional aid from the UN and non-governmental organizations; substantial continuing humanitarian aid, 1998-2000
Economy - overview Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001. The causes: slowdowns in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (20% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.3% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 7.3% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 5.2% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations were strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2001, see the individual country entries.) 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. The nation faces its seventh year of food shortages because of weather-related problems, including major drought in 2000, and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape the major consequence of spreading economic failure, such as mass starvation, but the population remains vulnerable to prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for expanding investment and consumption goods. In 2000, the regime placed emphasis on expanding foreign trade links, embracing modern technology, and attracting foreign investment, but in no way at the expense of relinquishing central control over key national assets or undergoing market-oriented reforms.
Electricity - consumption - 26.598 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports - 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports - 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - production - 28.6 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: NA%


hydro: NA%


nuclear: NA%


other: NA%
fossil fuel:
34.62%

hydro:
65.38%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
lowest point:
Sea of Japan 0 m

highest point:
Paektu-san 2,744 m
Environment - current issues large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne 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:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups - racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates - official: North Korean won per US dollar - 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990), 2.3 (December 1989); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 200
Executive branch - chief of state:
KIM Chong-il (since NA July 1994); note - in September 1998, KIM Chong-il was reelected Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded the nation's "highest administrative authority"; KIM Yong-nam was named President of the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium and given the responsibility of representing the state and receiving diplomatic credentials

head of government:
Premier HONG Song-nam (since 5 September 1998)

cabinet:
Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly

elections:
premier elected by the Supreme People's Assembly; election last held NA September 1998 (next to be held NA)

election results:
HONG Song-nam elected premier; percent of Supreme People's Assembly vote - NA%
Exports $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.) $520 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Exports - commodities the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); agricultural and fishery products
Exports - partners in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries Japan 28%, South Korea 21%, China 5%, Germany 4%, Russia 1% (1995)
Fiscal year - calendar year
Flag description - 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 GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $47 trillion (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $22 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2001 est.)
agriculture:
30%

industry:
42%

services:
28% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.2% (2001 est.) -3% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates - 40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Highways total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
total:
31,200 km

paved:
1,997 km

unpaved:
29,203 km (1996)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


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

highest 10%:
NA%
Imports $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.) $960 million (c.i.f., 1999 est.)
Imports - commodities the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; consumer goods, grain
Imports - partners in value, about 75% of imports into the developed countries China 33%, Japan 17%, Russia 5%, South Korea 4%, Germany 3% (1995)
Independence - 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate 6% (2000 est.) NA%
Industries dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems 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 51.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) 23.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2001 est.); national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries NA%
International organization participation - ARF (dialogue partner), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 10,350 (2000 est.) 1 (2000)
Irrigated land 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.) 14,600 sq km (1993 est.)
Judicial branch - Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force NA 9.6 million
Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%
Land boundaries the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice) total:
1,673 km

border countries:
China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use arable land: 10.58%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 88.42% (1998 est.)
arable land:
14%

permanent crops:
2%

permanent pastures:
0%

forests and woodland:
61%

other:
23% (1993 est.)
Languages Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Korean
Legal system all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court 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 Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections:
last held 26 July 1998 (next to be held NA 2003)

election results:
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - the KWP approves a single list of candidates who are elected without opposition; minor parties hold a few seats
Life expectancy at birth total population: 63.94 years


male: 62.28 years


female: 65.67 years (2002 est.)
total population:
71.02 years

male:
68.04 years

female:
74.15 years (2001 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 77%


male: 83%


female: 71% (1995 est.)
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write Korean

total population:
99%

male:
99%

female:
99% (1990 est.)
Location - Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World Asia
Maritime claims a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked 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:
110 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 661,792 GRT/903,367 DWT

ships by type:
bulk 4, cargo 94, combination bulk 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 1, short-sea passenger 2 (2000 est.)
Military branches - Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces
Military expenditures - dollar figure aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) $3.7 billion to $4.9 billion (FY98 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.) 25% to 33% (FY98 est.)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49:
5,943,735 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49:
3,574,050 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males:
179,136 (2001 est.)
National holiday - Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality - noun:
Korean(s)

adjective:
Korean
Natural hazards large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate - 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Pipelines - crude oil 37 km; petroleum product 180 km
Political parties and leaders - Chondoist Chongu Party [YU Mi-yong, chairwoman]; Korean Social Democratic Party [KIM Pyong-sik, chairman]; major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Chong-il, General Secretary]
Political pressure groups and leaders - NA
Population 6,233,821,945 (July 2002 est.) 21,968,228 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line - NA%
Population growth rate 1.23% (2002 est.) 1.22% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan
Radio broadcast stations AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999)
Radios NA 3.36 million (1997)
Railways total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line


broad gauge: 251,153 km


standard gauge: 710,754 km


narrow gauge: 239,430 km
total:
5,000 km

standard gauge:
4,095 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified; 159 km double track)

narrow gauge:
665 km 0.762-m gauge

dual gauge:
240 km 1.435-m and 1.600-m gauges (four rails interlaced) (1996 est.)
Religions Christians 32.88% (of which Roman Catholics 17.39%, Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.54%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.54%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.92%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions 12.6%, non-religious 12.63%, atheists 2.47% (2000 est.) 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: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female

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

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

total population:
0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage - 17 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
general assessment:
NA

domestic:
NA

international:
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 NA 1.1 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA NA
Television broadcast stations NA 38 (1999)
Terrain the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate 2.7 children born/woman (2002 est.) 2.26 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2001 est.) NA%
Waterways - 2,253 km

note:
mostly navigable by small craft only
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.