Statistical information South Korea 1993South%20Korea

Map of South Korea | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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South Korea in the World

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South Korea - Introduction 1993
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Background: At the end of World War II, the US and the Soviet Union agreed that US troops would accept the surrender of Japanese forces south of the 38th parallel and the Soviet Union would do so in the north. In 1948, the UN proposed nationwide elections; after P'yongyang's refusal to allow UN inspectors in the north, elections were held in the south and the Republic of Korea was established. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was established the following month in the north. Communist North Korean forces invaded South Korea in 1950. US and other UN forces intervened to defend the South and Chinese forces intervened on behalf of the North. After a bitter three-year war, an armistice was signed in 1953, establishing a military demarcation line near the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved amazing economic growth, with per capita output rising to 13 times the level in the North.


South Korea - Geography 1993
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Location: Northeast Asia, between North Korea and Japan

Geographic coordinates

Map referenceAsia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total: 98,480 km²
Land: 98,190 km²

Land boundaries: total 238 km, North Korea 238 km

Coastline: 2,413 km
Continental shelf: not specified
Territorial sea: 12 nm; 3 nm in the Korea Strait

Maritime claims

Climate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south

Elevation

Natural resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower
Arable land: 21%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 1%
Forest and woodland: 67%
Other: 10%
Land use

Land use

Irrigated land: 13,530 km² (1989)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


South Korea - People 1993
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Population: 44,613,993 (July 1993 est.)
Growth rate: 1.05% (1993 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Korean(s)
Adjective: Korean

Ethnic groups: homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)

Languages: Korean, English widely taught in high school

Religions: Christianity 48.6%, Buddhism 47.4%, Confucianism 3%, pervasive folk religion (Shamanism), Chondogyo (religion of the heavenly way) 0.2%

Demographic profile
Age structure

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.05% (1993 est.)

Birth rate: 15.72 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 6.16 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.91 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest; air pollution in large cities

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 22.5 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.29 years
Male: 67.1 years
Female: 73.68 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.64 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Total population: 96%
Male: 99%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


South Korea - Government 1993
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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Korea
Conventional short form: South Korea
Local long form: Taehan-min'guk
Local short form: none
Abbreviation: ROK

Government type: republic

Capital: Seoul

Administrative divisions:
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 6 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto,
Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-jikhalsi*,
Kangwon-do, Kwangju-jikhalsi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo,
Pusan-jikhalsi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-jikhalsi*, Taejon-jikhalsi*


Dependent areas

Independence: 15 August 1948

National holiday
Independence Day 15 August 1948 majority party: Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), KIM Young Sam, president
Opposition:
Democratic Party (DP), LEE Ki Taek, executive chairman; United
People's Party (UPP), CHUNG Ju Yung, chairman; several smaller parties
the DLP resulted from a merger of the Democratic Justice Party (DJP),
Reunification Democratic Party (RDP), and New Democratic Republican Party (NDRP) on 9 February 1990


Constitution: 25 February 1988

Legal system:
combines elements of continental European civil law systems,
Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought


International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch: president, prime minister, two deputy prime ministers, State Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Kuk Hoe)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:
AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC, COCOM (cooperating country), CP, EBRD,
ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, OAS (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO


Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador HAN Seung Soo
In the us chancery: 2,370 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: (202) 939-5,600
In the us consulates general:
Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu,
Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle

From the us chief of mission: (vacant), Charge d'Affaires Raymond BURGHARDT
From the us embassy: 82 Sejong-Ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul, AMEMB, Unit 15,550
From the us mailing address: APO AP 96,205-0001
From the us telephone: 82 (2) 732-2,601 through 2,618
From the us fax: 82 (2) 738-8,845
From the us consulate: Pusan

Flag descriptionflag of South%20Korea: 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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


South Korea - Economy 1993
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Economy overview: The driving force behind the economy's dynamic growth has been the planned development of an export-oriented economy in a vigorously entrepreneurial society. Real GNP increased more than 10% annually between 1986 and 1991. This growth ultimately led to an overheated situation characterized by a tight labor market, strong inflationary pressures, and a rapidly rising current account deficit. As a result, in 1992, focusing attention on slowing the growth rate of inflation and reducing the deficit is leading to a slow-down in growth. The economy remains the envy of the great majority of the world's peoples.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5% (1992 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $6,500 (1992 est.)

Gross national saving
Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 8% of GNP and employs 21% of work force (including fishing and forestry; principal crops - rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; livestock and livestock products - cattle, hogs, chickens, milk, eggs; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat; fish catch of 2.9 million metric tons, seventh-largest in world

Industries: textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing, chemicals, steel, electronics, automobile production, shipbuilding

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate 5.0% (1992 est.), accounts for about 45% of GNP

Labor force: 19 million
By occupation servicesandother: 52%
By occupation mining and manufacturing: 27%
By occupation agriculture fishing forestry: 21% (1991)
Labor force

Unemployment rate: 2.4% (1992 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $48.4 billion; expenditures $48.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $76.8 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
Commodoties: textiles, clothing, electronic and electrical equipment, footwear, machinery, steel, automobiles, ships, fish
Partners: US 24%, Japan 15% (1992)

Imports: $81.7 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
Commodoties: machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains
Partners: Japan 24%, US 22% (1992)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: South Korean won (W) per US$1 - 791.99 (January 1993), 780.65 (1992), 733.35 (1991), 707.76 (1990), 671.46 (1989), 731.47 (1988)


South Korea - Energy 1993
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Electricity
Production: 24,000,000 kW capacity; 105,000 million kWh produced, 2,380 kWh per capita (1992)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


South Korea - Communication 1993
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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


South Korea - Military 1993
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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp:
exchange rate conversion - $12.2 billion, 3.6% of
GNP (1993 est.)


Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


South Korea - Transportation 1993
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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 103
Usable: 93
With permanentsurface runways: 59
With runways over 3659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 22
With runways 1220-2439 m: 18

Heliports

Pipelines: petroleum products 455 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft

Merchant marine:
431 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,689,227
GRT/11,016,014 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 138 cargo, 61 container, 11 refrigerated cargo, 9 vehicle carrier, 45 oil tanker, 12 chemical tanker, 13 liquefied gas, 2 combination ore/oil, 135 bulk, 2 combination bulk, 1 multifunction large-load carrier


Ports and terminals


South Korea - Transnational issues 1993
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Disputes international: Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs


Verizon


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