Statistical information South Korea 1993

South Korea in the World
top of pageBackground: 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.
top of pageLocation: Northeast Asia, between North Korea and Japan
Geographic coordinatesMap reference:
Asia, Standard Time Zones of the WorldAreaTotal: 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 claimsClimate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
Terrain: mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south
ElevationNatural resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower
Arable land: 21%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 1%
Forest and woodland: 67%
Other: 10%
Land useIrrigated land: 13,530 km² (1989)
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazardsGeographytop of pagePopulation: 44,613,993 (July 1993 est.)
Growth rate: 1.05% (1993 est.)
NationalityNoun: 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 profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation 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 distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest; air pollution in large cities
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 22.5 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birthTotal 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 rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Total population: 96%
Male: 99%
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional 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 areasIndependence: 15 August 1948
National holidayIndependence 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 participationCitizenshipSuffrage: 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 leadersInternational 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 representationIn 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 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
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy 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 parityReal gdp growth rate: 5% (1992 est.)
Real gdp per capita: $6,500 (1992 est.)
Gross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture 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)
Unemployment rate: 2.4% (1992 est.)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudget: revenues $48.4 billion; expenditures $48.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: calendar year
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $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 goldDebt externalStock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange 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)
top of pageElectricityProduction: 24,000,000 kW capacity; 105,000 million kWh produced, 2,380 kWh per capita (1992)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephonesTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresPercent of gdp:exchange rate conversion - $12.2 billion, 3.6% of
GNP (1993 est.)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 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
HeliportsPipelines: petroleum products 455 km
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways: 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 terminalstop of pageDisputes international: Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs