Map of North Korea | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: An independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War; five years later Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed republic in the southern portion by force North Korea under its founder President KIM Il Sung adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic 'self-reliance' as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence and molded political economic and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son the current ruler KIM Jong Il was officially designated as KIM's future successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994 when he assumed full power without opposition. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation the North since the mid-1990s has relied 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 chemical and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002 following revelations it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and in January 2003 declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a 'nuclear deterrent.' Since August 2003 North Korea has participated in six-party talks with the United States China South Korea Japan and Russia to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs.


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Location: Eastern Asia northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan between China and South Korea

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N 127 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 120,540 km²
Land: 120,410 km²
Water: 130 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Mississippi

Land boundaries
Total: 1,673 km
Border countries: (3) China 1,416 km; , South Korea 238 km; , Russia 19 km

Coastline: 2,495 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm 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

Climate: temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west discontinuous in east

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
Extremes highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m

Natural resources: coal lead tungsten zinc graphite magnesite iron ore copper gold pyrites salt fluorspar hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 20.76%
Permanent crops: 2.49%
Other: 76.75% (2001)

Irrigated land: 14,600 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall

Geography
Note: strategic location bordering China South Korea and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated


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Population: 22,697,553 (July 2004 est.)
Growth rate: 0.98% (2004 est.)
Below poverty line: NA

Nationality
Noun: Korean
Adjective: Korean

Ethnic groups: racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese

Languages: Korean

Religions
Note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 24.6% (male 2,836,991; female 2,755,127)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 7,575,590; female 7,812,878)
65 years and over: 7.6% (male 583,463; female 1,133,504) (2004 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 31.4 years
Male: 30.2 years
Female: 32.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.98% (2004 est.)

Birth rate: 16.77 births/1000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate: 6.99 deaths/1000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2004 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
International agreements party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.03 male/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male/female
65 years and over: 0.52 male/female
Total population: 0.94 male/female (2004 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 24.84 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 26.59 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 23 deaths/1000 live births (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 71.08 years
Male: 68.38 years
Female: 73.92 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 99%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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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

Government type: Communist state one-man dictatorship

Capital: Pyongyang

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas

Independence: 15 August 1945 (from Japan)

National holiday: Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) 9 September (1948)

Constitution: adopted 1948 completely revised 27 December 1972 revised again in April 1992 and September 1998

Legal system: 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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's 'highest administrative authority'; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam President of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju Premier
Head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003)
Cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the SPA
Elections: election last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008)
Election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; the KWP approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties

Judicial branch: Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)

Political parties and leaders: major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il general secretary]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong chairwoman] (under KWP control); Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae chairman] (under KWP control)

International organization participation: ARF FAO G-77 ICAO ICRM IFAD IFRCS IHO IMO IOC ISO ITU NAM UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
From the us: none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power)

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: 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. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. The nation has suffered its tenth year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land: collective farming weather-related problems and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995-96 but the population remains the victim of prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2003 heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid as well. Black market prices continued to rise following the increase in official prices and wages in the summer of 2002 leaving some vulnerable groups such as the elderly and unemployed less able to buy goods. The regime however relaxed restrictions on farmers' market activities in spring 2003 leading to an expansion of market activity.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 1% (2003 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $1300 (2003 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 30.2%
Industry: 33.8%
Services: 36% (2002 est.)

Agriculture products: rice corn potatoes soybeans pulses; cattle pigs pork eggs

Industries: military products; machine building electric power chemicals; mining (coal iron ore magnesite graphite copper zinc lead and precious metals) metallurgy; textiles food processing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA

Labor force: 9.6 million
By occupation agricultural: 36% nonagricultural 64%

Unemployment rate: NA (2003)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA
Highest 10: NA

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: NA
Expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: NA (2003 est.)

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: $1.044 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: minerals metallurgical products manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products
Partners: South Korea 28.5% China 28.4% Japan 24.7% (2002)

Imports: $2.042 billion c.i.f. (2002 est.)
Commodities: petroleum coking coal machinery and equipment; textiles grain
Partners: China 39.7% Thailand 14.6% Japan 11.2% Germany 7.6% South Korea 6.2% (2002)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $12 billion (1996 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: official: North Korean won per US dollar - 150 (December 2002) 2.15 (December 2001) 2.15 (May 1994) 2.13 (May 1992) 2.14 (September 1991) 2.1 (January 1990); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002) 200 (December 2001)


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Electricity
Production: 30.01 billion kWh (2001)
Consumption: 27.91 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Imports: 0 kWh (2001)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 1.1 million (2001)
Mobile cellular: NA

Telephone system
General assessment: NA
Domestic: NA
International: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .kp
Users: NA

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $5,217 million (FY02)
Percent of gdp: 22.9% (2003)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 78 (2003 est.)
With paved runways total: 35
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 23
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2003 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 43
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 20
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 14
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 8 (2003 est.)

Heliports: 19 (2003 est.)

Pipelines: oil 154 km (2004)

Railways
Total: 5,214 km
Standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2003)

Roadways

Waterways
Note: most navigable only by small craft (2004)

Merchant marine
Total: 203 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 921,577 GRT/1,339,929 DWT
By type: bulk 6, cargo 166, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 1
Foreign owned: Albania 1, Belize 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 3, Germany 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 2, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 1, Portugal 1, Romania 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Syria 9, Tanzania 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 5, Ukraine 2, United States 3
Registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: with China certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute; a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; China has been attempting to stop mass illegal migration of North Koreans escaping famine economic privation and oppression into northern China; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South Korea

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Idps: 50,000-250,000 (government repression and famine) (2004)

Illicit drugs: for years from the 1970's into the 2000's citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK) many of them diplomatic employees of the government were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics including two in Turkey in December 2004; in recent years police investigations in Taiwan and Japan have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003; all indications point to North Korea emerging as an important regional source of illicit drugs targeting markets in Japan Taiwan the Russian Far East and China