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Korea South

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Background :

An independent Korean state or collection of states has existed almost continuously for several millennia. Between its initial unification in the 7th century - from three predecessor Korean states - until the 20th century, Korea existed as a single independent country. In 1905, following the Russo-Japanese War, Korea became a protectorate of imperial Japan, and in 1910 it was annexed as a colony. Korea regained its independence following Japan's surrender to the United States in 1945. 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 Young-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. In October 2007, a second North-South summit took place between the South's President ROH Moo-hyun and the North Korean leader. Harsh rhetoric and unwillingness by North Korea to engage with President LEE Myung-bak following his February 2008 inauguration has strained inter-Korean relations. 

Location :

Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

37 00 N, 127 30 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 125.89
North 38.61
East 129.58
South 33.19

Area :

total 99 720 square km
land 96 920 square km
water 2 800 square km

Land boundaries :

total 238 km
North Korea 238 km

Coastline :

2413.00 km

Climate :

temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter 

Terrain :

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

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 0 metres
highest point 1 950 metres

Natural resources :

coal graphite
hydropower potential lead
molybdenum tungsten

Land use :

arable land 16.58 %
permanent crops 2.01 %
other 81.41 %

Irrigated land :

8 780 square km

Natural hazards :

floods high winds
seismic activity typhoons

current issues :

air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing 

international agreements :

Antarctic Treaty Antarctic-Environmental Protocol
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources 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

Population :

48 508 972 

Indicators :

Growth rate 0.27 %
Birth rate 8.93 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 1.21 children born/woman
Death rate 5.94 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate -0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 16.80 %
15-64 years 72.30 %
65 years and over 10.80 %

Median age :

total 37.30 years
male 36.00 years
female 38.50 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.10 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.67 male(s)/female
total population 1.00 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 4.26 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 78.72 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 75.45 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 82.22 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.10 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 13 000
HIV-AIDS deaths 500

Religions :

Christian 26.30 %
Buddhist 23.20 %
other 1.30 %
none 49.30 %

Languages :

Korean  
English widely taught in junior high  

Literacy :

total population 97.90 %
male 99.20 %
female 96.60 %

Country name :

conventional long form Republic of Korea
conventional short form South Korea
local long form Taehan-min'guk
local short form Han'guk

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 KR
ISO Numeric 410
ISO3 KOR
FIPS KS
ccTLD kr
English Korea South

Administrative divisions :

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, Kwangju-gwangyoksi, Pusan-gwangyoksi, Soul-t'ukpyolsi, Taegu-gwangyoksi, Taejon-gwangyoksi, Ulsan-gwangyoksi 

Capital :

name Seoul
geographic coordinates 37 33 N, 126 59 E
time difference 9.00

International organization participation :

ADB APEC
APT ARF
ASEAN (dialogue partner) AfDB (nonregional member)
Australia Group BIS
CICA CP
EAS EBRD
FAO FATF
G-20 IADB
IAEA IBRD
ICAO ICC
ICCt ICRM
IDA IEA
IFAD IFC
IFRCS IHO
ILO IMF
IMO IMSO
IOC IOM
IPU ISO
ITSO ITU
ITUC Interpol
LAIA MIGA
MINURSO NEA
NSG OAS (observer)
OECD OPCW
OSCE (partner) PCA
PIF (partner) Paris Club (associate)
SAARC (observer) UN
UNCTAD UNESCO
UNHCR UNIDO
UNIFIL UNMIL
UNMIS UNMOGIP
UNOCI UNWTO
UPU WCO
WFTU WHO
WIPO WMO
WTO ZC

Independence :

1945-08-15 

National holiday :

Liberation Day

1945-08-15

Executive branch :

President LEE Myung-bak Prime Minister CHUNG Un-chan

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 1 343 000 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 800 300 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate -0.80 %
PPP - per capita 27 700 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 3.00 %
industry 39.40 %
services 57.60 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 7.20 %
industry 25.10 %
services 67.70 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 24 370 000 people
Unemployment rate 4.10 %
Population below poverty line 15.00 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 31.30
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.80 %
Investment (gross fixed) 28.20 % of GDP
Current account balance 30 380 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 245 900 000 000 $
Debt external 333 600 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad 74 600 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home 86 000 000 000 $
Market value of publicly traded shares 494 600 000 000 $
Military expenditures 2.70 % of GDP
Public debt 28.00 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 2.70 %
highest 10% 24.20 %

Budget :

revenues 191 500 000 000 $
expenditures 227 200 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

barley cattle
eggs fish
fruits milk
pigs poultry
rice root crops
vegetables

Industries :

automobile production chemicals
electronics shipbuilding
steel telecommunications

Energy :

Electricity Production 440 000 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 385 100 000 000 kWh
Oil Production 30 440 bbl/day
Oil Consumption 2 175 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 800 000 bbl/day
Oil Imports 2 982 000 bbl/day
Natural gas Production 443 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Consumption 34 760 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Imports 36 210 000 000 cubic metres
Electricity Exports 50 000 000 000 cubic metres

Value :

355 100 000 000 $

Commodities :

computers motor vehicles
petrochemicals semiconductors
ships steel
wireless telecommunications equipment

Value :

313 400 000 000 $

Partners :

China (cn) 17.70 %
Japan (jp) 14.00 %
United States (us) 8.90 %
Saudi Arabia (sa) 7.80 %
UAE 4.40 %
Australia (au) 4.10 %

Commodities :

electronics and electronic equipment machinery
oil organic chemicals
plastics steel
transportation equipment

Currency-name :

South Korean won 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 21 325 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 45 607 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 322
Television broadcast stations 57
Internet Country code (ccTLD) kr
Internet Hosts 301 270
Internet Users 37 476 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 72
Heliports 516
Pipelines - gas 1 423 km
Pipelines - refined products 827 km
Roadways - total 103 029 km
Roadways - expressways 3 367 km
Roadways - paved 80 642 km
Roadways - unpaved 22 387 km
Railways 3 381 km
Waterways 1 608 km

Photos

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