1995 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1995 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 120,540 sq km land area: 120,410 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Mississippi
Climate
temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline
2,495 km
Environment
current issues: localized air pollution attributable to inadequate industrial controls; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall 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
International disputes
short section of boundary with China is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea
Irrigated land
14,000 sq km (1989)
Land boundaries
total 1,673 km, China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use
arable land: 18% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 74% other: 7%
Location
Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and Russia
Map references
Asia
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
Natural resources
coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Note
strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible, and sparsely populated
Terrain
mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 30% (female 3,402,672; male 3,540,313) 15-64 years: 66% (female 7,840,465; male 7,741,155) 65 years and over: 4% (female 622,250; male 339,695) (July 1995 est.)
Birth rate
23.31 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate
5.47 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions
racially homogeneous
Infant mortality rate
26.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Labor force
9.615 million by occupation: agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% note: shortage of skilled and unskilled labor (mid-1987 est.)
Languages
Korean
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 70.05 years male: 66.96 years female: 73.29 years (1995 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write Korean (1990 est.) total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%
Nationality
noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Population
23,486,550 (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate
1.78% (1995 est.)
Religions
Buddhism and Confucianism, some Christianity and syncretic Chondogyo note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
Total fertility rate
2.34 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Government
Abbreviation
DPRK
Administrative divisions
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 3 special cities* (jikhalsi, 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)
Capital
P'yongyang
Constitution
adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992
Digraph
KN
Diplomatic representation in US
none
Executive branch
chief of state: KIM Chong-il, is the son of and designated successor to former President KIM Il-song (who died 8 July 1994); formal succession has not yet taken place (January 1995); election last held 24 May 1990 (next to be held by NA); results - President KIM Il-song was reelected without opposition head of government: Premier KANG Song-san (since December 1992) cabinet: State Administration Council; appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly
Flag
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
Independence
9 September 1948 note: 15 August 1945, date of independence from the Japanese and celebrated in North Korea as National Liberation Day
Judicial branch
Central Court
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
Legislative branch
unicameral
Member of
ESCAP, FAO, G-77, ICAO, IFAD, IFRCS, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Names
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
National holiday
DPRK Foundation Day, 9 September (1948)
Political parties and leaders
major party - Korean Workers' Party (KWP), KIM Chong-il, secretary, Central Committee; Korean Social Democratic Party, KIM Pyong-sik, chairman; Chondoist Chongu Party, YU Mi-yong, chairwoman
Suffrage
17 years of age; universal
Supreme People's Assembly (Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui)
elections last held on 7-9 April 1990 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (687 total) the KWP approves a single list of candidates who are elected without opposition; minor parties hold a few seats
Type
Communist state; Stalinist dictatorship
US diplomatic representation
none
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for about 25% of GDP and 36% of work force; principal crops - rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; livestock and livestock products - cattle, hogs, pork, eggs; not self-sufficient in grain
Budget
revenues: $19.3 billion expenditures: $19.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Currency
1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chon
Economic aid
recipient: Communist countries, $1.4 billion a year in the 1980s, but very little now
Electricity
capacity: 9,500,000 kW production: 50 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,053 kWh (1993)
Exchange rates
North Korean won (Wn) per US$1 - 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990), 2.3 (December 1989)
Exports
$1.02 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: minerals, metallurgical products, agricultural and fishery products, manufactures (including armaments) partners: China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Germany, Hong Kong
External debt
$8 billion (1992 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Imports
$1.64 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: petroleum, grain, coking coal, machinery and equipment, consumer goods partners: China, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore
Industrial production
growth rate -7% to -9% (1992 est.)
Industries
machine building, military products, electric power, chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
NA%
National product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $21.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product per capita
$920 (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate
0% (1994 est.)
Overview
More than 90% of this command economy is socialized; agricultural land is collectivized; and state-owned industry produces 95% of manufactured goods. State control of economic affairs is unusually tight even for a Communist country because of the small size and homogeneity of the society and the strict rule of KIM Il-song in the past and now his son, KIM Chong-il. Economic growth during the period 1984-88 averaged 2%-3%, but output declined by 3%-5% annually during 1989-92 because of systemic problems and disruptions in socialist-style economic relations with the former USSR and China. In 1992, output dropped sharply, by perhaps 7%-9%, as the economy felt the cumulative effect of the reduction in outside support. The leadership insisted on maintaining its high level of military outlays from a shrinking economic pie. Moreover, a serious drawdown in inventories and critical shortages in the energy sector have led to increasing interruptions in industrial production. Abundant mineral resources and hydropower have formed the basis of industrial development since World War II. Output of the extractive industries includes coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals. Manufacturing is centered on heavy industry, including military industry, with light industry lagging far behind. Despite the use of improved seed varieties, expansion of irrigation, and the heavy use of fertilizers, North Korea has not yet become self-sufficient in food production. Indeed, a shortage of arable lands, several years of poor harvests, and a cumbersome distribution system have resulted in chronic food shortages. The collapse of Communism in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in 1989-91 has disrupted important technological links. North Korea remains far behind South Korea in economic development and living standards. GDP is stagnant.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 18, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: 3.5 million
Telephone system
telephone system is believed to be available only to government officials and not to private individuals local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 earth station near P'yongyang, uses an Indian Ocean INTELSAT satellite; other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Television
broadcast stations: 11 televisions: 350,000 (1989)
Transportation
Airports
total: 49 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 5 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 12 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 6
Highways
total: 30,000 km paved: 1,861 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 28,139 km (1992)
Inland waterways
2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only
Merchant marine
total: 87 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 727,631 GRT/1,149,291 DWT ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 70, combination bulk 1, oil tanker 3, passenger 2, passenger-cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1 note: North Korea owns an additional 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling approximately 32,405 DWT that operate under Honduran registry
Pipelines
crude oil 37 km
Ports
Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan
Railroads
total: 4,915 km standard gauge: 4,250 km 1.435-m gauge (3,397 km electrified; 159 km double track) narrow gauge: 665 km 0.762-m gauge (1989)
Military and Security
Branches
Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - about $5 billion, 20%-25% of GDP (1991 est.); note - the officially announced but suspect figure is $2.2 billion (1994), about 12% of total spending ________________________________________________________________________ KOREA, SOUTH
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 6,753,400; males fit for military service 4,094,854; males reach military age (18) annually 193,480 (1995 est.)