Airports [time series]

55 total, 55 usable (est.); about 30 with permanent-surface runways; fewer than 5 with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 30 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

about 30,000 km (1989); 98.5% gravel, crushed stone, or earth surface; 1.5% concrete or bituminous

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only

Merchant marine [time series]

68 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 465,801 GRT/709,442 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 58 cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 4 bulk, 1 combination bulk

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil, 37 km

Ports [time series]

Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam, Namp'o, Wonsan, Songnim, Najin, Sonbong

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

4,535 km total; 3,870 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 665 km 0.762-meter narrow gauge; 159 km double track; 3,175 km electrified; government owned (1989)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

stations--18 AM, no FM, 11 TV; 200,000 TV sets; 3,500,000 radio receivers; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Korean People's Army (includes of the Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$NA, 20-25% of GNP (1991 est.); note--the officially announced but suspect figure is $1.7 billion, 6% of GNP (1991 est.)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 6,381,859; 3,899,606 fit for military service; 214,690 reach military age (18) annually

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for about 25% of GNP 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; fish catch estimated at 1.7 million metric tons in 1987

Budget [time series]

revenues $15.6 billion; expenditures $15.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

North Korean won (plural--won); 1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chon

Economic aid [time series]

Communist countries, $1.4 billion a year in the 1980s

Electricity [time series]

6,440,000 kW capacity; 40,250 million kWh produced, 1,890 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates [time series]

North Korean won (Wn) per US$1--2.2 (March 1991), 2.1 (January 1990), 2.3 (December 1989), 2.13 (December 1988), 0.94 (March 1987), NA (1986), NA (1985)

Exports [time series]

$1.95 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--minerals, metallurgical products, agricultural products, manufactures; partners--USSR, China, Japan, Hong Kong, FRG, Singapore

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$7 billion (1991)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

GNP [time series]

$29.7 billion, per capita $1,390; real growth rate 2% (1990 est.)

Imports [time series]

$2.85 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--petroleum, machinery and equipment, coking coal, grain; partners--USSR, Japan, China, Hong Kong, FRG, Singapore

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate NA%

Industries [time series]

machine building, military products, electric power, chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

NA%

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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 one-man rule of Kim. Economic growth during the period 1984-90 averaged approximately 3%. Abundant natural resources and hydropower form the basis of industrial development. Output of the extractive industries includes coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals. Manufacturing emphasis is centered on heavy industry, with light industry lagging far behind. Despite the use of high-yielding seed varieties, expansion of irrigation, and the heavy use of fertilizers, North Korea has not yet become self-sufficient in food production. Four consecutive years of poor harvests, coupled with distribution problems, have led to chronic food shortages. North Korea remains far behind South Korea in economic development and living standards.

Unemployment rate [time series]

officially none

Climate [time series]

temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer

Coastline [time series]

2,495 km Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm; Military boundary line: 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea (all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned)

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than Mississippi

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

short section of boundary with China is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible, and sparsely populated; late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding

Land boundaries [time series]

1,671 km total; China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, USSR 17 km

Land use [time series]

arable land 18%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures NEGL%; forest and woodland 74%; other 7%; includes irrigated 9%

Natural resources [time series]

coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower

Note [time series]

strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and USSR

Terrain [time series]

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

Area (Total area) [time series]

120,540 km2; land area: 120,410 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 3 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Chagang-do, Hamgyong-namdo, Hamgyong-bukto, Hwanghae-namdo, Hwanghae-bukto, Kaesong-si*, Kangwon-do, Namp'o-si*, P'yongan-bukto, P'yongan-namdo, P'yongyang-si*, Yanggang-do

Capital [time series]

P'yongyang

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

KWP claims membership of about 3 million

Constitution [time series]

adopted 1948, revised 27 December 1972

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

none

Executive branch [time series]

president, two vice presidents, premier, eleven vice premiers, State Administration Council (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

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 [time series]

9 September 1948

Judicial branch [time series]

Central Court Chief of State--President KIM Il-song (since 28 December 1972); Designated Successor KIM Chong-il (son of President, born 16 February 1942); Head of Government--Premier YON Hyong-muk (since NA December 1988)

Legal system [time series]

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 [time series]

unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Democratic People's Republic of Korea; abbreviated DPRK

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, IFAD, IMF (observer), IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 9 September (1948)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

major party--Korean Workers' Party (KWP), KIM Il-song, general secretary, and his son, KIM Chong-il, secretary, Central Committee; Korean Social Democratic Party, YI Kye-paek, chairman; Chondoist Chongu Party, CHONG Sin-hyok, chairman

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 17 President--last held 24 May 1990 (next to be held 1994); results--President KIM Il-song was reelected without opposition; Supreme People's Assembly--last held on 24 May 1990 (next to be held 1994); 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

Government type (Type) [time series]

Communist state; dictatorship

Birth rate [time series]

24 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

racially homogeneous

Infant mortality rate [time series]

30 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

9,615,000; agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%; shortage of skilled and unskilled labor (mid-1987 est.)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Korean

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

66 years male, 72 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

NA% (male NA%, female NA%)

Nationality [time series]

noun--Korean(s); adjective--Korean

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

1,600,000 members; single-trade union system coordinated by the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea under the Central Committee

Population [time series]

21,814,656 (July 1991), growth rate 1.9% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

Buddhism and Confucianism; religious activities now almost nonexistent

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.5 children born/woman (1991)

Korea, North