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North Korea Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Capital P’yŏngyang
Area 120,538 sq km
46,540 sq mi
North Korea: Flag and Anthem
North Korea: Flag and Anthem
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People
Population 23,301,725 (2007 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 0.79 percent (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 25,755,007 (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 26,363,688 (2007 estimate)
Population density 194 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)
501 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 62 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 38 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
P’yŏngyang 3,136,000 (1999 estimate)
Namp’o 731,448 (1993)
Ch’ŏngjin 582,480 (1993)
Kaesŏng 334,433 (1993)
Sinŭiju 326,011 (1993)
Ethnic groups Ethnically homogeneous
Languages Korean (official)
Religious affiliations
Atheist 16 percent
Indigenous beliefs 12 percent
Buddhist 2 percent
Christian 2 percent
Nonreligious 56 percent
Other, including Ch'ondogyo (syncretic Korean religion) 12 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 71.9 years (2007 estimate)
Female 74.8 years (2007 estimate)
Male 69.2 years (2007 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 23 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate)
Population per physician 337 people (2004)
Population per hospital bed Not available
Literacy rate
Total 99 percent (1995)
Female 99 percent (1995)
Male 99 percent (1995)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) Not available
Number of years of compulsory schooling 10 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 32 students per teacher (1997)
Government
Form of government Communist state
Voting qualifications Universal at age 17
Constitution
27 December 1972 (replaced 1948 constitution); amended in 1992, 1998
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 1,106,000 (2004)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 25 percent (2003)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) Not available
GDP per capita (U.S.$) Not available
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing Not available
Industry Not available
Services Not available
Employment
Number of workers 10,692,236 (2005)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 38 percent (1990)
Industry 32 percent (1990)
Services 30 percent (1990)
Unemployment rate Not available
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue Not available
Total expenditure Not available
Monetary unit
1 North Korean won (Wn), consisting of 100 chon
Major trade partners for exports
Japan, China, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Bangladesh
Major trade partners for imports
Japan, China, Brazil, India, and Singapore
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 43.80 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 56.20 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 146 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 44 (2003)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 60 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people Not available
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 200 (1996)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people Not available
Paved road as a share of total roads 6 percent (1999)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
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