South Korea 

Facts
Population: 49,044,790 (July 2007 est.).
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 4,714,103/female 4,262,873)
15-64 years: 72.1% (male 18,004,719/female 17,346,594)
65 years and over: 9.6% (male 1,921,803/female 2,794,698) (2007 est.).
Population growth rate: 0.394% (2007 est.).
Birth rate: 9.93 births/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Death rate: 5.99 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.106 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.038 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.688 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2007 est.).
Infant mortality rate: total: 6.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.).
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.23 years
male: 73.81 years
female: 80.93 years (2007 est.).
Total fertility rate: 1.28 children born/woman (2007 est.).
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2003 est.).
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 8,300 (2003 est.).
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.).
Nationality: noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean.
Ethnic groups: homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese).
Religions: Christian 26.3% (Protestant 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist 23.2%, other or unknown 1.3%, none 49.3% (1995 census).
Languages: Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school.
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.9%
male: 99.2%
female: 96.6% (2002).
GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.196 trillion (2006 est.).
GDP - real growth rate: 4.8% (2006 est.).
GDP - per capita (PPP): $24,500 (2006 est.).
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3%
industry: 45%
services: 52% (2006 est.).
Labor force: 23.77 million (31 December 2006 est.).
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 6.4%
industry: 26.4%
services: 67.2% (2006 est.).
Population below poverty line: 15% (2003 est.).
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25% (2005 est.).
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% (2006 est.).
Unemployment rate: 3.3% (December 2006 est.).
Budget: revenues: $200 billion
expenditures: $201 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.).
Agriculture - products: rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish.
Industries: electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel.
Industrial production growth rate: 8% (2006 est.).
Electricity - production: 345.2 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - consumption: 321 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004).
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004).
Exports: $326 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.).
Exports - commodities: semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals.
Exports - partners: China 21.8%, US 14.6%, Japan 8.5%, Hong Kong 5.5% (2005).
Imports: $309.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.).
Imports - commodities: machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics.
Imports - partners: Japan 18.5%, China 14.8%, US 11.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.2% (2005).
Debt - external: $249.4 billion (30 September 2006 est.).
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $744 million (2005).
Currency (code): South Korean won (KRW).
Exchange rates: South Korean won per US dollar - 955.3 (2006), 1,024.1 (2005), 1,145.3 (2004), 1,191.6 (2003), 1,251.1 (2002).
Fiscal year: calendar year.
Statistics: C.I.A. World Factbook. Updated: July 20, 2007.
Press
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(Conservative), Seoul
http://www.chosun.com/
Dong Huwa News Agency
(Independent news service), Seoul
(Independent), Seoul
http://www.donga.com/
Seoul
http://www.etnews.co.kr
Seoul
http://www.fnnews.com
Han'guk Kyeongje Sinmun
Seoul
(Independent), Seoul
http://www.hankooki.com/
South Korea in the News
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Displaying 1 to 4 of 14 items.
If U.S. forces stationed in South Korea become deployable as task forces in Northeast Asia, South Korea may have to spend $60 billion for national defense until 2020.
In an internvew, a top Chinese government think tank scholar outlines Seoul's options.
In an on-going effort to make the country a “hub of Northeast Asia,” South Korea is taking steps to develop its largest island, Jeju, as a major international center.
Although the party leader, Chung Dong-young has already resigned over the election results, there is a serious danger that the ruling party itself is about to break up.