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
1 2 3 4
Displaying 22 to 28 of 28 items.
(Independent, English-language), Seoul
http://english.ohmynews.com/
(Unification Church-owned), Seoul
http://www.sgt.co.kr
Seoul
http://www.hankooki.com
Seoul Shinmun
(Government-controlled), Seoul
(English-language), Seoul
http://www.theseoultimes.com
Seoul Yonhap
(Semi-official news service), Seoul
(government-owned), Seoul
http://www.jca.apc.org/~itagaki/nhk/maeil0328...
South Korea in the News
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Displaying 1 to 4 of 15 items.
The Secretary of State traveled to four leading Asian countries in her first foreign diplomatic foray.
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.