| Country Information |  National name: Taehan Min'guk
President: Roh Moo Hyun (2003)
Prime Minister: Lee Hae-chan (2004)
Area: 38,023 sq mi (98,480 sq km)
Monetary unit: Won
Language: Korean
Population (2005 est.): 48,422,644
- growth rate: 0.4%;
- birth rate: 10.1/1000;
- infant mortality rate: 7.0/1000;
- life expectancy: 75.8;
- density per sq mi: 1,274
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Seoul, 19,969,100 (metro. area), 9,630,600 (city proper)
Other large cities:
- Pusan, 3,504,900;
- Inchon, 2,479,600 (part of Seoul metro. area);
- Taegu, 2,369,800
Ethnicity/race: homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)
Religions:
- no affiliation 46%,
- Christian 26%,
- Buddhist 26%,
- Confucianist 1%,
- other 1%
Literacy rate: 98% (2003 est.)
Economic summary:
- GDP/PPP (2004 est.): $925.1 billion; per capita $19,200.
- Real growth rate: 4.6%.
- Inflation: 3.6%.
- Unemployment: 3.6%.
- Arable land: 17%.
- Agriculture: rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish.
- Labor force: 22.9 million; services 69%, industry 21.5%, agriculture 9.5% (2001).
- Industries: electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing.
- Natural resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential. Exports: $201.3 billion (f.o.b., 2003 est.): electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish.
- Imports: $175.6 billion (f.o.b., 2003 est.): macmachinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains.
- Major trading partners: U.S., China, Japan, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia.
Communications:
- Telephones: main lines in use: 24 million (2000); mobile cellular: 28 million (Sept. 2000).
- Radio broadcast stations: AM 104, FM 136, shortwave 5 (2001).
- Radios: 47.5 million (2000).
- Television broadcast stations: 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999).
- Televisions: 15.9 million (1997).
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 11 (2000).
- Internet users: 25.6 million (2002).
Transportation:
 - Railways: total: 3,125 km (2002).
- Highways: total: 86,990 km; paved: 64,808 km (including 1,996 km of expressways); unpaved: 22,182 km (1999 est).
- Waterways: 1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft.
- Ports and harbors: Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu.
- Airports: 102 (2002).
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