Korea, South - Country information


		Korea, South	Population Government Economy Geography Communication Transportation

Population		Top of page

Inhabitants		Life expectancy
49,044,790 (July 2007 est.)		total population: 77.23 years male: 73.81 years female: 80.93 years (2007 est.)

Ethnic groups		Religions
homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)		Christian 26.3% (Protestant 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist 23.2%, other or unknown 1.3%, none 49.3% (1995 census)

Languages		Literacy
Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school		definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.9% male: 99.2% female: 96.6% (2002)

Government		Top of page

Government type		Capital
republic		Seoul

Independance		National day
15 August 1945 (from Japan)		Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)

Constitution		Legal system
17 July 1948; note - amended or rewritten nine times; current constitution approved on 29 October 1987		combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought

Economy		Top of page

GDP (purchasing power parity)		Growth rate
$897.4 billion (2006 est.)		4.8% (2006 est.)

GDP per inhabitant		Unemployment rate
$24,200 (2006 est.)		3.3% (December 2006 est.)

Population below poverty line		Inflation rate
15% (2003 est.)		2.2% (2006 est.)

Exports		Imports
$326 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)		$309.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold		Currency
$239 billion (2006 est.)		South Korean won (KRW)

Military expenditures
2.7% (2006)

Geography		Top of page

Location		Area
Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and the Yellow Sea		98,480 sq km

Climate		Natural resources
temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter		coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential

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