South Korea and the U.S. announced a controversialdecision in July 2016 to deploy a missile defense sys-tem, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
(THAAD), in Seongju, S.Kor. THAAD was meant todeter aggression from North Korea, which held ballisticmissile tests during the year. In April parliamentary elec-tions, Pres. Park Geun-Hye’s conservative Saenuri Partylost its long-held majority. Park’s fortunes sank furtherwhen her longtime confidant, Choi Soon-sil, was arrestedon suspicion of using her connection to Park to peddleinfluence. Hundreds of thou-sands took to the streets inprotest, and on December 9,Park was impeached by theNational Assembly. PrimeMinister Hwang Kyo-ahnwas named acting presidentpending ratification of theimpeachment by the Consti-tutional Court.
DemographyPopulation (2016): 51,619,375.Density (2016): persons per sq mi1,334.0, persons per sq km 515.1.
Sex distribution (2016): male 49.97%;female 50.03%.
Population projection: (2020) 52,383,000;(2030) 53,679,000.
Major cities (20154): Seoul10,369,593; Pusan 3,557,716;Inch’ón 2,957,931; Taegu2,518,467; Taejón 1,547,467.
Urban-rural (2014):
Vital statisticsBirth rate per 1,000 pop-ulation (2015): 8.2(world avg. 19.5).
Death rate per 1,000population (2015): 6.8(world avg. 8.1).
Life expectancy at birth(2015): male 77.0 years;female 83.3 years.
Age breakdown (2016):
Ethnic composition (2000): Religious affiliation (2010):
Korea, South
Official name: Taehan Min’guk (Republic ofKorea).
Form of government: unitary multiparty republicwith one legislative house (National Assembly[300]).
Head of state and government: President ParkGeun-Hye, assisted by Prime Minister HwangKyo-Ahn.
Capital: Seoul.1Official language: Korean.Official religion: none.Monetary unit: (South Korean) won (W); valuation (Sept. 1, 2016) 1 U.S.$ = W 1,122; 1 £ = W 1,492.
Area and populationarea population area population
20162 20162
Provinces sq km estimate Metropolitan cities sq km estimate
National economyBudget (2013). Revenue: W 314,438,000,000,000 (current revenue98.9%, of which tax revenue 64.2%; capital revenue 1.1%).Expenditures: W 296,557,000,000,000 (social security andwelfare 24.6%; education 16.3%; defense 10.9%).
Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture,forestry, fishing (2013): rice (2014) 5,637,682, cabbages2,434,415, onions 1,294,009, tangerines, mandarins, sat-sumas 682,801, potatoes (2014) 590,532, apples 493,701,garlic 412,250, tomatoes 388,524, persimmons 351,990,pears 282,212, strawberries 216,803, leeks 142,032; livestock(number of live animals; 2014) 10,090,286 pigs, 3,189,951cattle, 7,539,000 ducks, (2013) 1,800,000 beehives; round-wood (2014) 6,675,291 cu m, of which fuelwood 37%; fish-eries production (2014) 2,208,037 (from aquaculture 22%);aquatic plants production 1,096,735 (from aquaculture 99%). Miningand quarrying (2013): feldspar 343,241; cadmium 3,90310; silver (metalcontent) 3,897 kg11; zinc (metal content) 1,749 kg11. Manufacturing(value added in U.S.$’000,000; 2006): televisions, radios, telecommuni-cations equipment, and electronic parts 70,085; transportation equip-ment 52,349, of which automobiles 20,987, automobile parts 16,175,ship and boat construction 12,771; machinery and apparatus 30,704;chemicals and chemical products 27,076; iron and steel 20,064; foodand food products 19,928; fabricated metal products 19,172; textilesand wearing apparel 16,913; refined petroleum products 12,161.Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2013–14)511,225,000,000 ([2013] 474,849,000,000), by source (2012): fossil fuels70%; nuclear 28.7%; renewable energy 1.3%, of which hydroelectric0.8%, biomass 0.2%, solar 0.2%, wind 0.1%; hard coal (metric tons;2013) 1,820,000 (129,000,000); lignite (metric tons; 2010) none(5,090,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2013–14) 227,000 ([2013]792,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2012) 138,294,000([2011] 47,264,000); natural gas (cu m; 2013–14) 425,000,000 ([2012]49,660,000,000).
Average household size (2008): 2.9.Gross national income (GNI; 2015): U.S.$1,388,988,000,000 (U.S.$27,440per capita); purchasing power parity GNI (U.S.$34,700 per capita).
Public debt (external, outstanding; 2012): U.S.$294,708,000,000.Population economically active (2014): total 26,536,000; participation
rates: age 15 and over, male 74.0%; female 51.3%; unemployed 3.5%,of which youth (ages 15–24) 10.0%.
Land use as % of total land area (2009): in temporary crops 16.0%,left fallow 0.4%, in permanent crops 2.1%, in pasture 0.6%, forestarea 64.1%.
Foreign trade8, 9
Imports (2013): U.S.$515,585,500,000 (mineral prod-ucts 38.4%, of which fuels and oils 34.9%; machin-ery and apparatus 23.2%; chemicals and chemicalproducts 7.6%; iron and steel 3.9%; professionaland scientific apparatus 3.3%). Major import sources:
Exports (2013): U.S.$559,632,400,000 (electricalequipment 24.2%; road vehicles 13.0%; mineralproducts 9.8%; chemicals and chemical products6.9%; watercraft 6.4%; plastics and plastic prod-ucts 5.6%). Major export destinations:
Transport and communicationsTransport. Railroads (2009): length (2014) 2,150 mi,3,460 km; passenger-km 55,489,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 9,273,133,000. Roads (2009): total length
65,233 mi, 104,983 km (paved 79%); passen-ger-km 100,617,000,000; metric ton-km cargo12,545,000,000. Vehicles (2009): passengercars 13,023,819; trucks and buses 4,301,391.
Education and healthLiteracy (2013): total population age 15 and over liter-ate 97.9%; males 99.2%; females 96.6%.
Health: physicians (2010) 99,808 (1 per 495 persons);hospital beds (2009) 506,393 (1 per 97 persons);infant mortality rate (2015) 3.9; undernourished pop-ulation (2006–08) less than 5% of total population.
MilitaryTotal active duty personnel (November 2015):628,000 (army 78.8%, navy 11.1%, air force10.1%); reserve 4,500,000; U.S. troops (2015)28,500. Military expenditure as percentage ofGDP (2015): 2.4%; per capita expenditureU.S.$681.
1Some government offices began relocating to Sejong city, a planned special autonomous city, in July2012. 2June. 3Specifically a special autonomous province. 4January 1. 5Detail does not add to total givenbecause of rounding. 6Taxes on products less subsidies. 7Unemployed. 8Imports c.i.f.; exports f.o.b.9Excludes trade with North Korea (2013: imports U.S.$615,200,000; exports U.S.$520,600,000).10Smelted only. 11Excluding smelted metal. 12Subscribers.
Internet resources for further information:• Statistics Korea kostat.go.kr• KOrean Statistical Information Service kosis.kr/eng/
Structure of gross domestic product and labour force2013 2014
in value % of total labour % of labourW ’000,000,000 value force force
