Part 402

Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 67% other: 10%

Irrigated land: 13,530 sq km (1989)

Environment: current issues: air pollution in large cities; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing natural hazards: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea

People ------

Population: 45,482,291 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 23% (male 5,531,032; female 4,962,915) 15-64 years: 71% (male 16,374,678; female 15,910,846) 65 years and over: 6% (male 1,014,649; female 1,688,171) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.02% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 16.24 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.14 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.26 years male: 69.65 years female: 77.39 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.77 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality: noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean

Ethnic divisions: homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)

Religions: Christianity 48.6%, Buddhism 47.4%, Confucianism 3%, pervasive folk religion (shamanism), Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way) 0.2%

Languages: Korean, English widely taught in high school

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.) total population: 98% male: 99.3% female: 96.7%

Government ----------

Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of Korea conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: none note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Hanguk" to refer to their country abbreviation: ROK

Data code: KS

Type of government: republic

Capital: Seoul

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 6 special cities* (gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*

Independence: 15 August 1948

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 August (1948)

Constitution: 25 February 1988