Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Desertification

@Korea, South:People

Population: 46,416,796 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 22% (male 5,505,564; female 4,894,780)
15-64 years: 71% (male 16,772,319; female 16,272,145)
65 years and over: 7% (male 1,126,963; female 1,845,025) (July 1998
est.)

Population growth rate: 1.01% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 16.08 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 5.67 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.14 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.79 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.95 years
male: 70.37 years
female: 78 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.79 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean

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

Religions: Christianity 49%, Buddhism 47%, Confucianism 3%, pervasive
folk religion (shamanism), Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way),
and other 1%

Languages: Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high
school

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

@Korea, South:Government

Country name:
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

Government type: republic

National 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 1945; note-date of liberation from Japanese
colonial rule

National holiday: Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)

Constitution: 25 February 1988

Legal system: combines elements of continental Eu