sular protecting power)

Flag description: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple
width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of
the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star

Economy Korea, North

Economy - overview: North Korea, one of the world's most
centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic
conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a
result of years of underinvestment and spare parts shortages. Industrial
and power output have declined in parallel. Despite a good harvest in
2001, the nation faces its eighth year of food shortages because of
a lack of arable land; collective farming; weather-related problems,
including major drought in 2000; and chronic shortages of fertilizer
and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the
regime to escape mass starvation since 1995-96, but the population
remains vulnerable to prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living
conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for
investment and civilian consumption. In 2001, the regime placed emphasis
on earning hard currency, developing information technology, addressing
power shortages, and attracting foreign aid, but in no way at the expense
of relinquishing central control over key national assets or undergoing
widespread market-oriented reforms.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $21.8 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -3% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 30% industry: 42% services:
28% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 9.6 million

Labor force - by occupation: agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures
of $NA

Industries: military products; machine building, electric power,
chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc,
lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 33.4 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 32.63% hydro: 67.37%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consu