growing economic hardships, North Korea continues to
devote a significant portion of its scarce resources to the military.

Geography

Location: Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula
bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and
South Korea

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 127 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km
water: 130 sq km

Area--comparative: slightly smaller than Mississippi

Land boundaries:
total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km

Coastline: 2,495 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the
exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign
vessels and aircraft without permission are banned

Climate: temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow
valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m

Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite,
magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar,
hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 61%
other: 23% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 14,600 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe
flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall

Environment--current issues: localized air pollution attributable
to inadequate industrial controls; water pollution; inadequate
supplies of potable water

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of
the Sea

Geography--note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea,
and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible,
and sparsely populated

People

Population: 21,386,109 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26% (male 2,800,748; female 2,666,207)
15-64 years: 68% (male 7,143,969; female 7,447,147)
65 years and over: 6% (male 412,161; female 915,877) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.45% (1999 est