Korea(South)

Country name	Republic of Korea
Capital	Seoul
Independence	15 August 1945 (from Japan)
National holiday	Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)
Population	48,860,500 (July 2012 est.)
Sex ratio	1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Nationality	Korean(s)
Religions	Christian 31.6% (Protestant 24%, Roman Catholic 7.6%), Buddhist 24.2%, other or unknown 0.9%, none 43.3% (2010 survey)
Languages	Korean, English (widely taught in junior high and high school)
Literacy	Age 15 and over can read and write Total population: 97.9% Male: 99.2% Female: 96.6% (2002)
Location	Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
Geographic coordinates	37 00 N, 127 30 E
Map references	Asia
Area	total: 99,720 sq km land: 96,920 sq km water: 2,800 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Indiana
Land boundaries	total: 238 km border countries: North Korea 238 km
Coastline	2,413 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the Korea Strait contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified
Climate	temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
Terrain	mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m
Natural resources	coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential
Exports - commodities	Semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals
Imports - commodities	Machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics
Land use	arable land: 16.58% permanent crops: 2.01% other: 81.41% (2005)
Irrigated land	8,320 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	69.7 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 18.59 cu km/yr (36%/16%/48%) per capita: 389 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest volcanism: Halla (elev. 1,950 m) is considered historically active although it has not erupted in many centuries
Environment - current issues	air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	strategic location on Korea Strait