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Official Name: Known as the Republic of Korea or commonly known as South Korea or Korea. The abbreviation for the country is (ROK).
Capital city: Seoul is the capital of South Korea.
Location: South Korea is situated in East Asia. The country occupies the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea occupying the northern region. Two bodies of water border South Korea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan.
Size: South Korea covers approximately 98,480 square kilometers. This area is comparable to the land area of the US State of Indiana and ranks 115th globally.
Climate: The climate of South Korea is temperate. Rainfall is typically more intense during the summer months than the winter months. During the summer Korea’s mean temperature can rise to a sweltering 30 degrees Celsius in certain regions, and the winter can bring temperatures as low as -7 degrees Celsius. The Southern coast can be afflicted by typhoons late in the typhoon season, leading to harsh winds and flooding.
Population: The population of South Korea is around 48.51 million people, which ranks 26th worldwide.
Life expectancy at birth: Life expectancy at birth for the gross population in South Korea is 78.72 years of age, and these figures rank 40th in the world. There is a fairly large gap in life expectancies between men and women, with females averaging 82.22 years, almost 7 years greater than the male average of 75.45 years.
Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in South Korea is about 0.1% of the total populace. This shows that about 13,000 people live with the disease, ranking 93rd in the world.
Major illnesses: There is a fairly reduced risk of disease in South Korea and standards for healthcare in the country are high. There have been specific risks, however, in the past few years including Avian Flu, rabies, Japanese Encephalitis and most recently the H1N1 influenza (swine flu).
Ethnic Groups: South Korea is very homogeneous as a society and there is no great prevalence of any other major ethnic groups other than the local Korean populace. There are, however, roughly 20,000 people of Chinese ethnicity living in the nation.
Languages: The official language is Korean. English, however, is taught in the majority of schools and most of the younger generations are fluent in the language.
Religion: South Korea has a number of religions that are widely practiced. These include; Christianity – 26.3% (Protestant – 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist – 23.2%, other or unknown – 1.3%, none or atheist – 49.3%.
Government: South Korea is a republic with a republican government. The political structure of South Korea mirrors the systems that govern both Japan and the USA.
Head of State: President Lee Myung-bak (since February 2008)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Han Seung-soo (since February 2008)
Military: Due to the issues and conflict between North and South Korea there exists a large military presence within the country. There is a compulsory conscription for all males between 20-30 years of age, and these men must serve for a period of at least 24-28 months depending on which branch of the military they are in. Women are excluded from certain types of service including armor, artillery, anti air, and Chaplin corps.
Economy: South Korea is well known for the technological innovations it has made as well its strong and free economy. Its GDP is comparable to the less wealthy European Union states like the Netherlands. By successfully uniting government and business under free capitalist economic principles, and creating a new wave of economic reforms including import restrictions, directed credit, strong labor unions and industry sponsorship South Korea has effectively placed itself amongst the wealthiest nations in the world. Low unemployment combined with exports, equal income distribution and moderate inflation are all the key aspects of the successful South Korean economy.
GDP: South Korea has a Purchasing Power Parity of US$1.278 trillion, and an official GDP of US$ 857.5 billion, which consistently ranks as one of the strongest and economically powerful economies in the world.
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