Wednesday, Aug 23, 2017 
Ranked as the world’s top innovator in the 2015 Bloomberg Innovation Index, South Korea is investing heavily in R&D as it looks to nurture a... Mar 10, 2017
Science & Technology | Asia-Pacific | South Korea
With the goal of being one of the world’s top seven companies in the elevator sector... Oct 19, 2016
BGF Retail operates the largest network of convenience stores in South Korea through its... Oct 18, 2016
Market-leading integrated resort (IR) developer Paradise Group is building Korea’s... Sep 19, 2016
Following a record-breaking year for FDI inflows in 2015, the head of Invest Korea, Yong... Sep 19, 2016
Biotechnology has been identified as a potential new growth engine for the Korean economy,... Sep 09, 2016
As a proud son of Incheon, who gave up a position in the National Assembly to be elected... Sep 05, 2016
Ranked as Korea’s leading CM company and the 13th best in the world, SAMOOCM Architects... Sep 02, 2016
As KB Investment & Securities begins the process of merging with Hyundai Securities... Aug 03, 2016
In a country where the failure rate of start-ups has been traditionally high, Macrogen stands... Jul 15, 2016
South Korea’s rapid industrialization over recent decades has taken its toll on the... Jul 05, 2016
As South Korea looks to taking a leading role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Prof.... Jun 15, 2016
Seoul’s Mayor, Park Won-Soon, has won national and international plaudits for his... Jun 03, 2016
As the main candidates in the 2016 US Presidential election take aim at TPP and other free... May 27, 2016
LOCATION:
Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
MAP REFERENCES:
Asia
AREA:
total: 99,720 sq km
CLIMATE:
temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter; cold winters
TERRAIN:
mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south
NATURAL RESOURCES:
coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential
LAND USE:
agricultural land: 18.1%
arable land 15.3%; permanent crops 2.2%; permanent pasture 0.6%
forest: 63.9%
other: 18% (2011 est.)
LANGUAGES:
Korean, English (widely taught in junior high and high school)
RELIGIONS:
Christian 31.6% (Protestant 24%, Roman Catholic 7.6%), Buddhist 24.2%, other or unknown 0.9%, none 43.3% (2010 survey)
POPULATION:
49,115,196 (July 2015 est.)
GOVERNMENT TYPE:
presidential republic
CAPITAL:
name: Seoul
INDEPENDENCE:
15 August 1945 (from Japan)
CONSTITUTION:
effective 17 July 1948; amended several times, last in 1987 (2016)
LEGAL SYSTEM:
mixed legal system combining European civil law, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought
GDP - real growth rate:
2.7% (2015 est.)
3.3% (2014 est.)
2.9% (2013 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 38%
services: 59.7% (2015 est.)
AGRICULTURE - products:
rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish
INDUSTRIES:
electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel
EXPORTS:
$535.5 billion (2015 est.)
$621.3 billion (2014 est.)
EXPORTS - commodities:
semiconductors, petrochemicals, automobile/auto parts, ships, wireless communication equipment, flat display displays, steel, electronics, plastics, computers
EXPORTS - partners:
China 25.4%, US 12.3%, Japan 5.6%, Hong Kong 4.8%, Singapore 4.2% (2014 est.)
IMPORTS:
$430.8 billion (2015 est.)
$528.6 billion (2014 est.)
IMPORTS - commodities:
crude oil/petroleum products, semiconductors, natural gas, coal, steel, computers, wireless communication equipment, automobiles, fine chemical, textiles
IMPORTS - partners:
China 17.1%, Japan 10.2%, US 8.7%, Saudi Arabia 7%, Qatar 4.9%, Germany 4.1% (2014 est.)
The Worldfolio provides intelligence about the economies with the highest growth potential in the world, with a focus on understanding them from within.
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