NYT=
editReligion linked to economic growth Researchers claim that a belief in hell encourages individual traits such as honesty, a work ethic, thrift and openness to strangers
By Felicia Lee NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , NEW YORK Sunday, Feb 01, 2004,Page 12
People worshipping in Queens, New York, on this file photo. Two Harvard academics have found that what really stimulates economic growth is whether you believe in an afterlife -- especially hell. PHOTO: NY TIMES PHOTOS Forget investment and savings rates, worker productivity and wage scales to determine which countries will become richer or poorer. What really stimulates economic growth is whether you believe in an afterlife -- especially hell.
At least that's what two Harvard scholars have found after analyzing data collected in 59 countries between 1981 and 1999.
"Our central perspective is that religion affects economic outcomes mainly by fostering religious beliefs that influence individual traits such as honesty, work ethic, thrift and openness to strangers," the researchers, Robert Barro and Rachel McCleary, wrote in the October issue of American Sociological Review. They also happen to be married.
"For example, beliefs in heaven and hell might affect those traits by creating perceived rewards and punishments that relate to `good' and `bad' lifetime behavior," they wrote.
The data comes from six international surveys, including ones by Gallup, the World Bank and researchers at the University of Michigan. They include questions about attendance in places of worship and religious beliefs. There were four measures of economic development: per capita GDP, educational attainment by adults, the urbanization rate and life expectancy.
Oddly enough, the research also showed that at a certain point, increases in church, mosque and synagogue attendance tended to depress economic growth. Barro, a renowned economist, and McCleary, a lecturer in Harvard's government department, theorized that larger attendance figures could mean that religious institutions were using up a disproportionate share of resources.
"It's all been rather surprising," McCleary said."People didn't believe you could quantify aspects of religion. We wanted to be intellectually provocative. We see about five more years of study to get out all the stuff we want. We're trying to raise interesting questions in a different way."
Since the German sociologist Max Weber wrote about the Protestant work ethic and the spirit of capitalism, social scientists have argued that culture -- including religious habits -- is part of the complex mix that determines a country's economic health. What distinguishes the work of Barro and McCleary, some scholars said, is that it uses a sophisticated analysis of a huge set of data to quantify the arguments of anthropologists, sociologists and political scientists.
"The study's important less for what they found than that they looked," said Mark Chaves, a professor of sociology at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. "They are not the first to look at this but they are the first to look at this as systemically and as rigorously as they have. For forever, people have been saying that culture matters in analyzing economies."
"I think this is a new beginning for the rigorous relationship between religion and economic development, " added Chaves, whose forthcoming book examines how religious congregations influence politics and culture. "They've given us a data set and some tools to examine this in a new way."
One of the motivations for undertaking the study, McCleary said, was that empirical research on economic growth typically neglected the influence of religion.
The research team also wants to look at how religion affects other political and social issues like democracy, the rule of law, fertility and health. At the moment, they have a paper on government and the regulation of religion that is under review by the American Journal of Sociology at the University of Chicago on government and the regulation of religion.
Some of their findings, which have been written about in The Economist and The Christian Science Monitor, first appeared in 2002 as a paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research.
As the couple began their study, McCleary said, it was clear that the widely discussed secularization thesis -- the idea that a country becomes more secular as it becomes richer and more industrialized -- did not apply to the US, one of the most religious nations in the world.
And over the last 30 years, many East Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, have experienced both rapid economic growth and the spread of Christianity, Barro said.
"South Korea is a good example of that rapid growth and more religion," he said. There the number of converts from Confucianism and other Eastern religions to Christianity is growing rapidly, he explained.
Some of the lowest levels of religiosity were found in China and North Korea. The lowest levels of economic growth were in sub-Saharan African countries. The former East Germany (which includes Weber's birthplace) was one of the lowest in both religiosity and growth.
But one of the major challenges to such research is that countries that vary in their religious beliefs and practices also vary in ways that have nothing to do with religion, said Paola Sapienza, a professor of finance at Northwestern University.
"Are you really picking up religion or something that correlates with it, like certain laws or social and economic institutions?" she asked.
Last year, in the Journal of Monetary Economics, Sapienza and her colleague Luigi Zingales at the University of Chicago, and Luigi Guiso, of the University of Sassari in Rome, published a paper that did not compare countries but looked at the relationship between religious beliefs and the attitudes shown to foster economic growth.
"On average," they wrote, "religious beliefs are associated with good economic attitudes, where good is defined as conducive to higher per capita income."
But that study found that more religious people were also less tolerant of other races and nationalities and had more negative attitudes toward women. The study based its findings on World Values Surveys data collected at the University of Michigan.
Barro and McCleary also used data from the World Values Surveys, which Ronald Inglehart, a political scientist at the University of Michigan, has been taking for more than 20 years. His surveys of 78 countries show strong links between widespread public values and beliefs, or political culture, and motivation to work, sexual and religious norms and the presence or absence of democratic institutions.
"I find that belief factors play a major role in economic growth, but here is one of the world's leading economists saying so," Inglehart said, referring to Barro. "When Weber argued that big breakthroughs in economic growth were in Protestant countries, it was at a time when many cultures were shaped by Protestant institutions. His notion in the broadest sense is that belief factors play a role in economic factors."
"This is a revised view of the Protestant ethic," he continued. He noted that many mostly Protestant, wealthy countries were now more interested in quality of life, and that many Eastern countries were now more focused on economic growth -- with some populations even converting, as Barro noted, to Christianity and specifically to Protestantism.
"Confucian countries are now the most Protestant countries on earth, in terms of a moral imperative to work hard, save money, to do well," Inglehart said.
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Map of Korea, South
Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
Introduction Korea, South Top of Page
Background: Definition Field Listing Korea was an independent kingdom for much of the past millennium. Following its victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Japan occupied Korea; five years later it formally annexed the entire peninsula. After World War II, a republic was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north. During the Korean War (1950-53), US and other UN forces intervened to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 14 times the level of North Korea. In 1993, KIM Yo'ng-sam became South Korea's first civilian president following 32 years of military rule. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place between the South's President KIM Tae-chung and the North's leader KIM Jong Il.
Geography Korea, South Top of Page
Location: Definition Field Listing Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea Geographic coordinates: Definition Field Listing 37 00 N, 127 30 E Map references: Definition Field Listing Asia Area: Definition Field Listing Rank Order total: 98,480 sq km land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km Area - comparative: Definition Field Listing slightly larger than Indiana Land boundaries: Definition Field Listing total: 238 km border countries: North Korea 238 km Coastline: Definition Field Listing 2,413 km Maritime claims: Definition Field Listing 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: Definition Field Listing temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter Terrain: Definition Field Listing mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south Elevation extremes: Definition Field Listing lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m Natural resources: Definition Field Listing coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential Land use: Definition Field Listing arable land: 17.18% permanent crops: 1.95% other: 80.87% (2001) Irrigated land: Definition Field Listing 11,590 sq km (1998 est.) Natural hazards: Definition Field Listing occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest Environment - current issues: Definition Field Listing air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing Environment - international agreements: Definition Field Listing 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: Definition Field Listing strategic location on Korea Strait
People Korea, South Top of Page
Population: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 48,422,644 (July 2005 est.) Age structure: Definition Field Listing 0-14 years: 19.4% (male 4,952,177/female 4,450,821) 15-64 years: 72% (male 17,715,267/female 17,147,808) 65 years and over: 8.6% (male 1,670,971/female 2,485,600) (2005 est.) Median age: Definition Field Listing total: 34.51 years male: 33.53 years female: 35.53 years (2005 est.) Population growth rate: Definition Field Listing 0.38% (2005 est.) Birth rate: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 10.08 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) Death rate: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) Net migration rate: Definition Field Listing 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) Sex ratio: Definition Field Listing at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) Infant mortality rate: Definition Field Listing Rank Order total: 7.05 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) Life expectancy at birth: Definition Field Listing Rank Order total population: 76.85 years male: 73.42 years female: 80.57 years (2005 est.) Total fertility rate: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 1.26 children born/woman (2005 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: Definition Field Listing Rank Order less than 0.1% (2003 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 8,300 (2003 est.) HIV/AIDS - deaths: Definition Field Listing Rank Order less than 200 (2003 est.) Nationality: Definition Field Listing noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean Ethnic groups: Definition Field Listing homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) Religions: Definition Field Listing no affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, other 1% Languages: Definition Field Listing Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school Literacy: Definition Field Listing definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.9% male: 99.2% female: 96.6% (2002)
Government Korea, South Top of Page
Country name: Definition Field Listing conventional long form: Republic of Korea conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: none note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Han'guk" to refer to their country abbreviation: ROK Government type: Definition Field Listing republic Capital: Definition Field Listing Seoul Administrative divisions: Definition Field Listing 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities (gwangyoksi, singular and plural)
- provinces: Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto (North Cholla), Cholla-namdo (South Cholla), Ch'ungch'ong-bukto (North Ch'ungch'ong), Ch'ungch'ong-namdo (South Ch'ungch'ong), Kangwon-do, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto (North Kyongsang), Kyongsang-namdo (South Kyongsang)
- metropolitan cities: Inch'on-gwangyoksi (Inch'on), Kwangju-gwangyoksi (Kwangju), Pusan-gwangyoksi (Pusan), Soul-t'ukpyolsi (Seoul), Taegu-gwangyoksi (Taegu), Taejon-gwangyoksi (Taejon), Ulsan-gwangyoksi (Ulsan)
Independence: Definition Field Listing 15 August 1945 (from Japan) National holiday: Definition Field Listing Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) Constitution: Definition Field Listing 17 July 1948 Legal system: Definition Field Listing combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought Suffrage: Definition Field Listing 19 years of age; universal Executive branch: Definition Field Listing chief of state: President ROH Moo-hyun (since 25 February 2003) head of government: Prime Minister LEE Hae-chan (since 25 May 2004); Deputy Prime Ministers HAN Duck-soo (14 March 2005), KIM Jin-pyo (since 28 January 2005), and OH Myung (since 18 October 2004) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections: president elected by popular vote for single five-year term; election last held 19 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2007); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by president on prime minister's recommendation election results: results of the 19 December 2002 election - ROH Moo-hyun elected president; percent of vote - ROH Moo-hyun (MDP) 48.9%; LEE Hoi-chang (GNP) 46.6%; other 4.5% Legislative branch: Definition Field Listing unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 243 in single-seat constituencies, 56 by proportional representation elections: last held 15 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2008; byelections held on 30 April 2005 and on 26 October 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, DP 3%, others 2%; seats by party - Uri 144, GNP 127, DP 11, DLP 9, ULD 3, independents 5 note: percent of vote is for 2004 general election; seats by party reflect results of April and October 2005 byelections involving six and four seats respectively; MDP became DP in May 2005 (2005) Judicial branch: Definition Field Listing Supreme Court (justices appointed by president with consent of National Assembly); Constitutional Court (justices appointed by president based partly on nominations by National Assembly and Chief Justice of the court) Political parties and leaders: Definition Field Listing Democratic Labor Party or DLP [KWON Young-ghil, interim chairman]; Democratic Party or DP [HAHN Hwa-kap, chairman]; Grand National Party or GNP [PARK Geun-hye, chairwoman]; People-Centered Party or PCP [SHIM Dae-pyong, chairman]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Hak-won, chairman]; Uri Party [CHUNG Sye-kyun, interim chairman] Political pressure groups and leaders: Definition Field Listing Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations International organization participation: Definition Field Listing AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC Diplomatic representation in the US: Definition Field Listing chief of mission: Ambassador Lee Tae-sik chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Agana (Guam) and New York Diplomatic representation from the US: Definition Field Listing chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW embassy: 32 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: American Embassy Seoul, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-5550 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 Flag description: Definition Field Listing white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field
Economy Korea, South Top of Page
Economy - overview: Definition Field Listing Since the early 1960s, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth and integration into the high-tech modern world economy. Four decades ago, GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. In 2004, South Korea joined the trillion dollar club of world economies. Today its GDP per capita is equal to the lesser economies of the European Union. This success through the late 1980s was achieved by a system of close government/business ties, including directed credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a strong labor effort. The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. Growth plunged to a negative 6.9% in 1998, then strongly recovered to 9.5% in 1999, and 8.5% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.3% in 2001 because of the slowing global economy, falling exports, and the perception that much-needed corporate and financial reforms had stalled. Led by consumer spending and exports, growth in 2002 was an impressive 7.0%, despite anemic global growth. Between 2003 and 2005, growth moderated to about 4%. A downturn in consumer spending was offset by rapid export growth. In 2005, the government proposed labor reform legislation and a corporate pension scheme to help make the labor market more flexible, and new real estate policies to cool property speculation. Moderate inflation, low unemployment, an export surplus, and fairly equal distribution of income characterize this solid economy. GDP (purchasing power parity): Definition Field Listing Rank Order $983.3 billion (2005 est.) GDP (official exchange rate): Definition Field Listing Rank Order $726.5 billion (2005 est.) GDP - real growth rate: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 3.7% (2005 est.) GDP - per capita: Definition Field Listing Rank Order purchasing power parity - $20,300 (2005 est.) GDP - composition by sector: Definition Field Listing agriculture: 3.8% industry: 41.4% services: 54.8% (2005 est.) Labor force: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 23.65 million (2005 est.) Labor force - by occupation: Definition Field Listing agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (2004 est.) Unemployment rate: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 3.7% (2005 est.) Population below poverty line: Definition Field Listing 4% (2001 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share: Definition Field Listing lowest 10%: 2.9% highest 10%: 22.5% (1999 est.) Distribution of family income - Gini index: Definition Field Listing 35.8 (2000) Inflation rate (consumer prices): Definition Field Listing Rank Order 2.8% (2005 est.) Investment (gross fixed): Definition Field Listing Rank Order 31.4% of GDP (2005 est.) Budget: Definition Field Listing revenues: $184 billion expenditures: $187.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2005) Public debt: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 20.5% of GDP (2005 est.) Agriculture - products: Definition Field Listing rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish Industries: Definition Field Listing electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel Industrial production growth rate: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 3.9% (2005 est.) Electricity - production: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 326.2 billion kWh (2003) Electricity - consumption: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 303.3 billion kWh (2003) Electricity - exports: Definition Field Listing 0 kWh (2003) Electricity - imports: Definition Field Listing 0 kWh (2003) Oil - production: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) Oil - consumption: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 2.168 million bbl/day (2003 est.) Oil - exports: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 630,100 bbl/day (2003) Oil - imports: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 2.263 million bbl/day (2003) Natural gas - production: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 0 cu m (2003 est.) Natural gas - consumption: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 20.92 billion cu m (2003 est.) Natural gas - exports: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 0 cu m (2003 est.) Natural gas - imports: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 21.11 billion cu m (2003 est.) Current account balance: Definition Field Listing Rank Order $14.32 billion (2005 est.) Exports: Definition Field Listing Rank Order $277.6 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) Exports - partners: Definition Field Listing China 19.7%, US 17%, Japan 8.6%, Hong Kong 7.2% (2004) Imports: Definition Field Listing Rank Order $248.4 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) Imports - partners: Definition Field Listing Japan 20.6%, China 13.2%, US 12.9%, Saudi Arabia 5.3% (2004) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Definition Field Listing Rank Order $220.1 billion (2005 est.) Debt - external: Definition Field Listing Rank Order $188.4 billion (30 June 2005 est.) Economic aid - donor: Definition Field Listing ODA $334 million (2003) Currency (code): Definition Field Listing South Korean won (KRW) Exchange rates: Definition Field Listing South Korean won per US dollar - 1,015 (2005), 1,145.3 (2004), 1,191.6 (2003), 1,251.1 (2002), 1,291 (2001) Fiscal year: Definition Field Listing calendar year
Communications Korea, South Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 22.877 million (2003) Telephones - mobile cellular: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 33,591,800 (2003) Telephone system: Definition Field Listing general assessment: excellent domestic and international services domestic: NA international: country code - 82; fiber-optic submarine cable to China; the Russia-Korea-Japan submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) Radio broadcast stations: Definition Field Listing AM 58, FM 150, shortwave 2 (2004) Television broadcast stations: Definition Field Listing 64 (additionally 119 Cable Operators; 239 Relay Cable Operators) (2004) Internet country code: Definition Field Listing .kr Internet hosts: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 694,206 (2001) Internet users: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 29.22 million (2003)
Transportation Korea, South Top of Page
Airports: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 179 (2004 est.) Airports - with paved runways: Definition Field Listing total: 70 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 21 (2005 est.) Airports - with unpaved runways: Definition Field Listing total: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 35 (2005 est.) Heliports: Definition Field Listing 537 (2005 est.) Pipelines: Definition Field Listing gas 1,433 km; refined products 827 km (2004) Railways: Definition Field Listing Rank Order total: 3,472 km standard gauge: 3,472 km 1.435-m gauge (1,342 km electrified) (2004) Roadways: Definition Field Listing Rank Order total: 97,252 km paved: 74,641 km (including 2,778 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,611 km (2003) Waterways: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 1,608 km note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) Merchant marine: Definition Field Listing Rank Order total: 601 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,992,656 GRT/11,081,142 DWT by type: bulk carrier 125, cargo 196, chemical tanker 88, container 71, liquefied gas 20, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 22, petroleum tanker 51, refrigerated cargo 15, roll on/roll off 5, vehicle carrier 3 foreign-owned: 2 (Germany 1, United Kingdom 1) registered in other countries: 366 (2005) Ports and terminals: Definition Field Listing Inch'on, Masan, P'ohang, Pusan, Ulsan
Military Korea, South Top of Page
Military branches: Definition Field Listing Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) Military service age and obligation: Definition Field Listing 20-30 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 24-28 months, depending on the military branch involved; 18 years of age for voluntary military service; some 4,000 women serve as commissioned and noncommissioned officers, approx. 2.3% of all officers; women, in service since 1950, are admitted to seven service branches, including infantry; excluded from artillery, armor, anti-air, and chaplaincy corps (2005) Manpower available for military service: Definition Field Listing males age 20-49: 12,458,257 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: Definition Field Listing males age 20-49: 9,932,026 (2005 est.) Manpower reaching military service age annually: Definition Field Listing males: 344,723 (2005 est.) Military expenditures - dollar figure: Definition Field Listing Rank Order $20 billion FY05 (2005) Military expenditures - percent of GDP: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 2.5% FY05 (2005)
Transnational Issues Korea, South Top of Page
Disputes - international: Definition Field Listing Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with North Korea over the Northern Limit Line; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954
This page was last updated on 10 January, 2006
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