Land area: 37,911 sq mi (98,189 sq km)

Population (2009 est.): 48,508,972 (growth rate: 0.2%); birth rate: 8.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.2/1000; life expectancy: 78.7; density per sq km: 501

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Seoul, 10,287,847 (city proper)

Other large cities: Pusan, 3,504,900; Inchon, 2,479,600 (part of Seoul metro. area); Taegu, 2,369,800

Monetary unit: won

National name: Taehan Min'guk

Current government officials

Languages: Korean, English widely taught

Ethnicity/race: homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)

Religions: no affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, other 1%

National Holiday: Liberation Day, August 15

Literacy rate: 98% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $1.201 trillion; per capita $24,800. Real growth rate: 5%. Inflation: 2.5%. Unemployment: 3.3%. Arable land: 17%. Agriculture: rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish. Labor force: 23.99 million; agriculture 3.2%, industry 39.6%, services 57.2%. Industries: electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel. Natural resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential. Exports: $371.5 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals. Imports: $356.8 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics. Major trading partners: China, U.S., Japan, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia (2004).