Country vs country: Government Stats: compare key data on North Korea & United States and Government Stats: compare key data on North Korea & United States compared Government

STAT North Korea United States HISTORY
Administrative divisions 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 2 municipalities (si, singular and plural)<br /><strong>provinces:</strong> Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang)<br /><strong>municipalities:</strong> Nason-si, P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang) 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Capital city > Geographic coordinates 39 01 N, 125 45 E 38 53 N, 77 02 W
Capital city > Name Pyongyang Washington, DC
Constitution previous 1948, 1972 (revised several times); latest adopted 1998 (during KIM Jong Il era); revised 2009, 2012 previous 1781 (Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union); latest drafted July - September 1787, submitted to the Congress of the Confederation 20 September 1787, submitted for states' ratification 28 September 1787, ratification completed by nine sta
Executive branch > Cabinet Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval
Executive branch > Chief of state KIM Jong Un (since 17 December 2011)(SPA) reelected KIM Yong Nam in 2009 president of its Presidium with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009); Vice President Joseph R. BIDEN (since 20 January 2009)
Executive branch > Head of government Premier PAK Pong-ju (since 2 April 2013); Vice Premiers: HAN Kwang Bok (since 7 June 2010), JO Pyong Ju (since 7 June 2010), JON Ha Chol (since 7 June 2010), KANG Nung Su (since 7 June 2010), KANG Sok Ju (since 23 September 2010), KIM In Sik (since 13 April 2012), KIM Rak Hui (since 7 June 2010), KIM Yong Jin (since 6 January 2012), PAK Su Gil (since 18 September 2009), RI Chol Man (since 13 April 2012), RI Mu Yong (since 31 May 2011), RI Sung Ho (since 13 April 2012), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003) President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009); Vice President Joseph R. BIDEN (since 20 January 2009)
Government type Communist state one-man dictatorship Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
International organization participation ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), ANZUS, APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CICA (observer), CP, EAPC, EAS, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-20, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNSC (permanent), UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Judicial branch Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) Supreme Court (nine justices; nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate; appointed to serve for life); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts
Legal system civil law system based on the Prussian model; system influenced by Japanese traditions and Communist legal theory common law system based on English common law at the federal level; state legal systems based on common law except Louisiana, which is based on Napoleonic civil code; judicial review of legislative acts
Legislative branch unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui bicameral Congress consists of the Senate
Political parties and leaders <strong>major party: </strong><br />Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Un]<br /><br /><strong>minor parties:</strong><br />Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under KWP control)<br />Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under KWP control) Democratic Party [Debbie Wasserman SCHULTZ]<br />Green Party<br />Libertarian Party [Mark HINKLE]<br />Republican Party [Reince PRIEBUS]
Political pressure groups and leaders none environmentalists; business groups; labor unions; churches; ethnic groups; political action committees or PACs; health groups; education groups; civic groups; youth groups; transportation groups; agricultural groups; veterans groups; women's groups; reform lobbies
Suffrage 17 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Country name > Conventional long form Democratic People's Republic of Korea United States of America
Executive branch > Elections last election held in April 2012; date of next election NA president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 6 November 2012 (next to be held on 8 November 2016)
National symbol(s) red star bald eagle
Flag description three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star; the broad red band symbolizes revolutionary traditions; the narrow white bands stands for purity, strength, and dignity; the blue bands signify sovereignty, peace, and friendship; the red star represents socialism 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; the blue stands for loyalty, devotion, truth, justice, and friendship; red symbolizes courage, zeal, and fervency, while white denotes purity and rectitude of conduct; commonly referred to by its nickname of Old Glory
Country name > Conventional short form North Korea United States
Constitutional form Republic Republic
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km-wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima) the US has intensified domestic security measures and is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across the international borders; abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; Canada and the United States dispute how to divide the Beaufort Sea and the status of the Northwest Passage but continue to work cooperatively to survey the Arctic continental shelf; The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other states; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island; Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution
National anthem <strong>name: </strong>"Aegukka" (Patriotic Song)<br /><strong>lyrics/music:</strong> PAK Se Yong/KIM Won Gyun <strong>name: </strong>"The Star-Spangled Banner"<br /><strong>lyrics/music:</strong> Francis Scott KEY/John Stafford SMITH
Legislative branch > Election results percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; a token number of seats are reserved for minor parties Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 54, Republican Party 45, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 201, Republican Party 234
Legislative branch > Elections last held on 8 March 2009 (next to be held in March 2014) Senate - last held on 6 November 2012 (next to be held on 4 November 2014); House of Representatives - last held on 6 November 2012 (next to be held on 4 November 2014)
Democracy and rights > Press freedom index 83.9
Ranked 2nd. 5 times more than United States 		18.22
Ranked 13th.
Independence 15 August 1945 (from Japan) 4 July 1776 (declared); 3 September 1783 (recognized by Great Britain)
Executive branch > Election results KIM Jong Un elected unopposed Barack H. OBAMA reelected president; percent of popular vote - Barack H. OBAMA 50.6%, Mitt ROMNEY 47.9%, other 1.5%;
Judicial branch > Subordinate courts provincial, municipal, military, special courts; people' courts (lowest level) Courts of Appeal (includes the US Court of Appeal for the Federal District and 12 regional appeals courts); 94 federal district courts in 50 states and territories
Basis of executive legitimacy Power constitutionally linked to a single political movement Presidency is independent of legislature
Transnational Issues > Illicit drugs for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003 world's largest consumer of cocaine (shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean), Colombian heroin, and Mexican heroin and marijuana; major consumer of ecstasy and Mexican methamphetamine; minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center
Democracy and rights > Freedom of the press 97
Ranked 1st. 5 times more than United States 		18
Ranked 171st.
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament 20.1%
Ranked 54th. 32% more than United States 		15.2%
Ranked 79th.
Democracy > Civil and political liberties 0.0
Ranked 133th. 		6
Ranked 6th.
National holiday Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September Independence Day, 4 July (1776)
Capital > Geographic coordinates 39 01 N, 125 45 E 38 53 N, 77 02 W
Judicial branch > Judge selection and term of office judges elected by the Supreme People's Assembly for 5-year terms president nominates, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints Supreme Court justices; justices appointed for life
Politics A family dynasty heads a secretive, communist regime which tolerates no dissent Barack Obama, America&#039;s first black president, was re-elected in November 2012
International law organization participation has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt withdrew acceptance of compulsory ICJ jurisdiction in 2005; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2002
Foreign relations > Date of recognition of Israel None
None
Democracy > Democratic institutions rating -9
Ranked 135th. 		10
Ranked 9th.
UN membership date 17 Sep. 1991 24 Oct. 1945
Capital city Pyongyang Washington, DC
Capital > Name Pyongyang Washington, DC
Legislature (parliament) > People per member 35,009
Ranked 75th. 		575,019
Ranked 3rd. 16 times more than North Korea
Democracy and rights > Year women first voted at national level 1946 1920
Capital > Time difference UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) UTC-5 (during Standard Time)
International relations The armistice of 1953 ended armed conflict on the Korean peninsular, but the two Koreas are technically still at war; tensions have been exacerbated in recent decades by North Korea&#039;s nuclear ambitions The US has a leading role on the world stage, militarily and diplomatically. Its combat troops are set to leave Afghanistan by late 2014
Legislature (parliament) > Lower house members 687
Ranked 3rd. 58% more than United States 		435
Ranked 25th.
Leaders > Head of state > Term limit for head of state 5
Ranked 33th. 25% more than United States 		4
Ranked 129th.
Country name > Abbreviation DPRK US or USA
Role of head of state Executive Executive
Foreign relations > Nepal > Date of Establishment May 15, 1974 April 25, 1947
Trademarks > Nonresidents > Per capita 0.303 per 1,000 people
Ranked 47th. 3 times more than United States 		0.092 per 1,000 people
Ranked 35th.
Trademarks > Nonresidents per 1000 0.293
Ranked 50th. 3 times more than United States 		0.0922
Ranked 35th.
Foreign relations > Croatia > Date of Establishment November 30, 1992 August 11, 1992
National anthem > Name "Aegukka" (Patriotic Song) "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Capital city > Time difference UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) UTC-5 (during Standard Time)
Trademarks > Residents per million 683.32
Ranked 16th. 		729.14
Ranked 18th. 7% more than North Korea
Trademarks > Nonresidents 6,112
Ranked 23th. 		26,988
Ranked 2nd. 4 times more than North Korea
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments > % 15.6%
Ranked 115th. 		17.9%
Ranked 97th. 15% more than North Korea
Legislature (parliament) > Total members of parliament 687
Ranked 11th. 28% more than United States 		535
Ranked 25th.
National anthem > Note adopted 1947; both North Korea and South Korea's anthems share the same name and have a vaguely similar melody but have different lyrics; the North Korean anthem is also known as "Ach'imun pinnara" (Let Morning Shine) adopted 1931; during the War of 1812, after witnessing the successful American defense of Fort McHenry in Baltimore following British naval bombardment, Francis Scott KEY wrote the lyrics to what would become the national anthem; the lyrics were set to the tune of "The Anacreontic Song;" only the first verse is sung
Legislature (parliament) > Term of office for lower house members 5
Ranked 11th. 3 times more than United States 		2
Ranked 183th.
Trademarks > Residents 14,239
Ranked 16th. 		213,495
Ranked 2nd. 15 times more than North Korea
Trademarks > Residents > Per capita 0.705 per 1,000 people
Ranked 14th. 		0.727 per 1,000 people
Ranked 18th. 3% more than North Korea

Adblocker detected! Please consider reading this notice.

We've detected that you are using AdBlock Plus or some other adblocking software which is preventing the page from fully loading.

We don't have any banner, Flash, animation, obnoxious sound, or popup ad. We do not implement these annoying types of ads!

We need money to operate the site, and almost all of it comes from our online advertising.

Please add www.nationmaster.com to your ad blocking whitelist or disable your adblocking software.

×