Ethnic divisions: racially homogeneous
Religion: Buddhism and Confucianism; religious activities now almost nonexistent
Language: Korean
Literacy: 95% (est.)
Labor force: 9,615,000; 36% agricultural, 64% nonagricultural; shortage of skilled and unskilled labor (mid-1987 est.)
Organized labor: 1,600,000 members; single-trade union system coordinated by the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea under the Central Committee
- Government
Long-form name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea; abbreviated DPRK
Type: Communist state; one-man rule
Capital: P'yongyang
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and
3 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Chagang-do,
Hamgyong-namdo, Hamgyong-bukto, Hwanghae-namdo, Hwanghae-bukto,
Kaesong-si*, Kangwon-do, Namp'o-si*, P'yongan-bukto,
P'yongan-namdo, P'yongyang-si*, Yanggang-do