Environment-current issues: air pollution in large cities; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing
Environment-international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: Desertification
@Korea, South:People
Population: 46,416,796 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (male 5,505,564; female 4,894,780) 15-64 years: 71% (male 16,772,319; female 16,272,145) 65 years and over: 7% (male 1,126,963; female 1,845,025) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.01% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 16.08 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 5.67 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.14 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female (1998 est.)