other: 13% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 13,350 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest

Environment - current issues: air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing

Environment - international agreements: party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Korea, South People

Population: 47,904,370 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 21.59% (male 5,475,453; female 4,864,918)

15-64 years: 71.14% (male 17,291,202; female 16,789,380)