North Korea's economy is in ruins. The disintegration of the Soviet Union, government mismanagement, and natural disasters have been partly responsible for the poor performance of the country's economic sectors. Industry is the dominant sector but is unable to generate revenue, jobs, and consumer goods to meet the country's demands. While agriculture is mechanized, the equipment is outmoded and fertilizers are in short supply. The service sector is both limited and underdeveloped. The overhaul and development of these sectors is essential for
Communications | |||||||||
Country | Newspapers | Radios | TV Sets a | Cable subscribers a | Mobile Phones a | Fax Machines a | Personal Computers a | Internet Hosts b | Internet Users b |
1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1999 | 1999 | |
North Korea | 199 | 147 | 53 | N/A | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
United States | 215 | 2,146 | 847 | 244.3 | 256 | 78.4 | 458.6 | 1,508.77 | 74,100 |
Japan | 578 | 955 | 707 | 114.8 | 374 | 126.8 | 237.2 | 163.75 | 27,060 |
South Korea | 393 | 1,033 | 346 | 138.3 | 302 | N/A | 156.8 | 55.53 | 10,860 |
a Data are from International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication Development Report 1999 and are per 1,000 people. | |||||||||
b Data are from the Internet Software Consortium ( http://www.isc.org ) and are per 10,000 people. | |||||||||
SOURCE: World Bank. World Development Indicators 2000. |
recovery and growth, as is the adoption of a new economic model.
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