Graph exercise: while its people face famine, North Korea's military feasts.

• Position: Illustration

North Korea, an isolated, secretive, Communist dictatorship, is on the brink of collapse. The country is in its eighth of chronic food shortages, Only massive food shipments from the world community, including the U.S., have held of starvation. Yet most of North Korea's 22 million people still suffer malnutrition. In spite of this disaster, vast sums go to the military. In October, North Korea admitted it was developing nuclear weapons: Data in this graph show the percentages of their Gross Domestic Products--the value of all goods and services produced in a year--that North Korea and selected countries spend on the military. Use the data to answer the questions.

Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

1. In 2001, North Korea's Gross Domestic Product--the value of all the goods and services produced in the country in that year--was just under $22 billion. About how much did North Korea spend on its military in that year?

   (a) $11 billion

   (b) $6.8 billion

   (c) $3 billion

   (d) $16 billion

2. For South Korea to equal North Korea's percent of GDP spent on the military, it would have to increase its military's GDP share by--percentage points.

3. If you combine two countries' military expenditures as a percentage of their GDPs, you will obtain a figure that is exactly 10 percentage points below the figure for North Korea. Which countries? --

4. Countries that are wealthier than North Korea spend more in...