Map of Congo | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Upon independence in 1960 the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso and ushered in a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers but with declining production it will need new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term.


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Location: Central Africa bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between Angola and Gabon

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S 15 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 342,000 km²
Land: 341,500 km²
Water: 500 km²
Rank: 64
Comparative: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries
Total: 5,008 km
Border countries: (5) Angola 231 km; Cameroon 494 km; Central African Republic 487 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 1229 km; Gabon 2,567 km

Coastline: 169 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator

Terrain: coastal plain southern basin central plateau northern basin

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m

Natural resources: petroleum timber potash lead zinc uranium copper phosphates gold magnesium natural gas hydropower

Land use
Agricultural land: 31.1%
Forest: 65.6%
Other: 3.3%

Irrigated land: 20 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 832 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: seasonal flooding

Geography
Note: about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville Pointe-Noire or along the railroad between them


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Population: 4,755,097
Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy higher infant mortality higher death rates lower population growth rates and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
Rank: 125
Growth rate: 2% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 50
Below poverty line: 46.5% (2011 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Congolese
Adjective: Congolese or Congo

Ethnic groups: Kongo 48% Sangha 20% M'Bochi 12% Teke 17% Europeans and other 3%

Languages: French (official) Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages) many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)

Religions: Roman Catholic 33.1% Awakening Churches/Christian Revival 22.3% Protestant 19.9% Salutiste 2.2% Muslim 1.6% Kimbanguiste 1.5% other 8.1% none 11.3% (2010 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 41.33%
15-24 years: 17.48%
25-54 years: 34.12%
55-64 years: 4.08%
65 years and over: 3% (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 86.2%
Youth dependency ratio: 79.4%
Elderly dependency ratio: 6.8%
Potential support ratio: 14.7%

Median age
Total: 19.8 years
Male: 19.6 years
Female: 19.9 years

Population growth rate: 2% (2015 est.)
Rank: 50

Birth rate: 35.85 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 20

Death rate: 10 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 45

Net migration rate: -5.9 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 197

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 65.4% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 3.22% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: BRAZZAVILLE (capital) 1.888 million; Pointe-Noire 969,000 (2015)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation
International agreements party to: Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male/female
15-24 years: 1 male/female
25-54 years: 1.02 male/female
55-64 years: 0.97 male/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male/female
Total population: 1.01 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 57.92 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 62.97 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 52.71 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 24

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 58.79 years
Male: 57.64 years
Female: 59.98 years
Rank: 200

Total fertility rate: 4.68 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 22

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 44.7% (2011/12)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.1 physicians/1000 population (2007)

Hospital bed density: 1.6 beds/1000 population (2005)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 2.75% (2014 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 22
People living with hivaids: 80,700 (2014 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 46
Deaths: 4,400 (2014 est.)
Deaths rank: 34

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne disease: malaria and dengue fever
Animal contact disease: rabies
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 9.7% (2014)
Rank: 163

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 11.8% (2012)
Rank: 61

Education expenditures: 6.2% of GDP (2010)
Rank: 39

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 79.3%
Male: 86.4%
Female: 72.9%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 11 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 11 years

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of the Congo
Conventional short form: Congo
Local long form: Republique du Congo
Local short form: Congo
Former: French Congo Middle Congo People's Republic of the Congo Congo/Brazzaville

Government type: republic

Capital
Name: Brazzaville
Geographic coordinates: 4 15 S 15 17 E
Time difference: UTC+1

Administrative divisions: 12 departments (departments singular - department); Bouenza Brazzaville Cuvette Cuvette-Ouest Kouilou Lekoumou Likouala Niari Plateaux Pointe-Noire Pool Sangha

Dependent areas

Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day 15 August (1960)

Constitution: previous 1992; latest approved by referendum 20 January 2002 (2015)

Legal system: mixed legal system of French civil law and customary law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Republic of the Congo
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso ; note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso ; note - the position of prime minister was abolished in September 2009
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 7-year term ; election last held on 12 July 2009 (next to be held in 2016)
Election results: Denis SASSOU-Nguesso reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-Nguesso 78.6% Joseph Kignoumbi Kia MBOUNGOU (independent) 7.5% Nicephore Fylla de SAINT-EUDES 7% other 6.9%

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate and the National Assembly (139 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: Senate - last held on 12 October 2014 for 36 of the expiry seats ; National Assembly - last held on 15 July and 5 August 2012 (next to be held in July 2017)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RMP 33 FDU 23 UPADS 2 other 7 independent 7; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCT 89 MCDDI 7 UPADS 7 RDPS 5 MAR 4 RC 3 MUST 2 UPDP 2 CPR 1 PRL 1 PUR 1 UFD 1 UR 1 independent 12 vacant 3

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme ; note - the High Court of Justice outside the judicial authority tries cases involving treason by the president of the republic
Judge selection and term of office: judges elected by parliament and serve until retirement age
Subordinate courts: courts of appeal; regional and district courts; employment tribunals; juvenile courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU BDEAC CEMAC EITI (compliant country) FAO FZ G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICCt ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO (correspondent) ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA NAM OIF OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNITAR UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Serge MOMBOULI
In the us chancery: 1720 16th Street NW Washington DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] 726-5,500
In the us FAX: [1] 726-1860
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Stephanie S. SULLIVAN
From the us embassy: 70-83 Section D Maya-Maya Boulevard Brazzaville
From the us mailing address: B.P. 1015 Brazzaville
From the us telephone: [242] 06 612-2000

Flag description: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; green symbolizes agriculture and forests yellow the friendship and nobility of the people red is unexplained but has been associated with the struggle for independence
Note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia

National symbols: lion elephant; national colors: green yellow red

National anthem
Name: 'La Congolaise'
Lyrics and music: Jacques TONDRA and Georges KIBANGHI/Jean ROYER and Joseph SPADILIERE
Note: originally adopted 1959 restored 1991

National heritage


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Economy overview: The economy is a mixture of subsistence farming and hunting an industrial sector based largely on oil and support services and government spending. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy providing a major share of government revenues and exports. Natural gas is increasingly being converted to electricity rather than being flared greatly improving energy prospects. New mining projects particularly iron ore which entered production in late 2013 may add as much as $1 billion to annual government revenue. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations notably the World Bank and the IMF including recently concluded Article IV consultations. The current administration faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. The recent drop in oil prices has constrained government spending; lower oil prices forced the government to cut more than $1 billion in planned spending. Officially the country became a net external creditor as of 2011 with external debt representing only about 16% of GDP and debt servicing less than 3% of government revenue.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 130

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 27

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 155

Gross national saving:
Rank: 17

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 40.8%
Government consumption: 15.8%
Investment in fixed capital: 33.8%
Investment in inventories: 0%
Exports of goods and services: 80.1%
Imports of goods and services: -70.5%: (2014 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4.8%
Industry: 69.4%
Services: 25.8%

Agriculture products: cassava (manioc tapioca) sugar rice corn peanuts vegetables coffee cocoa; forest products

Industries: petroleum extraction cement lumber brewing sugar palm oil soap flour cigarettes

Industrial production growth rate: 5.1% (2014 est.)
Rank: 51

Labor force: 1.807 million (2013 est.)
Rank: 124

Unemployment rate: 53% (2012 est.)
Rank: 202

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 46.5% (2011 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.1%
Highest 10: 37.1%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $5.791 billion
Expenditures: $6.838 billion
Surplus or deficit: -7.7% of GDP (2014 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 200

Taxes and other revenues: 42.7% of GDP (2014 est.)
Rank: 31

Public debt:
Rank: 114

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 54

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 95

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 42

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 108

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 130

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 183

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance:
Rank: 131

Exports:
Rank: 98
Commodities: petroleum lumber plywood sugar cocoa coffee diamonds
Partners: China 52% Australia 8.3% Italy 8.2% US 4% (2014)

Imports:
Rank: 133
Commodities: capital equipment construction materials foodstuffs
Partners: Algeria 47.8% China 10.6% France 9% Italy 4.3% (2014)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 94

Debt external:
Rank: 130

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 1.303 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 146
Consumption: 740 million kWh (2012 est.)
Consumption rank: 162
Exports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 119
Imports: 55 million kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 101
Installed generating capacity: 238,000 kW (2012 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 158
Generation sources fossil fuels: 12.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 197
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 65
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 87.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 15
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 166

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 250,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 33
Crude oil exports: 278,400 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 27
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 171
Crude oil proven reserves: 1.6 billion bbl (1 January 2015 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 37

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 17,740 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products production rank: 95
Products consumption: 15,000 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products consumption rank: 142
Products exports: 5,160 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products exports rank: 94
Products imports: 2,571 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products imports rank: 178

Natural gas
Production: 1.65 billion m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 60
Consumption: 1.65 billion m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 83
Exports: 39 million m³ (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 48
Imports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 176
Proven reserves: 90.61 billion m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 57

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 6.691 million Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 116

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 16,300
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1
Fixed lines rank: 193
Mobile cellular total: 4.9 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 106
Mobile cellular rank: 118

Telephone system
General assessment: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable with services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville Pointe-Noire and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out of order
Domestic: fixed-line infrastructure inadequate providing less than 1 connection per 100 persons; in the absence of an adequate fixed-line infrastructure mobile-cellular subscribership has surged to 90 per 100 persons
International: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (2011)

Broadcast media: 1 state-owned TV and 3 state-owned radio stations; several privately owned TV and radio stations; satellite TV service is available; rebroadcasts of several international broadcasters are available (2007)

Internet
Country code: .cg
Users total: 89,500
Users percent of population: 1.9%
Users rank: 171

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; women may serve in the Armed Forces (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 27 (2013)
Rank: 125
With paved runways total: 8
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With unpaved runways total: 19
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 8
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9
With unpaved runways: 2 (2013)

Heliports

Pipelines: gas 232 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 982 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 510 km
Narrow gauge: 510 km 1.067-m gauge
Rank: 94

Roadways
Total: 17,000 km
Paved: 1212 km
Unpaved: 15,788 km
Rank: 118

Waterways: 1120 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui Rivers above Brazzaville; there are many ferries across the river to Kinshasa; the Congo south of Brazzaville-Kinshasa to the coast is not navigable because of rapids necessitating a rail connection to Pointe Noire; other rivers are used for local traffic only) (2011)
Rank: 61

Merchant marine
Registered in other countries: 1 (2010)
Rank: 148

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Pointe-Noire
River port: Brazzaville ; Impfondo (Oubangi); Ouesso (Sangha); Oyo (Alima)
Oil terminal: Djeno


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Disputes international: the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is undefined except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 23,376 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 9,104 (Rwanda) (2014); 29,884 (Central African Republic) (2015)
IDPs: 7,800 (2014)

Illicit drugs