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 but the calm is tenuous and refugees continue to present a humanitarian crisis. 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.

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S 15 00 E

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

Land boundaries
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

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 highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m

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

Land use
Permanent crops: 0.18%
Other: 98.36% (2011)

Irrigated land: 20 km² (2003)

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

Population: 4,662,446
Rank: 125
Growth rate: 1.94% (2014 est.)
Growth rate rank: 55
Below poverty line: 46.5% (2011 est.)

Nationality
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.)

Age structure
15-24 years: 17.7% (male 411,263/female 413,594)
25-54 years: 34.2% (male 808,181/female 787,554)
55-64 years: 4% (male 90,795/female 94,837)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 60,400/female 78,559) (2014 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 78.7 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 6.3 %
Potential support ratio: 16 (2014 est.)

Median age
Male: 19.7 years
Female: 20 years (2014 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.94% (2014 est.)
Rank: 55

Birth rate: 36.59 births/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 18

Death rate: 10.17 deaths/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 47

Net migration rate: -7.02 migrant(s)/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 204

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 2.84% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: BRAZZAVILLE (capital) 1.611 million; Pointe-Noire 834,000 (2011)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 19.8

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 24
Male: 64.49 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 54.04 deaths/1000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 198
Male: 57.38 years
Female: 59.7 years (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.73 children born/woman (2014 est.)
Rank: 23

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 44.7% (2011/12)

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 0.1 physicians/1000 population (2007)

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

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 2.8% (2012 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 23
People living with hivaids: 74,500 (2012 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 52
Deaths: 5,200 (2012 est.)
Deaths rank: 37

Major infectious diseases
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 (2013)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 4.7% (2008)
Rank: 163

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 11.8% (2005)
Rank: 61

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

Literacy
Total population: 83.8%
Male: 89.6%
Female: 78.4% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 11 years
Female: 11 years (2012)

Country name
Conventional short form: Congo (Brazzaville)
Local long form: Republique du Congo
Local short form: none
Former: Middle Congo Congo/Brazzaville Congo

Government type: republic

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 4 15 S 15 17 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

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

Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day 15 August (1960)

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

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso (since 25 October 1997); note - the position of prime minister was abolished in September 2009
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second 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 7.5% Nicephore Fylla de SAINT-EUDES 7% other 6.9%

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (72 seats; members elected by indirect vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (139 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
Elections: Senate - last held on 5 August 2008 (next to be held in July 2014); National Assembly - last held on 15 July and 5 August 2012 (next to be held in 2018)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RMP 33 FDU 23 UPADS 2 independents 7 other 7; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCT (and allies) 117 UPADS 7 independents 12 vacant 3

Judicial branch: 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 (candidate country) FAO FZ G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO 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 chancery: 1720 16th Street NW Washington DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 726-5,500
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860
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] 06 612-200

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

National symbols: lion; elephant

National anthem
Lyrics and music: Jacques TONDRA and Georges KIBANGHI/Jean ROYER and Joseph SPADILIERE

Economy overview: The economy is a mixture of subsistence hunting and agriculture 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 that 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 drop in oil prices during the global crisis reduced oil revenue by about 30% but the subsequent recovery of oil prices boosted the economy's GDP from 2009-13. 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:
Rank: 134

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 41

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 163

Gross national saving:
Rank: 1

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 11.1%
Investment in fixed capital: 55.4%
Investment in inventories: 0.9%
Exports of goods and services: 91.8%
Imports of goods and services: -84.1%: (2013 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 73.9%
Services: 22.9% (2013 est.)

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: 2% (2013 est.)
Rank: 124

Labor force: 2.89 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 105

Unemployment rate: 53% (2012 est.)
Rank: 196

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

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Highest 10: 37.1% (2005)

Budget
Expenditures: $4.618 billion (2013 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 14% of GDP (2013 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 3

Taxes and other revenues: 46.4% of GDP (2013 est.)
Rank: 19

Public debt: 31.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 113

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3.9% (2012 est.)
Rank: 51

Central bank discount rate: 4.75% (31 December 2008)
Rank: 75

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 14.8% (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 42

Stock of narrow money: $4.403 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 101

Stock of broad money: $4.795 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 127

Stock of domestic credit: $-1.448 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 185

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance: $187.9 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 51

Exports: $10.53 billion (2012 est.)
Rank: 96
Commodities: petroleum lumber plywood sugar cocoa coffee diamonds
Partners: China 39% US 13% France 9.5% Australia 8.8% Netherlands 6.8% Spain 5.3% India 5.2% (2012)

Imports: $4.45 billion (2012 est.)
Rank: 137
Commodities: capital equipment construction materials foodstuffs
Partners: France 19.5% China 13.5% Brazil 9.1% US 6.1% India 5.8% Italy 4.8% Belgium 4.4% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $5.568 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 94

Debt external: $2.999 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 133

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 559 million kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 160
Consumption: 588 million kWh (2012 est.)
Consumption rank: 167
Exports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 117
Imports: 495 million kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 80
Installed generating capacity: 559,000 kW (2012 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 133
Generation sources fossil fuels: 51.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 152
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 62
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 48.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 44
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 165

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 291,900 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 35
Crude oil exports: 290,000 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 27
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 170
Crude oil proven reserves: 1.6 billion bbl (1 January 2013 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 37

Refined petroleum
Products production: 13,820 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 100
Products consumption: 10,710 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 152
Products exports: 4,288 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 93
Products imports: 4,156 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 161

Natural gas
Production: 946 million m³ (2012 est.)
Production rank: 65
Consumption: 930 million m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 89
Exports: 39 million m³ (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 50
Imports: 0 m³ (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 173
Proven reserves: 90.61 billion m³ (1 January 2013 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 58

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 6.858 million Mt (2011 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 14,900 (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 196
Mobile cellular: 4.283 million (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 118

Telephone system
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 (Atlantic Ocean) (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
Hosts: 45 (2012)
Hosts rank: 215
Users: 245,200 (2009)
Users rank: 136

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

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

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

Railways
Rank: 94
Narrow gauge: 886 km 1.067-m gauge (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 118
Paved: 864 km
Unpaved: 16,425 km (2004)

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 thereby necessitating a rail connection to Pointe Noire; other rivers are used for local traffic only) (2011)
Rank: 62

Merchant marine
Rank: 155

Ports and terminals
River port: Brazzaville (Congo); Impfondo (Oubangi); Ouesso (Sangha); Oyo (Alima)
Oilgas terminal: Djeno

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
IDPs: 7,800 (multiple civil wars since 1992) (2009)