Congo, Republic of the

Airports

total: 41 usable: 37 with permanent-surface runways: 5 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 16

Highways

total: 11,960 km paved: 560 km unpaved: gravel or crushed stone 850 km; improved earth 5,350 km; unimproved earth 5,200 km

Inland waterways

the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) Rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; the rest are used for local traffic only

Pipelines

crude oil 25 km

Ports

Pointe-Noire (ocean port), Brazzaville (river port)

Railroads

797 km, 1.067-meter gauge, single track (includes 285 km that are privately owned)

Telecommunications

services adequate for government use; primary network is composed of radio relay routes and coaxial cables; key centers are Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; 18,100 telephones; broadcast stations - 4 AM, 1 FM, 4 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite earth station

Affiliation

(free association with New Zealand)

Branches

Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Police

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 551,151; fit for military service 280,372; reach military age (20) annually 24,441 (1994 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for 13% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); cassava accounts for 90% of food output; other crops - rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables; cash crops include coffee and cocoa; forest products important export earner; imports over 90% of food needs

Budget

revenues: $765 million expenditures: $952 million, including capital expenditures of $65 million (1990)

Currency

1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $63 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $2.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $15 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $338 million

Electricity

capacity: 140,000 kW production: 315 million kWh consumption per capita: 135 kWh (1991)

Exchange rates

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 592.05 (January 1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948

Exports

$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: crude oil 72%, lumber, plywood, coffee, cocoa, sugar, diamonds partners: US, France, other EC countries

External debt

$4.1 billion (1991)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

$704 million (c.i.f., 1990) commodities: foodstuffs, consumer goods, intermediate manufactures, capital equipment partners: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, other EC countries, US, Japan, Brazil

Industrial production

growth rate 1.2% (1989); accounts for 33% of GDP; includes petroleum

Industries

petroleum, cement, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, cigarette

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

-0.6% (1991 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $7 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$2,900 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

NA

Overview

Congo's economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. A reform program, supported by the IMF and World Bank, ran into difficulties in 1990-91 because of problems in changing to a democratic political regime and a heavy debt-servicing burden. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing about two-thirds of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s rapidly rising oil revenues enabled Congo to finance large-scale development projects with growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. Subsequently, growth has slowed to an average of roughly 1.5% annually, only half the population growth rate. Political turmoil and misguided government investment have derailed economic reform programs sponsored by the IMF and World Bank.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total area: 342,000 sq km land area: 341,500 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana

Climate

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

Coastline

169 km

Environment

current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; deforestation natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

International disputes

long segment of boundary with Zaire along the Congo River is indefinite (no division of the river or its islands has been made)

Irrigated land

40 sq km (1989)

Land boundaries

total 5,504 km, Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Gabon 1,903 km, Zaire 2,410 km

Land use

arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 29% forest and woodland: 62% other: 7%

Location

Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between Gabon and Zaire

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 200 nm

Natural resources

petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas

Note

about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, or along the railroad between them

Terrain

coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin

Administrative divisions

9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha

Capital

Brazzaville

Constitution

new constitution approved by referendum March 1992

Digraph

CF

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Pierre Damien BOUSSOUKOU-BOUMBA chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: (202) 726-5500 or 5501

Executive branch

chief of state: President Pascal LISSOUBA (since August 1992); election last held 2-16 August 1992 (next to be held August 1997); results - President Pascal LISSOUBA won with 61% of the vote head of government: Prime Minister Jacques Joachim YHOMBI-OPANGO (since 23 June 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; named by the president

FAX

[242] 83-63-38

Flag

red, divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Independence

15 August 1960 (from France)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Legal system

based on French civil law system and customary law

Legislative branch

bicameral

Member of

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UDEAC, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: Republic of the Congo conventional short form: Congo local long form: Republique Populaire du Congo local short form: Congo former: Congo/Brazzaville

National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

election last held 3 October 1993; results - percentage vote by party NA; seats - (125 total) UPADS 64, URD/PCT 58, others 3

National holiday

Congolese National Day, 15 August (1960)

Other political or pressure groups

Union of Congolese Socialist Youth (UJSC); Congolese Trade Union Congress (CSC); Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women (URFC); General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students (UGEEC)

Political parties and leaders

Congolese Labor Party (PCT), Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president; Pan-African Union for Social Development (UPADS), Pascal LISSOUBA, leader; Association for Democracy and Development (RDD) - Joachim Yhombi OPANGO, president; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (MCDDI), Bernard KOLELAS, leader; Association for Democracy and Social Progress (RDPS), Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president; Union of Democratic Forces (UFD), David Charles GANAO, leader; Union for Development and Social Progress (UDPS), Jean-Michael BOKAMBA-YANGOUMA, leader note: Congo has many political parties of which these are among the most important

Senate

election last held 26 July 1992 (next to be held July 1998); results - percentage vote by party NA; seats - (60 total) UPADS 23, MCDDI 14, RDD 8, RDPS 5, PCT 2, others 8

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador William RAMSEY embassy: Avenue Amilcar Cabral, Brazzaville mailing address: B. P. 1015, Brazzaville telephone: (242) 83-20-70

Birth rate

40.27 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

16.49 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

south: Kongo 48% north: Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12% center: Teke 17%, Europeans 8,500 (mostly French)

Infant mortality rate

111 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

79,100 wage earners by occupation: agriculture 75%, commerce, industry, and government 25% note: 51% of population of working age; 40% of population economically active (1985)

Languages

French (official), African languages (Lingala and Kikongo are the most widely used)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 47.56 years male: 45.76 years female: 49.41 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 57% male: 70% female: 44%

Nationality

noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

2,446,902 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

2.38% (1994 est.)

Religions

Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%

Total fertility rate

5.3 children born/woman (1994 est.)