CONGO
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CONGO
@Congo:Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between
Angola and Gabon
Map references: Africa
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CONGO - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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BRAZZAVILLE 596,000 4.14S, 15.14E 242- GMT+1
Pointe-Noire 298,000 4.46S, 11.53E 242- GMT+1
Nkayi 38,000 4.07S, 13.17E 242- GMT+1
Loubomo 37,000 4.09S, 12.47E 242- GMT+1
Ngamaba-Mfilou 25,000 4.06S, 15.05E 242- GMT+1
Loandjili 16,000 4.44S, 11.52E 242- GMT+1
Mossendjo 12,000 2.55S, 12.48E 242- GMT+1
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Area:
total area: 342,000 sq km
land area: 341,500 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana
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
Coastline: 169 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm
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)
Climate: tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to
October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly
enervating climate astride the Equator
Terrain: coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern
basin
Natural resources: petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium,
copper, phosphates, natural gas
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 29%
forest and woodland: 62%
other: 7%
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution
from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable;
deforestation
natural hazards: seasonal flooding
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Ozone Layer
Protection, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified -
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea,
Tropical Timber 94
Note: about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire,
or along the railroad between them
@Congo:People
Population: 2,504,996 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (female 543,324; male 548,840)
15-64 years: 53% (female 682,927; male 645,045)
65 years and over: 3% (female 49,879; male 34,981) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.32% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 39.86 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 16.7 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 109.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.09 years
male: 45.23 years
female: 49 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.23 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo
Ethnic divisions:
south: Kongo 48%
north: Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%
center: Teke 17%, Europeans 8,500 (mostly French)
Religions: Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%
Languages: French (official), African languages (Lingala and Kikongo
are the most widely used)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1984)
total population: 60%
male: 71%
female: 49%
Labor force: 79,100 wage earners
by occupation: agriculture 75%, commerce, industry, and government 25%
@Congo:Government
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
Digraph: CF
Type: republic
Capital: Brazzaville
Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1
commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala,
Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha
Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Congolese National Day, 15 August (1960)
Constitution: new constitution approved by referendum March 1992
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Pascal LISSOUBA (since August 1992);
election last held 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
Legislative branch: bicameral
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
Senate: election last held 26 July 1992 (next to be held July 1998);
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total) UPADS 23,
MCDDI 14, RDD 8, RDPS 5, PCT 2, others 8
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
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
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)
Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77,
GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, UDEAC, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM II,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Pierre Damien BOUSSOUKOU-BOUMBA
chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011
telephone: [1] (202) 726-0825
FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador William C. RAMSEY
embassy: Avenue Amilcar Cabral, Brazzaville
mailing address: B. P. 1015, Brazzaville
telephone: [242] 83 20 70
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
Economy
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 two-thirds of the population growth
rate. Political turmoil and misguided government investment have
derailed economic reform programs sponsored by the IMF and World Bank.
Even with these difficulties Congo enjoys one of the highest incomes
per capita in sub-Saharan Africa
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.7 billion (1993
est.)
National product real growth rate: -2.1% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $2,820 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $765 million
expenditures: $952 million, including capital expenditures of $65
million (1990)
Exports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: crude oil 83%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee,
diamonds
partners: US, Italy, France, Spain, other EC countries
Imports: $472 million (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities: intermediate manufactures, capital equipment,
construction materials, foodstuffs
partners: France, US, Italy, Japan, other EC countries
External debt: $4 billion (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 8% (1993 est.); accounts for 35% of
GDP; includes petroleum
Electricity:
capacity: 120,000 kW
production: 400 million kWh
consumption per capita: 201 kWh (1993)
Industries: petroleum, cement, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm
oil, soap, cigarette
Agriculture: accounts for 12% 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
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
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1
- 529.43 (January 1994), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990)
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
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Congo:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 797 km (includes 285 km that are privately owned)
narrow gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge
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: Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 41
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
with paved runways under 914 m: 11
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 8
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 18
@Congo:Communications
Telephone system: 18,100 telephones; 7 telephones/1,000 persons;
services adequate for government use; key centers are Brazzaville,
Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo
local: NA
intercity: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and
coaxial cable
international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 4
televisions: NA
@Congo:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 568,663; males fit for military
service 289,335; males reach military age (20) annually 24,749 (1995
est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $110 million, 3.8% of
GDP (1993)
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