CONGO
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 342,000 km2; land area: 341,500 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries: 5,504 km total; 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
Disputes: long section 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 NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 29%; forest and woodland 62%; other 7%
Environment: deforestation; about 70% of the population lives in
Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, or along the railroad between them
PEOPLE
Population: 2,309,444 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)
Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 108 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 56 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 5.7 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Congolese (sing., pl.); adjective--Congolese
or Congo
Ethnic divisions: about 15 ethnic groups divided into some 75
tribes, almost all Bantu; most important ethnic groups are Kongo (48%) in
the south, Sangha (20%) and M'Bochi (12%) in the north, Teke (17%) in the
center; about 8,500 Europeans, mostly French
Religion: Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%
Language: French (official); many African languages with Lingala
and Kikongo most widely used
Literacy: 57% (male 70%, female 44%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 79,100 wage earners; agriculture 75%, commerce,
industry, and government 25%; 51% of population of working age; 40% of
population economically active (1985)
Organized labor: 20% of labor force (1979 est.)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Republic of the Congo
Type: republic
Capital: Brazzaville
Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regions,
singular--region); Bouenza, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala,
Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha; note--there may be a new capital district
of Brazzaville
Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France; formerly
Congo/Brazzaville)
Constitution: 8 July 1979, currently being modified
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law
National holiday: National Day, 15 August (1960)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly
(Assemblee Nationale Populaire)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 8 February
1979);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Brig. Gen. Louis-Sylvain
GOMA (since 9 January 1991)
Political parties and leaders: Congolese Labor Party
(PCT), President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, leader; note--multiparty system
legalized, with over 50 parties established
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 26-31 July 1989 (next to be held July 1994);
results--President SASSOU-NGUESSO unanimously reelected leader of the
PCT by the Party Congress, which automatically made him president;
People's National Assembly--last held 24 September 1989 (next
to be held NA 1994); results--PCT was the only party;
seats--(153 total) single list of candidates nominated by the PCT
Communists: unknown number of Communists and sympathizers
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, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UDEAC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Roger ISSOMBO; Chancery at
4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington DC 20011; telephone (202) 726-5500;
US--Ambassador James Daniel PHILLIPS; Embassy at Avenue
Amilcar Cabral, Brazzaville (mailing address is B. P. 1015, Brazzaville,
or Box C, APO New York 09662-0006); telephone (242) 83-20-70 or 83-26-24
Flag: red with the national emblem in the upper hoist-side corner;
the emblem includes a yellow five-pointed star above a crossed hoe and
hammer (like the hammer and sickle design) in yellow, flanked by two
curved green palm branches; uses the popular pan-African colors of
Ethiopia
ECONOMY
Overview: 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. The world decline in
oil prices, however, has forced the government to launch an austerity
program to cope with declining receipts and mounting foreign debts.
GDP: $2.26 billion, per capita $1,050; real growth rate 0.6%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.6% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $522 million; expenditures $767 million,
including capital expenditures of $141 million (1989)
Exports: $751 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--crude petroleum 72%, lumber, plywood, coffee, cocoa,
sugar, diamonds;
partners--US, France, other EC
Imports: $564 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--foodstuffs, consumer goods, intermediate manufactures,
capital equipment;
partners--France, Italy, other EC, US, FRG, Spain, Japan, Brazil
External debt: $4.5 billion (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 1.2% (1989); accounts for
33% of GDP, including petroleum
Electricity: 133,000 kW capacity; 300 million kWh produced,
130 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: crude oil, cement, sawmills, brewery, sugar mill, palm
oil, soap, cigarettes
Agriculture: accounts for 10% 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: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $60
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $2.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $15 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $338 million
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc
(plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)
per US$1--256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85
(1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 797 km, 1.067-meter gauge, single track (includes 285 km
that are privately owned)
Highways: 12,000 km total; 560 km bituminous surface treated;
850 km gravel, laterite; 5,350 km improved earth; 5,240 km unimproved
roads
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)
Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft
Airports: 50 total, 45 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 18 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
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;
stations--3 AM, 1 FM, 4 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, paramilitary
National People's Militia, National Police
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 509,040; 258,861 fit for
military service; 24,068 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: $99 million, 4.6% of GDP (1987 est.)