Geography
Area: 342,000 sq. km (132,000 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New
Mexico.
Cities: Capital--Brazzaville (pop. 800,000). Other cities--Pointe-Noire
(450,000), Dolisie (150,000).
Climate: Tropical. Tropical jungle in the North (country seasonally
split--half lies above the Equator; half below the Equator).
Terrain: Coastal plains, fertile valleys, central plateau, forested
flood plains.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Congolese (sing. and pl.).
Population (2004 est.): 2,998,040.
Annual growth rate (2004 est.): 1.4%.
Ethnic groups: 15 principal Bantu groups; more than 70 subgroups.
Largest groups are Bacongo, Vili, Bateke, M'Bochi, and Sangha. Also
present is a small population (less than 100,000) of Pygmies,
ethnically unrelated to the Bantu majority.
Christian singles note-Religions: Traditional
beliefs 50%, Roman Catholic 35%, other Christian 15%, Muslim 2%.
Languages: French (official), Lingala and Munukutuba (national).
Health: Infant mortality rate (2004 est.)—93.86 deaths/1,000
live births. Life expectancy (2004 est.)—49.51 yrs.
Work force: About 40% of population, two-thirds of whom work in
agriculture.
Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: August 15, 1960.
Constitution: New constitution adopted in nationwide referendum on
January 20, 2002.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), Council of
Ministers (cabinet). Legislative--bicameral legislature made up
of a Senate and a National Assembly. Judicial--Supreme Court,
Court of Accounts and Budgetary Discipline, Courts of Appeal (Title
VIII of the 2002 constitution), and the Constitutional Court (Title IX
of the 2002 constitution). Other--Economic Council and Human
Rights Commission.
Administrative subdivisions: 10 departments, divided into districts,
plus the capital district.
Political parties: More than 100 new parties formed (but not all
function) since multi-party democracy was introduced in 1990. The
largest are the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS),
Congolese Labor Party (PCT), Congolese Movement for Democracy and
Integral Development (MCDDI), Coalition for Democracy and Social
Progress (RDPS), Coalition for Democracy and Development (RDD), Union
of Democratic Forces (UFD), Union of Democratic Renewal (URD), Union
for Development and Social Progress (UDPS). Following the June-October
1997 war and the 1998-99 civil conflict, many parties, including UPADS
and MCDDI, were left in disarray as their leadership fled the country.
By 2002, many of the leaders had returned, with several notable
exceptions--former Presidents Pascal Lissouba and Joachim
Yhomby-Opango, and former Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas.
Suffrage: Universal adult.
Economy
GDP (2003 est.): $2.186 billion.
Per capita income (2003): $700.
Natural resources: Petroleum, wood, potash, lead, zinc, uranium,
phosphates, natural gas, hydropower.
Structure of production (2001): Government and services--40.3%;
petroleum sector--38.9%; agriculture and forestry--10.5%;
utilities and industry--6.0%; other--4.3%.
Agriculture: Products--manioc, sugar, rice, corn, peanuts,
vegetables, coffee, cocoa, forest products. Land--less than 2%
cultivated.
Trade (2003 est.): Exports--$2.293 billion: petroleum (89% of
export earnings), lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds. Imports—(2003
est.) $666.9 million: capital equipment, construction materials,
foodstuffs.
PEOPLE
Christian singles note-Congo's sparse
population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country,
leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle in the north virtually
uninhabited. Thus, Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in
Africa, with 70% of its total population living in Brazzaville,
Pointe-Noire, or along the 332-mile railway that connects them. In
southern rural areas, industrial and commercial activity suffered as a
consequence of the civil wars in the late 1990s. Except in Kouilou
province and Pointe Noire, commercial activity other than subsistence
activity came nearly to a halt. A slow recovery began in 2000.
Before the 1997 war, about 9,000 Europeans and other non-Africans
lived in Congo, most of whom were French. Only a fraction of this
number remains.
