1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Administrative divisions
9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha
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
Airports
total: 41 usable: 37 with permanent-surface runways: 5 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 16
Area
total area: 342,000 sq km land area: 341,500 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana
Birth rate
40.27 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Branches
Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Police
Budget
revenues: $765 million expenditures: $952 million, including capital expenditures of $65 million (1990)
Capital
Brazzaville
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
Constitution
new constitution approved by referendum March 1992
Currency
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Death rate
16.49 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GDP
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
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)
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
Ethnic divisions
south: Kongo 48% north: Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12% center: Teke 17%, Europeans 8,500 (mostly French)
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
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
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)
FAX
[242] 83-63-38
Fiscal year
calendar year
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
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
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
Independence
15 August 1960 (from France)
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
Infant mortality rate
111 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
-0.6% (1991 est.)
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
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)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
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)
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%
Languages
French (official), African languages (Lingala and Kikongo are the most widely used)
Legal system
based on French civil law system and customary law
Legislative branch
bicameral
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%
Location
Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between Gabon and Zaire
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 551,151; fit for military service 280,372; reach military age (20) annually 24,441 (1994 est.)
Map references
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 200 nm
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)
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $7 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$2,900 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
NA
Nationality
noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo
Natural resources
petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Note
about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, or along the railroad between them
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)
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.
Pipelines
crude oil 25 km
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
Population
2,446,902 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
2.38% (1994 est.)
Ports
Pointe-Noire (ocean port), Brazzaville (river port)
Railroads
797 km, 1.067-meter gauge, single track (includes 285 km that are privately owned)
Religions
Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%
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
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
Terrain
coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin
Total fertility rate
5.3 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
republic
Unemployment rate
NA%
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