Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 provided courtesy of
the libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
======================================================
National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : CI WOFACT WO0057
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994
 
AGENCY      : CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
PROGRAM     : WORLD FACTBOOK
TITLE       : World Factbook: Congo
 
Source key      : CI 
Program key     : CI WOFACT 
Update sched.   : Annually         
Data type       : TEXT 
End year        : 1994
Date of record  : 19941020
Keywords 3      :  
Keywords 3      : | Congo 
 
 
                                   Congo
 
 
                                 Geography
 
Location:
     Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between Gabon and
     Zaire
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
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; 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
Note:
     about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, or
     along the railroad between them
 
                                  People
 
Population:
     2,446,902 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.38% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     40.27 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     16.49 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     111 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     47.56 years
male:
     45.76 years
female:
     49.41 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     5.3 children born/woman (1994 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 (1990 est.)
total population:
     57%
male:
     70%
 
 
female:
     44%
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)
 
                                Government
 
Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of the Congo
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republique Populaire du Congo
local short form:
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 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
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 -
     percentage 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, 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
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
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
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 half the population growth rate. Political turmoil and
     misguided government investment have derailed economic reform programs
     sponsored by the IMF and World Bank.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $7 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     NA
National product per capita:
     $2,900 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     -0.6% (1991 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., 1990)
commodities:
     crude oil 72%, lumber, plywood, coffee, cocoa, sugar, diamonds
partners:
     US, France, other EC countries
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
External debt:
     $4.1 billion (1991)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 1.2% (1989); accounts for 33% of GDP; includes petroleum
Electricity:
capacity:
     140,000 kW
production:
     315 million kWh
 
 
consumption per capita:
     135 kWh (1991)
Industries:
     petroleum, cement, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap,
     cigarette
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
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 - 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
Fiscal year:
     calendar year
 
                              Communications
 
Railroads:
     797 km, 1.067-meter gauge, single track (includes 285 km that are
     privately owned)
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)
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
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
 
                              Defense Forces
 
Branches:
     Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Police
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 551,151; fit for military service 280,372; reach
     military age (20) annually 24,441 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP
 
 
 
===========================================================================
This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) CD-ROM,
November, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/11/v.1-2 / Presented by Raleigh Muns,
(srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu) University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.