The 1994 CIA World Factbook

by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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

@Congo, 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)

@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 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

@Congo, 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

@Congo, 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

@Congo, Defense Forces