View Intelligence Dossier Back to 1991 CSV Excel Print All Years

Communications

Airports [time series]

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

Civil air [time series]

4 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

12,000 km total; 560 km bituminous surface treated; 850 km gravel, laterite; 5,350 km improved earth; 5,240 km unimproved roads

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) Rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; the rest are used for local traffic only

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil 25 km

Ports [time series]

Pointe-Noire (ocean port), Brazzaville (river port)

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

797 km, 1.067-meter gauge, single track (includes 285 km that are privately owned)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, paramilitary National People's Militia, National Police

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$99 million, 4.6% of GDP (1987 est.)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 509,040; 258,861 fit for military service; 24,068 reach military age (20) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues $522 million; expenditures $767 million, including capital expenditures of $141 million (1989)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Economic aid [time series]

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

Electricity [time series]

133,000 kW capacity; 300 million kWh produced, 130 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

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)

Exports [time series]

$751 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--crude petroleum 72%, lumber, plywood, coffee, cocoa, sugar, diamonds; partners--US, France, other EC

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$4.5 billion (December 1988)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$2.26 billion, per capita $1,050; real growth rate 0.6% (1989 est.)

Imports [time series]

$564 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--foodstuffs, consumer goods, intermediate manufactures, capital equipment; partners--France, Italy, other EC, US, FRG, Spain, Japan, Brazil

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 1.2% (1989); accounts for 33% of GDP, including petroleum

Industries [time series]

crude oil, cement, sawmills, brewery, sugar mill, palm oil, soap, cigarettes

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

4.6% (1989 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA%

Geography

Climate [time series]

tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator

Coastline [time series]

169 km Territorial sea: 200 nm

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than Montana

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

long section with Zaire along the Congo River is indefinite (no division of the river or its islands has been made)

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

deforestation; about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, or along the railroad between them

Land boundaries [time series]

5,504 km total; Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Gabon 1,903 km, Zaire 2,410 km

Land use [time series]

arable land 2%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 29%; forest and woodland 62%; other 7%

Natural resources [time series]

petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas

Terrain [time series]

coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin

Area (Total area) [time series]

342,000 km2; land area: 341,500 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

9 regions (regions, singular--region); Bouenza, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha; note--there may be a new capital district of Brazzaville

Capital [time series]

Brazzaville

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

unknown number of Communists and sympathizers

Constitution [time series]

8 July 1979, currently being modified

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

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

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

15 August 1960 (from France; formerly Congo/Brazzaville)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme) 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)

Legal system [time series]

based on French civil law system and customary law

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral National People's Assembly (Assemblee Nationale Populaire)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of the Congo

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

National Day, 15 August (1960)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

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)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Congolese Labor Party (PCT), President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, leader; note--multiparty system legalized, with over 50 parties established

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 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

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

43 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

108 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

79,100 wage earners; agriculture 75%, commerce, industry, and government 25%; 51% of population of working age; 40% of population economically active (1985)

Languages (Language) [time series]

French (official); many African languages with Lingala and Kikongo most widely used

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

52 years male, 56 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

57% (male 70%, female 44%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun--Congolese (sing., pl.); adjective--Congolese or Congo

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

20% of labor force (1979 est.)

Population [time series]

2,309,444 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%

Total fertility rate [time series]

5.7 children born/woman (1991)

Congo, Republic of the