Compare Barbados (2002) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2004)

Compare Barbados (2002) z Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2004)

	Barbados (2002)	Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2004)

Administrative divisions	11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status	10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and one city (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu
Age structure	0-14 years: 21.4% (male 29,888; female 29,338) 15-64 years: 69.8% (male 94,214; female 98,811) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,378; female 14,978) (2002 est.)	0-14 years: 48.2% (male 14,122,237; female 14,008,654) 15-64 years: 49.3% (male 14,097,301; female 14,646,285) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 590,262; female 853,191) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	sugarcane, vegetables, cotton	coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
Airports	1 (2001)	230 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	total: 24 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 206 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 92 under 914 m: 97 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 431 sq km land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km
Area - comparative	2.5 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Background	The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.	Since 1997, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC; formerly called Zaire) has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow in 1994 of refugees from the fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. The government of former president MOBUTU Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent KABILA in May 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999 by the DROC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued. KABILA was assassinated on 16 January 2001 and his son Joseph KABILA was named head of state ten days later. In October 2002, the new president was successful in getting occupying Rwandan forces to withdraw from eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and set up a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003; Joseph KABILA remains as president and is joined by four vice presidents from the former government, former rebel camps, and the political opposition.
Birth rate	13.32 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	44.73 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $847 million (including grants) expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)	revenues: $269 million expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.)
Capital	Bridgetown	Kinshasa
Climate	tropical; rainy season (June to October)	tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November to March, dry season April to October
Coastline	97 km	37 km
Constitution	30 November 1966	a new constitution was adopted 17 July 2003
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Barbados	conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo local short form: none former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire abbreviation: DROC
Currency	Barbadian dollar (BBD)	Congolese franc (CDF)
Death rate	8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	14.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$425 million	$11.6 billion (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Earl N. PHILLIPS, Jr. embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246	chief of mission: Ambassador Aubrey HOOKS embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (88) 43608 FAX: [243] (88) 43467
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9200 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles	chief of mission: Ambassador Faida MITIFU chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609
Disputes - international	none	Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war, tribal conflict, and rebel gang fighting that has drawn in neighboring states of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda; in the Great Lakes region and Sudan, heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledge to end conflict, but unchecked localized violence continues unabated; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Economic aid - recipient	$9.1 million (1995)	$195.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview	Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2001 due to slowdowns in tourism and consumer spending. Growth will remain anemic in 2002 with a recovery likely near the end of the year.	The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began in August 1998, has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, has increased external debt, and has resulted in the deaths from war, famine, and disease of perhaps 3.5 million people. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. Several IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data. Economic stability, aided by international donors, improved in 2003. New mining contracts have been approved, which - combined with high mineral and metal prices - could improve Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth.
Electricity - consumption	688.2 million kWh (2000)	3.839 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2000)	1.097 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2000)	60 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	740 million kWh (2000)	5.243 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
Environment - current issues	pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers	poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage
Environment - international agreements	party to: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%	over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population
Exchange rates	Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar)	Congolese francs per US dollar - NA (2003), 346.485 (2002), 206.617 (2001), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Billie MILLER (since 6 September 1994) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister	chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: National Executive Council, appointed by the president elections: prior to the overthrow of MOBUTU Sese Seko, the president was elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 29 July 1984 (next was scheduled to be held in May 1997); formerly, there was also a prime minister who was elected by the High Council of the Republic; note - a Transitional Government is drafting a new constitution with free elections scheduled to be held in NA 2005 election results: results of the last election were: MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga reelected president in 1984 without opposition note: Joseph KABILA succeeded his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, following the latter's assassination in January 2001, negotiations with rebel leaders led to the establishment of a transitional government in July 2003 with free elections scheduled to be held in NA 2005
Exports	$272 million (2000)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing	diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt
Exports - partners	Caribbean Community 43.2%, US 15.3%, UK 13.2% (2000)	Belgium 54.9%, US 15.4%, Zimbabwe 11.1%, Finland 4.8% (2003)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)	light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side
GDP	purchasing power parity - $4 billion (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $40.05 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 6% industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 55% industry: 11% services: 34% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $700 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-2% (2001 est.)	6.5% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	13 10 N, 59 32 W	0 00 N, 25 00 E
Geography - note	easternmost Caribbean island	straddles equator; has very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands
Highways	total: 1,650 km paved: 1,628 km unpaved: 22 km (1998)	total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center	illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center
Imports	$1.16 billion (2000)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components	foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Imports - partners	US 40.8%, Caribbean Community 19.8%, UK 8.1%, Japan 5.2%, Canada 4.2% (2000)	South Africa 17%, Belgium 14.9%, France 12.6%, Germany 6.8%, Kenya 5.4%, Netherlands 4% (2003)
Independence	30 November 1966 (from UK)	30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
Industrial production growth rate	-3.2% (2000 est.)	NA
Industries	tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export	mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement
Infant mortality rate	11.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 94.69 deaths/1,000 live births male: 103.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 85.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.5% (2001 est.)	14% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	19 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	10 sq km (1998 est.)	110 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services)	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Labor force	128,500 (2001 est.)	14.51 million (1993 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.)	NA
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 10,730 km border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km
Land use	arable land: 37.21% permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (1998 est.)	arable land: 2.96% permanent crops: 0.52% other: 96.52% (2001)
Languages	English	French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Legal system	English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts	based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly - last held 20 January 1999 (next to be held by January 2004) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 26, DLP 2	a 300-member Transitional Constituent Assembly established in August 2000 elections: NA; members of the Transitional Constituent Assembly were appointed by former President Laurent Desire KABILA
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 73.49 years male: 70.9 years female: 76.12 years (2002 est.)	total population: 49.14 years male: 47.06 years female: 51.28 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba total population: 65.5% male: 76.2% female: 55.1% (2003 est.)
Location	Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela	Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Africa
Maritime claims	exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
Merchant marine	total: 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 629,987 GRT/1,073,991 DWT ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 26, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bahamas, The 1, Canada 4, Germany 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 7, Norway 7, United Kingdom 18 (2002 est.)	none
Military branches	Royal Barbados Defense Force (including Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force	Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$NA	$115.5 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA%	1.4% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 78,132 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 12,706,971 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 53,532 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 6,480,645 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 30 November (1966)	Independence Day, 30 June (1960)
Nationality	noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial) adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo
Natural hazards	infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides	periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Natural resources	petroleum, fish, natural gas	cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber
Net migration rate	-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: fighting between the Congolese Government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese internally displaced and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2004 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 54 km; oil 71 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Richard HAYNES]	Democratic Social Christian Party or PDSC [Andre BO-BOLIKO]; Forces for Renovation for Union and Solidarity or FONUS [Joseph OLENGHANKOY]; National Congolese Lumumbist Movement or MNC [Francois LUMUMBA]; Popular Movement of the Revolution or MPR (three factions: MPR-Fait Prive [Catherine NZUZI wa Mbombo]; MPR/Vunduawe [Felix VUNDUAWE]; MPR/Mananga [MANANGA Dintoka Mpholo]); Unified Lumumbast Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI wa Mulumba]; Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans or UFERI (two factions: UFERI [Lokambo OMOKOKO]; UFERI/OR [Adolph Kishwe MAYA])
Political pressure groups and leaders	Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE]	NA
Population	276,607 (July 2002 est.)	58,317,930 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA
Population growth rate	0.46% (2002 est.)	2.99% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina)	Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)
Radios	237,000 (1997)	-
Railways	0 km	total: 5,138 km narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2003)
Religions	Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%	Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2002 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia	general assessment: poor domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 243; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	108,000 (1997)	10,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	8,013 (1997)	1 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus two cable channels) (1997)	4 (2001)
Terrain	relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region	vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Total fertility rate	1.64 children born/woman (2002 est.)	6.62 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	10% (2001 est.)	NA (2003 est.)
Waterways	none	15,000 km (navigation on the Congo curtailed by fighting) (2004)

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