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Compare Benin (2008) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2003)

Compare Benin (2008) z Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2003)

 Benin (2008)Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2003)
 BeninCongo, Democratic Republic of the
Administrative divisions 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou 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: 43.9% (male 1,788,248/female 1,754,940)


15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,138,649/female 2,203,291)


65 years and over: 2.4% (male 77,844/female 115,342) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 48.3% (male 13,734,706; female 13,624,579)


15-64 years: 49.2% (male 13,648,155; female 14,203,077)


65 years and over: 2.5% (male 583,366; female 831,156) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
Airports 5 (2007) 229 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
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 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 4


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)
total: 205


1,524 to 2,437 m: 19


914 to 1,523 m: 95


under 914 m: 91 (2002)
Area total: 112,620 sq km


land: 110,620 sq km


water: 2,000 sq km
total: 2,345,410 sq km


land: 2,267,600 sq km


water: 77,810 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Pennsylvania slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Background Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. YAYI has begun a high profile fight against corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth. 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, an agreement was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and set up a government of national unity.
Birth rate 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 45.12 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $936.9 million


expenditures: $1.226 billion (2007 est.)
revenues: $269 million


expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.)
Capital name: Porto-Novo (official capital)


geographic coordinates: 6 29 N, 2 37 E


time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


note: Cotonou (seat of government)
Kinshasa
Climate tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north 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 121 km 37 km
Constitution adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990; transitional constitution promulgated in April 1994; in November 1998, a draft constitution was approved by former President Laurent KABILA but it was not ratified by a national referendum; one outcome of the ongoing inter-Congolese dialogue is to be a new constitution
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Benin


conventional short form: Benin


local long form: Republique du Benin


local short form: Benin


former: Dahomey
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 - Congolese franc (CDF)
Death rate 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 14.87 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $1.2 billion (2007) $12.9 billion (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN


embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou


mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou


telephone: [229] 21-30-06-50


FAX: [229] 21-30-03-84
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 Cyrille Segbe OGUIN


chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656


FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996
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 two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; Benin accused Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival gang clashes; Benin and Togo announced plans in 2006 to construct a joint hydroelectric dam on the Mona River at the southern end of the border Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war that has drawn in military forces from neighboring states, with Uganda and Rwanda supporting the rebel movements that occupy much of the eastern portion of the state - Tutsi, Hutu, Lendu, Hema and other conflicting ethnic groups, political rebels, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda - heads of the Great Lakes states pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; most of the Congo River boundary with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area)
Economic aid - recipient $374.7 million (2006) $195.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past seven years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. Specific projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's $307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture though the government annulled the privatization of Benin's state cotton company in November 2007 after the discovery of irregularities in the bidding process. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. An insufficient electrical supply continues to adversely affect Benin's economic growth though the government recently has taken steps to increase domestic power production. 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. A number of 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.
Electricity - consumption 587 million kWh (2005) 3.839 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 1.097 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 595 million kWh (2005) 60 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 105 million kWh (2005) 5.243 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 1.8%


hydro: 98.2%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
Environment - current issues inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups Fon and related 39.2%, Adja and related 15.2%, Yoruba and related 12.3%, Bariba and related 9.2%, Peulh and related 7%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4%, Dendi and related 2.5%, other 1.6% (includes Europeans), unspecified 2.9% (2002 census) 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 Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) Congolese francs per US dollar - 346.49 (2002), 206.62 (2001), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999), 1.61 (1998)
Executive branch chief of state: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2011)


election results: Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5%
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 0 bbl/day (2007) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt
Exports - partners China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) Belgium 64.4%, US 13.4%, Zimbabwe 6.7%, Finland 4.9% (2002)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side 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 - $34 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 33.2%


industry: 14.5%


services: 52.3% (2007 est.)
agriculture: 55%


industry: 11%


services: 34% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $600 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.5% (2007 est.) 3.5% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 9 30 N, 2 15 E 0 00 N, 25 00 E
Geography - note sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands 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
Heliports - 1 (2002)
Highways - 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%: 3.1%


highest 10%: 29% (2003)
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations 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 16,830 bbl/day (2007 est.) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Imports - partners China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) Belgium 14.6%, South Africa 14.2%, Nigeria 10.3%, France 9.5%, Germany 7.3%, Netherlands 5.3%, Kenya 5.2% (2002)
Independence 1 August 1960 (from France) 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
Industrial production growth rate 4.5% (2007 est.) NA%
Industries textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement
Infant mortality rate total: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total: 96.56 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 105.15 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 87.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.5% (2007 est.) 16% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 1 (2001)
Irrigated land 120 sq km (2003) 110 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Labor force 5.38 million (2007 est.) 14.51 million (1993 est.)
Labor force - by occupation - NA
Land boundaries total: 1,989 km


border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 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: 23.53%


permanent crops: 2.37%


other: 74.1% (2005)
arable land: 2.96%


permanent crops: 0.52%


other: 96.52% (1998 est.)
Languages French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Legal system based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18
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: 53.44 years


male: 52.28 years


female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)
total population: 48.93 years


male: 46.83 years


female: 51.09 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 34.7%


male: 47.9%


female: 23.3% (2002 census)
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 Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Map references Africa Africa
Maritime claims territorial sea: 200 nm exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine - none (2002 est.)
Military branches Benin Armed Forces (FAB): Army (l'Arme de Terre), Benin Navy (Forces Navales Beninois, FNB), Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2008) Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Security Battalion
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $250 million (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.7% (2006) 4.6% (FY97)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 12,292,933 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 6,267,752 (2003 est.)
National holiday National Day, 1 August (1960) Independence Day, 30 June (1960)
Nationality noun: Beninese (singular and plural)


adjective: Beninese
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)


adjective: Congolese or Congo
Natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Natural resources small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber 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 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) -1.26 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 (2003 est.)
Pipelines - gas 54 km; oil 71 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Benin Renaissance or RB [Rosine SOGLO]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin or FCBE; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Theophile NATA]; Key Force or FC [Lazare SÈHOUÉTO]; Movement for the People's Alternative or MAP [Olivier CAPO-CHICHI]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Dominique HOUNGNINOU]; Social Democrat Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Union for the Relief or UPR [Issa SALIFOU]; Union for Democracy and National Solidarity or UDS [Sacca LAFIA]


note: approximately 20 additional minor parties
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 NA NA
Population 8,078,314


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 2007 est.)
56,625,039


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 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 37.4% (2007 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 2.674% (2007 est.) 2.9% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors - Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 34, shortwave 1 (2007) AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)
Railways total: 758 km


narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
total: 4,772 km


narrow gauge: 3,621 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2002)
Religions Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census) Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.971 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female


total population: 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.7 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line network is almost saturated with fixed-line teledensity stuck at a meager 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership is increasing


domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; four mobile-cellular providers


international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
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: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 77,300 (2006) 20,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.056 million (2006) 15,000 (2000)
Television broadcast stations 6 (2007) 4 (2001)
Terrain mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Total fertility rate 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) 6.69 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% NA%
Waterways 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) 15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes)
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