Compare Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2007)

Compare Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) z Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2007)

	Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006)	Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2007)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu note: according to the Constitution adopted in December 2005, the current administrative divisions will be subdivided into 26 new provinces by 2009
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 47.6% (male 15,718,614/female 15,557,058) 15-64 years: 49.9% (male 16,224,734/female 16,571,549) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 680,313/female 999,244) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts	coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
Airports	1 (2006)	237 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 26 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 211 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 99 (2007)
Area	total: 14 sq km land: 14 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island	total: 2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km
Area - comparative	about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Background	There are 27 coral islands in the group. Captain William KEELING discovered the islands in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the 19th century. Annexed by the UK in 1857, they were transferred to the Australian Government in 1955. The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between the ethnic Europeans on West Island and the ethnic Malays on Home Island.	Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability. Col. Joseph MOBUTU seized power and declared himself president in a November 1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to MOBUTU Sese Seko - as well as that of the country - to Zaire. MOBUTU retained his position for 32 years through several sham elections, as well as through the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to the toppling of the MOBUTU regime by a rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda and fronted by Laurent KABILA. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but in August 1998 his regime was itself challenged by a second insurrection again backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Troops from Angola, Chad, Namibia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe intervened to support KABILA's regime. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph KABILA, was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003. Joseph KABILA as president and four vice presidents represented the former government, former rebel groups, and the political opposition. The transitional government held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the presidency, National Assembly, and provincial legislatures in 2006. KABILA was inaugurated president in December 2006. The National Assembly was installed in September 2006. Its president, Vital KAMERHE, was chosen in December. Provincial assemblies were constituted in early 2007, and elected governors and national senators in January 2007.
Birth rate	NA	42.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $700 million expenditures: $2 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	name: West Island geographic coordinates: 12 10 S, 96 55 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Kinshasa geographic coordinates: 4 19 S, 15 18 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year	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	26 km	37 km
Constitution	Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992	18 February 2006
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands	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: DRC
Death rate	NA deaths/1,000 population	10.34 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$10 billion (2006 est.)
Dependency status	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	chief of mission: Ambassador Roger MEECE embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (81) 225 5872 FAX: [243] (81) 301 0558
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	chief of mission: Ambassador Faida MITIFU chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009: note - Consular Office at 1726 M Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609
Disputes - international	none	heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledge to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC); in 2006, the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) maintained over 18,000 uniformed peacekeepers in the region, first deployed in 1999; despite significant repatriation efforts by governments and international organizations, in 2006, Angolans, Rwandans, Sudanese, and residents of other neighboring states reside as refugees in the DROC; members of Uganda's Lords Resistance Army forces take refuge in DROC's Garamba National Park; 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	$NA	$1.828 billion (2005)
Economy - overview	Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash crop. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most other necessities must be imported from Australia. There is a small tourist industry.	The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - is recovering from two decades of decline. Conflict, which began in August 1998, dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, increased external debt, and resulted in the deaths of perhaps 3.5 million people from violence, famine, and disease. Foreign businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. Conditions began to improve in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. The transitional government reopened relations with international financial institutions and international donors, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity still occurs in the informal sector, and is not reflected in GDP data. Economic stability improved during the period 2003-06, although an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and a lack of transparency in government policy continues to hamper growth. In 2005-06, renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most export income, boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth. The International Monetary Fund program for the DRC, however, expired at the end of March 2006 and probably will not be reinstated until mid-2007. Government reforms and improved security may lead to increased government revenues, outside budget assistance, and foreign direct investment in 2007.
Electricity - consumption	-	572 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	NA
Electricity - imports	-	418 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	352 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
Environment - current issues	fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs	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, 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	Europeans, Cocos Malays	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	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)	Congolese francs per US dollar - 464.69 (2006), 437.86 (2005), 401.04 (2004), 405.34 (2003), 346.49 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator (nonresident) Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia	chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 17 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency which he retained through the 2003-2006 transition; he was subsequently elected president in October 2006 head of government: Prime Minister Antoine GIZENGA (since 30 December 2006); cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president elections: under the new constitution the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 30 July 2006 with a second round held on 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: results of 29 October 2006 elections (second round); Joseph KABILA 58%, Jean-Pierre BEMBA Gombo 42% 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 held on 30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006 confirming Joseph KABILA as president
Exports	$NA	229,700 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	copra	diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt
Exports - partners	Australia (2004)	Belgium 29.4%, China 21.1%, Brazil 12.3%, Chile 7.8%, Finland 7.2%, US 4.9% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	sky blue field divided diagonally from the lower hoist corner to upper fly corner by a red stripe bordered by two narrow yellow stripes; a yellow, five-pointed star appears in the upper hoist corner
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 55% industry: 11% services: 34% (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	6.4% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	12 30 S, 96 50 E	0 00 N, 25 00 E
Geography - note	islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation	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
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	one of Africa's biggest producers of cannabis, but 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	$NA	8,220 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs	foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Imports - partners	Australia (2004)	South Africa 19.2%, Belgium 11.8%, France 9.3%, Zambia 7.5%, Kenya 7.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.8% (2006)
Independence	none (territory of Australia)	30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	copra products and tourism	mining (diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, coltan zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement, commercial ship repair
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 65.52 deaths/1,000 live births male: 71.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	18.2% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	none	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	110 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court	Constitutional Court; Appeals Court or Cour de Cassation; Council of State; High Military Court; plus civil and military courts and tribunals
Labor force	NA	15 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 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: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 2.86% permanent crops: 0.47% other: 96.67% (2005)
Languages	Malay (Cocos dialect), English	French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Legal system	based upon the laws of Australia and local laws	a new constitution was adopted by referendum 18 December 2005; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch	unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held in May 2005 (next to be held in May 2007)	bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly (500 seats; 61 members elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies, 439 members elected by open list proportional-representation in multi-member constituencies; to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (108 seats; members elected by provincial assemblies to serve five-year terms) elections: National Assembly - last held 30 July 2006 (next to be held in 2011); Senate - last held 19 January 2007 (next to be held by 2012) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 111, MLC 64, PALU 34, MSR 27, FR 26, RCD 15, independents 63, others 160 (includes 63 political parties that won 10 or fewer seats); Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 22, MLC 14, FR 7, RCD 7, PDC 6, CDC 3, MSR 3, PALU 2, independents 26, others 18 (political parties that won a single seat)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 57.2 years male: 54.97 years female: 59.5 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	NA	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	Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka	Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Map references	Southeast Asia	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,004 GRT/1,640 DWT by type: petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Congo, Republic of the 1) (2007)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force	-
Military branches	-	Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force (Force Aerienne Congolaise, FAC) (2006)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2.5% (2006)
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	Independence Day, 30 June (1960)
Nationality	noun: Cocos Islander(s) adjective: Cocos Islander	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo
Natural hazards	cyclone season is October to April	periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Natural resources	fish	cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber
Net migration rate	NA	1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 54 km; oil 78 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	none	Christian Democrat Party or PDC [Jose ENDUNDO]; Congolese Rally for Democracy or RCD [Azarias RUBERWA]; Convention of Christian Democrats or CDC; Forces of Renewal or FR [Mbusa NYAMWISI]; Movement for the Liberation of the Congo or MLC [Jean-Pierre BEMBA]; People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy or PPRD [Joseph KABILA]; Social Movement for Renewal or MSR [Pierre LUMBI]; Unified Lumumbist Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI]; Union of Mobutuist Democrats or UDEMO [MOBUTU Nzanga]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	NA
Population	574 (July 2006 est.)	65,751,512 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.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	0% (2006 est.)	3.39% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)
Railways	-	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 (2006)
Religions	Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.)	Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.681 male(s)/female total population: 0.985 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	NA	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system	general assessment: connected within Australia's telecommunication system domestic: NA international: country code - 61; telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 INTELSAT satellite earth station	general assessment: Inadequate; state-owned fixed-line operator has been unable to expand fixed-line connections and there are now fewer than 10,000 connections; given the backdrop of a wholly inadequate fixed-line infrastructure, the use of cellular services has surged and subscribership now exceeds 4 million - roughly 7 per 100 persons 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) (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	287 (1992)	9,700 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	note - analog cellular service available	4.415 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	NA	4 (2001)
Terrain	flat, low-lying coral atolls	vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Total fertility rate	NA	6.37 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	60% (2000 est.)	NA%
Waterways	-	15,000 km (2005)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.