Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2002) | Denmark (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 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 | metropolitan Denmark - 5 regions (regioner, singular - region); Hovedstaden, Midtjylland, Nordjylland, Sjaelland, Syddanmark
note: an extensive local government reform merged 271 municipalities into 98 and 13 counties into five regions, effective 1 January 2007 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 48.2% (male 13,369,493; female 13,256,174)
15-64 years: 49.3% (male 13,343,303; female 13,860,996) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 581,568; female 813,944) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.6% (male 520,669/female 494,228)
15-64 years: 66% (male 1,817,757/female 1,792,974) 65 years and over: 15.4% (male 363,828/female 478,664) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products | barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 232 (2001) | 91 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 205
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 91 (2002) |
total: 63
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 60 (2007) |
Area | total: 2,345,410 sq km
land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
total: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km water: 700 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland |
Area - comparative | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts |
Background | 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. | Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and issues concerning certain justice and home affairs. |
Birth rate | 45.55 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $269 million
expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million |
revenues: $152.2 billion
expenditures: $140.6 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Kinshasa | name: Copenhagen
geographic coordinates: 55 40 N, 12 35 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | 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 | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 37 km | 7,314 km |
Constitution | 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 | 5 June 1953 constitution allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
Currency | Congolese franc (CDF) | - |
Death rate | 14.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.3 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.9 billion (2000 est.) | $405 billion (30 June 2006) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador James P. CAIN
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 33 41 71 00 FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Friis Arne PETERSEN
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York |
Disputes - international | 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, 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; 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) | Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroese continue to study proposals for full independence; sovereignty dispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $2.13 billion (2005) |
Economic aid - recipient | $195.3 million (1995) (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | 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 and has increased external debt. 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, raging inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. 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. | The Danish economy has in recent years undergone strong expansion fueled primarily by private consumption growth, but also supported by exports and investments. This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Unemployment is low and capacity constraints are limiting growth potential. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and enjoys a comfortable balance of payments surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join 12 other EU members in the euro. Nonetheless, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro. Economic growth gained momentum in 2004 and the upturn continued through 2006. The controversy over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad printed in a Danish newspaper in September 2005 led to boycotts of some Danish exports to the Muslim world, especially exports of dairy products, but the boycotts did not have a significant impact on the overall Danish economy. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish living standards are among the highest in the world. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.55 billion kWh (1999) | 34.02 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 404 million kWh (1999) | 13.72 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh (1999) | 6.77 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production | 5.268 billion kWh (1999) | 43.35 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides |
Environment - international 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 |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | 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 | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali |
Exchange rates | Congolese francs per US dollar - 305 (January 2002), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999), 1.61 (1998), 1.31 (1997)
note: on 30 June 1998 the Congolese franc was introduced, replacing the new zaire |
Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002) |
Executive branch | 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: before Laurent Desire KABILA seized power on 16 May 1997, 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 - elections were not held in 1991 as called for by the constitution election results: results of the last election were: MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga reelected president in 1984 without opposition note: Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga was president from 24 November 1965 until forced into exile on 16 May 1997 when his government was overthrown militarily by Laurent Desire KABILA; KABILA immediately assumed governing authority and pledged to hold elections by April 1999, but, in December 1998, announced that elections would be postponed until all foreign military forces attempting to topple the government had withdrawn from the country; KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph KABILA |
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968)
head of government: Prime Minister Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN (since 27 November 2001) cabinet: Council of State appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch |
Exports | $750 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 320,000 bbl/day (2006) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, pharmaceuticals, furniture, windmills |
Exports - partners | Benelux 62%, US 18%, South Africa, Finland, Italy (1999) | Germany 17.4%, Sweden 14.2%, UK 8.8%, US 6.2%, Norway 5.5%, Netherlands 5.2%, France 4.9% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $32 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 54%
industry: 9% services: 37% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 26.1% services: 72.2% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $590 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -4% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 25 00 E | 56 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | 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 | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)(1996)
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
Illicit drugs | 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 | $1.024 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 164,000 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | South Africa 28%, Benelux 14%, Nigeria 9%, Kenya 7%, China (1999) | Germany 21.4%, Sweden 14.1%, Norway 6.5%, Netherlands 6.3%, UK 5.5%, China 5%, France 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.5% (2006 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement | iron, steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing, machinery and transportation equipment, textiles and clothing, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products, shipbuilding and refurbishment, windmills, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment |
Infant mortality rate | 98.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 4.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 358% (2001 est.) | 1.9% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,490 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) |
Labor force | 14.51 million (1993 est.) | 2.911 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 16%, services 19% (1991 est.) | agriculture: 3%
industry: 21% services: 76% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.96%
permanent crops: 0.52% other: 96.52% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 52.59%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 47.22% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Legal system | based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral People's Assembly or Folketinget (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13 November 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 26.2%, Social Democrats 25.5%, Danish People's Party 13.9%, Socialist People's Party 13.0%, Conservative People's Party 10.4%, Social Liberal Party 5.1%, other 5.9%; seats by party - Liberal Party 46, Social Democrats 45, Danish People's Party 25, Socialist People's Party 23, Conservative People's Party 18, Social Liberal Party 9, other 9; note - does not include the two seats from Greenland and the two seats from the Faroe Islands |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.13 years
male: 47.19 years female: 51.13 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 77.96 years
male: 75.65 years female: 80.41 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population: 77.3% male: 86.6% female: 67.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, northeast of Angola | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaelland and Fyn) |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 299 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,767,265 GRT/10,604,081 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 64, chemical tanker 57, container 84, liquefied gas 2, livestock carrier 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 41, petroleum tanker 22, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 25 (Canada 1, Germany 13, Greece 4, Greenland 1, Norway 1, Sweden 4, UK 1) registered in other countries: 468 (Antigua and Barbuda 15, Bahamas 66, Belgium 3, Brazil 2, Cayman Islands 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Estonia 2, France 3, Gibraltar 9, Hong Kong 12, Isle of Man 41, Italy 2, Jamaica 1, Liberia 12, Lithuania 9, Malta 10, Marshall Islands 9, Mexico 2, Netherlands 19, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 26, Panama 32, Portugal 3, Singapore 68, South Africa 1, Spain 2, St Vincent and The Grenadines 16, Sweden 4, UK 61, US 29, Venezuela 3) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Security Battalion | Defense Command: Army Operational Command, Admiral Danish Fleet, Island Command Greenland, Tactical Air Command (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $250 million (FY97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.6% (FY97) | 1.5% (2006; 1.28% 2007 est.; 1.24% 2008 projected) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 11,996,175 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 6,110,595 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 June (1960) | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the National Day |
Nationality | noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes |
Natural resources | cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand |
Net migration rate | -2.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: one million refugees fled into Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DROC) in 1994 as a result of the ethnic fighting in Rwanda; fighting in the DROC between rebels and government forces in October 1996 caused 875,000 refugees to return to Rwanda in late 1996 and early 1997 and additional refugees have returned in subsequent years; 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 displaced in DROC and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2002 est.) |
2.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 390 km | condensate 12 km; gas 3,931 km; oil 626 km; oil/gas/water 2 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | 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)] | Christian Democrats [Bodil KORNBEK] (was Christian People's Party); Conservative Party [Bendt BENDTSEN] (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party); Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; New Alliance [Naser KHADER]; Red-Green Unity List [collective leadership] (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party); Social Democratic Party [Helle THORNING-SCHMIDT]; Social Liberal Party [Margrethe VESTAGER]; Socialist People's Party [Villy SOEVNDAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 55,225,478
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 2002 est.) |
5,468,120 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.79% (2002 est.) | 0.311% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 18.03 million (1997) | - |
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 note: severely reduced route-distance in use because of damage to facilities by civil strife (2000 est.) |
total: 2,644 km
standard gauge: 2,644 km 1.435-m gauge (636 km electrified) (2007) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10% | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Christian (includes Protestant and Roman Catholic) 3%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.053 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.977 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: excellent telephone and telegraph services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems international: country code - 45; a series of fiber-optic submarine cables link Denmark with Canada, Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and UK; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (2000) | 3.098 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (2000) | 5.841 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2001) | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east | low and flat to gently rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 6.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.74 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 3.8% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | 15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes) | 400 km (2007) |