Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2002) | Guinea-Bissau (2004) | |
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 | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
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: 41.7% (male 288,760; female 289,975)
15-64 years: 55.4% (male 367,728; female 400,996) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,570; female 23,334) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 232 (2001) | 28 (2003 est.) |
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: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 2,345,410 sq km
land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
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. | Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable upheaval. The founding government consisted of a single party system and command economy. In 1980, a military coup established Joao VIEIRA as president and a path to a market economy and multiparty system was implemented. A number of coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him and in 1994 he was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military coup attempt and civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIERA's ouster in 1999. In February 2000, an interim government turned over power when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. YALA was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2003, and Henrique ROSA was sworn in as President. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. |
Birth rate | 45.55 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 38.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $269 million
expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
Capital | Kinshasa | Bissau |
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 | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 37 km | 350 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 | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 |
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: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
Currency | Congolese franc (CDF) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used |
Death rate | 14.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.57 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.9 billion (2000 est.) | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
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 |
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 |
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
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) | attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region |
Economic aid - recipient | $195.3 million (1995) (1995) | $115.4 million (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. | One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002-03 and dim prospects for 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.55 billion kWh (1999) | 51.15 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 404 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 5.268 billion kWh (1999) | 55 million kWh (2001) |
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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
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 | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
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 |
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
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: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrew the elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003
head of government: Prime Minister Carlos GOMES Junior (since 9 May 2004) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of a caretaker government |
Exports | $750 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | Benelux 62%, US 18%, South Africa, Finland, Italy (1999) | India 76.8%, Nigeria 12.1%, Italy 5.1% (2003) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $32 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.063 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 54%
industry: 9% services: 37% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $590 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -4% (2001 est.) | -7% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 25 00 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
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 | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)(1996)
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
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.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | South Africa 28%, Benelux 14%, Nigeria 9%, Kenya 7%, China (1999) | Senegal 18.1%, India 14.6%, Portugal 14.6%, China 9.7%, Italy 9%, Spain 4.9% (2003) |
Independence | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | 98.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 108.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 119.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 97.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 358% (2001 est.) | 4% (2002 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (1998 est.) | 170 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | 14.51 million (1993 est.) | 480,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 16%, services 19% (1991 est.) | agriculture 82% (2000 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: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.96%
permanent crops: 0.52% other: 96.52% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 8.82% other: 80.51% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
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 National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years); note - President YALA dissolved the National People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to April, then July, then September, and were last scheduled to occur in March 2004
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2% ; seats by party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.13 years
male: 47.19 years female: 51.13 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 46.98 years
male: 45.09 years female: 48.92 years (2004 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: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, northeast of Angola | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | none |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Security Battalion | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $250 million (FY97) | $8.4 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.6% (FY97) | 2.8% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 11,996,175 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 326,864 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 6,110,595 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 185,801 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 June (1960) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
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.) |
-1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 390 km | - |
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)] | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Platform or UP [coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Francisco Jose FADUL] |
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.) |
1,388,363 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.79% (2002 est.) | 1.99% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) |
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.) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10% | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 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: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: country code - 245 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (2000) | 10,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (2000) | 1,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2001) | NA (1997) |
Terrain | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 6.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA (1998) |
Waterways | 15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes) | 4 largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2004) |