Compare Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2004) - Northern Mariana Islands (2002)

Compare Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2004) z Northern Mariana Islands (2002)

	Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2004)	Northern Mariana Islands (2002)

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	none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian
Age structure	0-14 years: 48.2% (male 14,122,237; female 14,008,654) 15-64 years: 49.3% (male 14,097,301; female 14,646,285) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 590,262; female 853,191) (2004 est.)	0-14 years: 23.4% (male 9,208; female 8,902) 15-64 years: 74.8% (male 27,041; female 30,781) 65 years and over: 1.8% (male 690; female 689) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products	coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle
Airports	230 (2003 est.)	6 (2001)
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 (2004 est.)	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 206 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 92 under 914 m: 97 (2004 est.)	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002)
Area	total: 2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km	total: 477 sq km land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian
Area - comparative	slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US	2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
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, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and set up a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003; Joseph KABILA remains as president and is joined by four vice presidents from the former government, former rebel camps, and the political opposition.	Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978.
Birth rate	44.73 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	20.29 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $269 million expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.)	revenues: $193 million expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY 2001/02 est.)
Capital	Kinshasa	Saipan
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 marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October
Coastline	37 km	1,482 km
Constitution	a new constitution was adopted 17 July 2003	Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978
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: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
Currency	Congolese franc (CDF)	US dollar (USD)
Death rate	14.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	2.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	$11.6 billion (2000 est.)	$NA
Dependency status	-	commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs
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	-
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	-
Disputes - international	Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war, tribal conflict, and rebel gang fighting that has drawn in neighboring states of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda; in the Great Lakes region and Sudan, heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledge to end conflict, but unchecked localized violence continues unabated; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area	none
Economic aid - recipient	$195.3 million (1995)	extensive funding from US
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, has increased external debt, and has resulted in the deaths from war, famine, and disease of perhaps 3.5 million people. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. Several IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data. Economic stability, aided by international donors, improved in 2003. New mining contracts have been approved, which - combined with high mineral and metal prices - could improve Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth.	The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions.
Electricity - consumption	3.839 billion kWh (2001)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	1.097 billion kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - imports	60 million kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - production	5.243 billion kWh (2001)	NA kWh
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 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	contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification	-
Ethnic groups	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	Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean
Exchange rates	Congolese francs per US dollar - NA (2003), 346.485 (2002), 206.617 (2001), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999)	the US dollar is used
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: 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	chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Juan N. BABAUTA (since NA January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENEVENTE (since NA January 2002) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held NA November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 49%
Exports	NA (2001)	$NA
Exports - commodities	diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt	garments
Exports - partners	Belgium 54.9%, US 15.4%, Zimbabwe 11.1%, Finland 4.8% (2003)	US
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 October - 30 September
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	blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath
GDP	purchasing power parity - $40.05 billion (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $900 million note: GDP numbers reflect US spending (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 55% industry: 11% services: 34% (2000 est.)	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $700 (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.5% (2003 est.)	NA%
Geographic coordinates	0 00 N, 25 00 E	15 12 N, 145 45 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	strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean
Heliports	-	1 (2002)
Highways	total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.)	total: 362 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
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	NA (2001)	$NA
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels	food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products
Imports - partners	South Africa 17%, Belgium 14.9%, France 12.6%, Germany 6.8%, Kenya 5.4%, Netherlands 4% (2003)	US, Japan
Independence	30 June 1960 (from Belgium)	none (commonwealth in political union with the US)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	NA%
Industries	mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement	tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts
Infant mortality rate	total: 94.69 deaths/1,000 live births male: 103.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 85.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	5.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	14% (2003 est.)	1.2% (1997 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), SPC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2001)
Irrigated land	110 sq km (1998 est.)	NA sq km
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme	Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court
Labor force	14.51 million (1993 est.)	6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (1995)
Labor force - by occupation	NA	NA
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	0 km
Land use	arable land: 2.96% permanent crops: 0.52% other: 96.52% (2001)	arable land: 15.22% permanent crops: 6.52% other: 78.26% (1998 est.)
Languages	French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba	English, Chamorro, Carolinian note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home
Legal system	based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation
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	bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 5 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2003); House of Representatives - last held 5 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 4, Democratic Party 3, Reform Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 16, Democratic Party 1, Covenant Party 1 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 49.14 years male: 47.06 years female: 51.28 years (2004 est.)	total population: 75.95 years male: 72.85 years female: 79.23 years (2002 est.)
Literacy	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.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.)
Location	Central Africa, northeast of Angola	Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines
Map references	Africa	Oceania
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors	exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	none	none (2002 est.)
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the US
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$115.5 million (2003)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (2003)	-
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 12,706,971 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 6,480,645 (2004 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 30 June (1960)	Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978)
Nationality	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo	noun: NA adjective: NA
Natural hazards	periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes	active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November)
Natural resources	cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber	arable land, fish
Net migration rate	-0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: fighting between the Congolese Government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese internally displaced and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2004 est.)	17.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines	gas 54 km; oil 71 km (2004)	-
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])	Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Benigno R. FITIAL]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	58,317,930 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.)	77,311 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	NA%
Population growth rate	2.99% (2004 est.)	3.49% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka	Saipan, Tinian
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)	AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios	-	NA
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 (2003)	0 km
Religions	Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%	Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found)
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: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.88 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory	18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
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: country code - 243; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	10,000 (2002)	21,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1 million (2003)	1,200 (1995)
Television broadcast stations	4 (2001)	1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997)
Terrain	vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east	southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic
Total fertility rate	6.62 children born/woman (2004 est.)	1.76 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA (2003 est.)	NA%
Waterways	15,000 km (navigation on the Congo curtailed by fighting) (2004)	none

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