Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2004) | Tokelau (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 (territory of New Zealand) |
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: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (1996 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 230 (2003 est.) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (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.) |
- |
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.) |
- |
Area | total: 2,345,410 sq km
land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US | about 17 times the size of The Mall in 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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 44.73 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $269 million
expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $430,830
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 |
Capital | Kinshasa | none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
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; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 37 km | 101 km |
Constitution | a new constitution was adopted 17 July 2003 | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
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: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | Congolese franc (CDF) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 14.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $11.6 billion (2000 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution, developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
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) | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
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. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
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 |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
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 5 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 | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
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 | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Congolese francs per US dollar - NA (2003), 346.485 (2002), 206.617 (2001), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Lindsay WATT (since NA March 1993)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Pio TUIA (since NA 2002) cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | NA (2001) | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Belgium 54.9%, US 15.4%, Zimbabwe 11.1%, Finland 4.8% (2003) | NZ |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $40.05 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 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 - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.5% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 25 00 E | 9 00 S, 172 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 | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Highways | total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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) | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | South Africa 17%, Belgium 14.9%, France 12.6%, Germany 6.8%, Kenya 5.4%, Netherlands 4% (2003) | NZ |
Independence | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
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.) |
38 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2003 est.) | NA% |
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 | SPC, UNESCO (associate), WHO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 14.51 million (1993 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | 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: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | New Zealand and local statutes |
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 General Fono (48 seats; members chosen by each atoll's Council of Elders or Taupulega to serve three-year terms); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.14 years
male: 47.06 years female: 51.28 years (2004 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: 68 years (2001) female: 70 years (2001) |
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.) |
NA |
Location | Central Africa, northeast of Angola | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
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 New Zealand |
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) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber | NEGL |
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.) |
NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
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]) | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
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.) |
1,431 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.99% (2004 est.) | -0.92% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
Radios | - | 1,000 (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 (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10% | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
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.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 21 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: country code - 243; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,000 (2002) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1 million (2003) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2001) | - |
Terrain | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 6.62 children born/woman (2004 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 15,000 km (navigation on the Congo curtailed by fighting) (2004) | none |