Compare Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2004) - Western Sahara (2005)

Compare Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2004) z Western Sahara (2005)

	Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2004)	Western Sahara (2005)

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 (under de facto control of Morocco)
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: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Agriculture - products	coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products	fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads)
Airports	230 (2003 est.)	11 (2004 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 (2004 est.)	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (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.)	total: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km	total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US	about the size of Colorado
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.	Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed.
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: NA expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
Capital	Kinshasa	none
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	hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew
Coastline	37 km	1,110 km
Constitution	a new constitution was adopted 17 July 2003	-
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: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara
Currency	Congolese franc (CDF)	-
Death rate	14.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	NA deaths/1,000 population
Debt - external	$11.6 billion (2000 est.)	NA
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
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
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	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals
Economic aid - recipient	$195.3 million (1995)	NA
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.	Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level.
Electricity - consumption	3.839 billion kWh (2001)	83.7 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	1.097 billion kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	60 million kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	5.243 billion kWh (2001)	90 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m	lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 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	sparse water and lack of arable land
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	party to: none of the selected agreements 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	Arab, Berber
Exchange rates	Congolese francs per US dollar - NA (2003), 346.485 (2002), 206.617 (2001), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999)	Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000)
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	none
Exports	NA (2001)	NA
Exports - commodities	diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt	phosphates 62%
Exports - partners	Belgium 54.9%, US 15.4%, Zimbabwe 11.1%, Finland 4.8% (2003)	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts
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	-
GDP	purchasing power parity - $40.05 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 55% industry: 11% services: 34% (2000 est.)	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $700 (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - NA
GDP - real growth rate	6.5% (2003 est.)	NA
Geographic coordinates	0 00 N, 25 00 E	24 30 N, 13 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	the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas
Highways	total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.)	total: 6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est)
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	fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	South Africa 17%, Belgium 14.9%, France 12.6%, Germany 6.8%, Kenya 5.4%, Netherlands 4% (2003)	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts
Independence	30 June 1960 (from Belgium)	-
Industrial production growth rate	NA	NA
Industries	mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement	phosphate mining, 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.)	total: NA male: NA female: NA
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	none
Irrigated land	110 sq km (1998 est.)	NA sq km
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme	-
Labor force	14.51 million (1993 est.)	12,000
Labor force - by occupation	NA	animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%
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: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Land use	arable land: 2.96% permanent crops: 0.52% other: 96.52% (2001)	arable land: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001)
Languages	French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Legal system	based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	-
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	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 49.14 years male: 47.06 years female: 51.28 years (2004 est.)	total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years
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: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Central Africa, northeast of Angola	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors	contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Merchant marine	none	-
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)	-
Nationality	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo	noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Natural hazards	periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes	hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility
Natural resources	cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber	phosphates, iron ore
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.)	-
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])	-
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.)	273,008 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	NA
Population growth rate	2.99% (2004 est.)	NA
Ports and harbors	Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka	Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)	AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
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)	-
Religions	Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%	Muslim
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	none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed
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: sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco
Telephones - main lines in use	10,000 (2002)	about 2,000 (1999 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1 million (2003)	0 (1999)
Television broadcast stations	4 (2001)	NA
Terrain	vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east	mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast
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)	-

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