Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2008) | Colombia (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu
note: according to the Constitution adopted in December 2005, the current administrative divisions will be subdivided into 26 new provinces by 2009 |
32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Distrito Capital de Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.6% (male 15,718,614/female 15,557,058)
15-64 years: 49.9% (male 16,224,734/female 16,571,549) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 680,313/female 999,244) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 6,601,581; female 6,447,679)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 12,931,093; female 13,626,333) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 913,798; female 1,141,589) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products | coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp |
Airports | 237 (2007) | 1,050 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 26
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 96
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 36 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 211
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 99 (2007) |
total: 954
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 315 under 914 m: 587 (2002) |
Area | total: 2,345,410 sq km
land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
total: 1,138,910 sq km
land: 1,038,700 sq km water: 100,210 sq km note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank |
Area - comparative | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability. Col. Joseph MOBUTU seized power and declared himself president in a November 1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to MOBUTU Sese Seko - as well as that of the country - to Zaire. MOBUTU retained his position for 32 years through several sham elections, as well as through the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to the toppling of the MOBUTU regime by a rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda and fronted by Laurent KABILA. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but in August 1998 his regime was itself challenged by a second insurrection again backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Troops from Angola, Chad, Namibia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe intervened to support KABILA's regime. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph KABILA, was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003. Joseph KABILA as president and four vice presidents represented the former government, former rebel groups, the political opposition, and civil society. The transitional government held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the presidency, National Assembly, and provincial legislatures in 2006. KABILA was inaugurated president in December 2006. The National Assembly was installed in September 2006. Its president, Vital KAMERHE, was chosen in December. Provincial assemblies were constituted in early 2007, and elected governors and national senators in January 2007. | Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries has grown to be several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and illicit industries such as the drug trade and the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota steps up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders. |
Birth rate | 42.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 21.59 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $700 million
expenditures: $2 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $24 billion
expenditures: $25.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Kinshasa
geographic coordinates: 4 19 S, 15 18 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Bogota |
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 along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 37 km | 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km) |
Constitution | 18 February 2006 | 5 July 1991 |
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: DRC |
conventional long form: Republic of Colombia
conventional short form: Colombia local long form: Republica de Colombia local short form: Colombia |
Currency | - | Colombian peso (COP) |
Death rate | 10.34 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 billion (2006 est.) | $38.4 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William GARVELINK
embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (81) 556-0151 FAX: [243] (81) 556-0175 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Anne W. PATTERSON
embassy: Calle 22D-BIS, numbers 47-51, Apartado Aereo 3831 mailing address: Carrera 45 #22D-45, Bogota, D.C., APO AA 34038 telephone: [57] (1) 315-0811 FAX: [57] (1) 315-2197 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Faida MITIFU
chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009: note - Consular Office at 1726 M Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Luis Alberto MORENO Mejia
chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338 FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington, DC consulate(s): Atlanta |
Disputes - international | heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledge to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC); in 2006, the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) maintained over 18,000 uniformed peacekeepers in the region, first deployed in 1999; despite significant repatriation efforts by governments and international organizations, in 2006, Angolans, Rwandans, Sudanese, and residents of other neighboring states reside as refugees in the DROC; members of Uganda's Lords Resistance Army forces take refuge in DROC's Garamba National Park; 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 | Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian drug activities penetrate Peruvian border area |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.828 billion (2005) | $NA |
Economy - overview | The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - is slowly recovering from two decades of decline. Conflict, which began in August 1998, dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, increased external debt, and resulted in the deaths of more than 3.5 million people from violence, famine, and disease. Foreign businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. Conditions began to improve in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. The transitional government reopened relations with international financial institutions and international donors, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms, although progress is slow and the International Monetary Fund curtailed their program for the DRC at the end of March 2006 because of fiscal overruns. Much economic activity still occurs in the informal sector, and is not reflected in GDP data. Renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most export income, boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth. Government reforms and improved security may lead to increased government revenues, outside budget assistance, and foreign direct investment, although an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and a lack of transparency in government policy are continuing long-term problems. | Colombia's economy suffers from weak domestic and foreign demand, austere government budgets, and serious internal armed conflict. Other economic problems facing the new president URIBE range from reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment. Two of Colombia's leading exports, oil and coffee, face an uncertain future; new exploration is needed to offset declining oil production, while coffee harvests and prices are depressed. Colombian business leaders are calling for greater progress in solving the conflict with insurgent groups. On the positive side, several international financial institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by President URIBE and have pledged enough funding to cover Colombia's debt servicing costs in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 572 million kWh (2005) | 39.81 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 210 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 418 million kWh (2005) | 40 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 352 million kWh (2005) | 42.99 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 26%
hydro: 72.7% nuclear: 0% other: 1.3% (2001) |
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: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation |
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 and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
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 | mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1% |
Exchange rates | Congolese francs per US dollar - NA (2007), 464.69 (2006), 437.86 (2005), 401.04 (2004), 405.34 (2003) | Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,504.24 (2002), 2,299.63 (2001), 2,087.9 (2000), 1,756.23 (1999), 1,426.04 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 17 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency which he retained through the 2003-2006 transition; he was subsequently elected president in October 2006
head of government: Prime Minister Antoine GIZENGA (since 30 December 2006); cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president elections: under the new constitution the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 30 July 2006 with a second round held on 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: results of 29 October 2006 elections (second round); Joseph KABILA 58%, Jean-Pierre BEMBA Gombo 42% 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 held on 30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006 confirming Joseph KABILA as president |
chief of state: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet consists of a coalition of the two dominant parties - the PL and PSC - and independents elections: president and vice president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006) election results: President Alvaro URIBE Velez received 53% of the vote; Vice President Francisco SANTOS was elected on the same ticket |
Exports | 229,700 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt | petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers |
Exports - partners | Belgium 29.4%, China 21.1%, Brazil 12.3%, Chile 7.8%, Finland 7.2%, US 4.9% (2006) | US 44.8%, Venezuela 9.4%, Ecuador 6.8% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | sky blue field divided diagonally from the lower hoist corner to upper fly corner by a red stripe bordered by two narrow yellow stripes; a yellow, five-pointed star appears in the upper hoist corner | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red; similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $251.6 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 55%
industry: 11% services: 34% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 30% services: 57% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2007 est.) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 25 00 E | 4 00 N, 72 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 | only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 110,000 km
paved: 26,000 km unpaved: 84,000 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | one of Africa's biggest producers of cannabis, but 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 | illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 2002 was 144,450 hectares, a 15% decline since 2001); potential production of opium between 2001 and 2002 declined by 25% to 91 metric tons; potential production of heroin declined to 11.3 metric tons; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine; supplier of about 90% of the cocaine to the US market and the great majority of cocaine to other international drug markets; important supplier of heroin to the US market; active aerial eradication program; a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market peso exchange |
Imports | 8,220 bbl/day (2006 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels | industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity |
Imports - partners | South Africa 17.7%, Belgium 10.9%, France 8.5%, Zimbabwe 8.1%, Zambia 6.9%, Kenya 6.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.4% (2006) | US 32.6%, Venezuela 7%, Mexico 5.3%, Japan 5.3%, Brazil 5.2%, Germany 4.2% (2002) |
Independence | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) | 20 July 1810 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, coltan zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement, commercial ship repair | textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds |
Infant mortality rate | total: 65.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 71.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 22.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.46 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18.2% (2006 est.) | 6.2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | BCIE, CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-3, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 18 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (2003) | 8,500 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Appeals Court or Cour de Cassation; Council of State; High Military Court; plus civil and military courts and tribunals | four coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justical (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of administrative law, judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms); Constitutional Court (guards integrity and supremacy of the constitution, rules on constitutionality of laws, amendments to the constitution, and international treaties); Higher Council of Justice (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; members of the disciplinary chamber resolve jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms) |
Labor force | 15 million (2006 est.) | 18.3 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990) |
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: 6,004 km
border countries: Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 1,496 km (est.), Venezuela 2,050 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.86%
permanent crops: 0.47% other: 96.67% (2005) |
arable land: 1.9%
permanent crops: 1.96% other: 96.14% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba | Spanish |
Legal system | a new constitution was adopted by referendum 18 December 2005; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly (500 seats; 61 members elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies, 439 members elected by open list proportional-representation in multi-member constituencies; to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (108 seats; members elected by provincial assemblies to serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 30 July 2006 (next to be held in 2011); Senate - last held 19 January 2007 (next to be held by 2012) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 111, MLC 64, PALU 34, MSR 27, FR 26, RCD 15, independents 63, others 160 (includes 63 political parties that won 10 or fewer seats); Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 22, MLC 14, FR 7, RCD 7, PDC 6, CDC 3, MSR 3, PALU 2, independents 26, others 18 (political parties that won a single seat) |
bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Senate or Senado (102 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PL 28, PSC 13, independents and smaller parties (many aligned with conservatives) 61; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PL 54, PSC 21, independents and other parties 91 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 57.2 years
male: 54.97 years female: 59.5 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 71.14 years
male: 67.29 years female: 75.12 years (2003 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: 92.5% male: 92.4% female: 92.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, northeast of Angola | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,004 GRT/1,640 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Congo, Republic of the 1) (2007) |
total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 51,445 GRT/55,930 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 6, container 1, petroleum tanker 3 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force (Force Aerienne Congolaise, FAC) (2008) | Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, including Marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia Nacional) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $3.3 billion (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (2006) | 3.4% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 11,101,719 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 7,403,433 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 392,468 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 June (1960) | Independence Day, 20 July (1810) |
Nationality | noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun: Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes | highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber | petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 62 km; oil 71 km (2007) | gas 4,360 km; oil 6,134 km; refined products 3,140 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democrat Party or PDC [Jose ENDUNDO]; Congolese Rally for Democracy or RCD [Azarias RUBERWA]; Convention of Christian Democrats or CDC; Forces of Renewal or FR [Mbusa NYAMWISI]; Movement for the Liberation of the Congo or MLC [Jean-Pierre BEMBA]; People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy or PPRD [Joseph KABILA]; Social Movement for Renewal or MSR [Pierre LUMBI]; Unified Lumumbist Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI]; Union of Mobutuist Democrats or UDEMO [MOBUTU Nzanga] | Conservative Party or PSC [Carlos HOLGUIN Sardi]; Liberal Party or PL [Piedad CORDOBA and Juan Manuel LOPEZ Cabrales]; Colombian Communist Party or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO]; 19 of April Movement or M-19 [Antonio NAVARRO Wolff]
note: Colombia has about 60 formally recognized political parties, most of which do not have a presence in either house of Congress |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and National Liberation Army or ELN; largest anti-insurgent paramilitary group is United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia or AUC |
Population | 65,751,512
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 2007 est.) |
41,662,073 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 55% (2001) |
Population growth rate | 3.39% (2007 est.) | 1.56% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bahia de Portete, Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Leticia, Puerto Bolivar, San Andres, Santa Marta, Tumaco, Turbo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999) |
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 (2006) |
total: 3,304 km
standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10% | Roman Catholic 90% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.681 male(s)/female total population: 0.985 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: Inadequate; state-owned fixed-line operator has been unable to expand fixed-line connections and there are now fewer than 10,000 connections; given the backdrop of a wholly inadequate fixed-line infrastructure, the use of cellular services has surged and subscribership now exceeds 4 million - roughly 7 per 100 persons
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) (2007) |
general assessment: modern system in many respects
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system; domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations; fiber-optic network linking 50 cities international: satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat; 3 fully digitalized international switching centers; 8 submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9,700 (2006) | 5,433,565 (December 1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.415 million (2006) | 1,800,229 (December 1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2001) | 60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997) |
Terrain | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east | flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains |
Total fertility rate | 6.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.61 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 17.4% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 15,000 km (2005) | 18,140 km (navigable by river boats) (April 1996) |