Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2008) | Czech Republic (2005) | |
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 |
13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky Kraj, Jihomoravsky Kraj, Karlovarsky Kraj, Kralovehradecky Kraj, Liberecky Kraj, Moravskoslezsky Kraj, Olomoucky Kraj, Pardubicky Kraj, Plzensky Kraj, Praha (Prague)*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj |
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: 14.7% (male 773,028/female 731,833)
15-64 years: 71.1% (male 3,651,018/female 3,627,006) 65 years and over: 14.2% (male 565,374/female 892,879) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 237 (2007) | 120 (2004 est.) |
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: 44
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.) |
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: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 48 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 2,345,410 sq km
land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
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. | Following the First World War, the closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, the new country's leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, a truncated Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize Communist party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. |
Birth rate | 42.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.07 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $700 million
expenditures: $2 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $39.31 billion
expenditures: $45.8 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 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) |
Prague |
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) | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 37 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 18 February 2006 | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 |
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: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Ceska Republika |
Death rate | 10.34 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.54 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 billion (2006 est.) | $36.28 billion (2004 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 William J. CABANISS
embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663 FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0583 |
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 Martin PALOUS
chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
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 | in February 2005, the ICJ refused to rule on the restitution of Liechtenstein's land and property assets in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1945 as German property; individual Sudeten Germans seek restitution for property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.828 billion (2005) | $2.4 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
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. | The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Growth in 2000-04 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a strong recovery of foreign and domestic investment. Domestic demand is playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth as interest rates drop and the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. Current account deficits of around 5% of GDP are beginning to decline as demand for Czech products in the European Union increases. Inflation is under control. Recent accession to the EU gives further impetus and direction to structural reform. In early 2004 the government passed increases in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and tightened eligibility for social benefits with the intention to bring the public finance gap down to 4% of GDP by 2006, but more difficult pension and healthcare reforms will have to wait until after the next elections. Privatization of the state-owned telecommunications firm Cesky Telecom is scheduled to take place in 2005. Intensified restructuring among large enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and effective use of available EU funds should strengthen output growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 572 million kWh (2005) | 55.33 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 20.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 418 million kWh (2005) | 9.5 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 352 million kWh (2005) | 71.75 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m |
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 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 | air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests; efforts to bring industry up to EU code should improve domestic pollution |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population | Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Congolese francs per US dollar - NA (2007), 464.69 (2006), 437.86 (2005), 401.04 (2004), 405.34 (2003) | koruny per US dollar - 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002), 38.035 (2001), 38.598 (2000) |
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 Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)
note: the Czech Republic's first president Vaclav HAVEL stepped down from office on 2 February 2003 having served exactly 10 years; parliament finally elected a successor on 28 February 2003 after two inconclusive elections in January 2003 head of government: Prime Minister Jiri PAROUBEK (since 25 April 2005), Deputy Prime Ministers Zdenek SKROMACH (since 4 August 2004), Martin JAHN (since 4 August 2004), Pavel NEMEC (since 4 August 2004), Milan SIMONOVSKY (since 4 August 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; last successful election held 28 February 2003 (after earlier elections held 15 and 24 January 2003 were inconclusive; next election to be held January 2008); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaclav KLAUS elected president on 28 February 2003; Vaclav KLAUS 142 votes, Jan SOKOL 124 votes (third round; combined votes of both chambers of parliament) |
Exports | 229,700 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) |
Exports - partners | Belgium 29.4%, China 21.1%, Brazil 12.3%, Chile 7.8%, Finland 7.2%, US 4.9% (2006) | Germany 36.1%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6%, Poland 5.3%, UK 4.7%, France 4.7%, Italy 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 55%
industry: 11% services: 34% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 3.4%
industry: 39.3% services: 57.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $16,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2007 est.) | 3.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 25 00 E | 49 45 N, 15 30 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 | landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe |
Heliports | - | 2 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 127,204 km
paved: 127,204 km (including 518 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
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 | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for local and regional markets; susceptible to money laundering related to drug trafficking, organized crime |
Imports | 8,220 bbl/day (2006 est.) | 192,300 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) |
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) | Germany 31.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, Italy 5.3%, China 5.2%, Poland 4.8%, France 4.8%, Russia 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.7% (2004 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 | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
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: 3.93 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18.2% (2006 est.) | 3.2% (2004 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 | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (2003) | 240 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 | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | 15 million (2006 est.) | 5.25 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture 4%, industry 38%, services 58% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 10,730 km
border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km |
total: 1,881 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.86%
permanent crops: 0.47% other: 96.67% (2005) |
arable land: 39.8%
permanent crops: 3.05% other: 57.15% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba | Czech |
Legal system | a new constitution was adopted by referendum 18 December 2005; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory |
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 Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in two rounds 5-6 November and 12-13 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 14-15 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ODS 37, KDU-CSL 14, Open Democracy 13, CSSD 7, Caucus Open Democracy 7, independents 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 30.2%, ODS 24.5%, KSCM 18.5%, KDU-CSL & US-DEU coalition 14.3%, other minor 12.5%; seats by party - CSSD 70, ODS 57, KSCM 41, KDU-CSL 21, US-DEU 10, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 57.2 years
male: 54.97 years female: 59.5 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 76.02 years
male: 72.74 years female: 79.49 years (2005 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: NA
total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Africa, northeast of Angola | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors |
none (landlocked) |
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) |
registered in other countries: 3 |
Military branches | Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force (Force Aerienne Congolaise, FAC) (2008) | Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command, Support and Training Forces Command (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $2.17 billion (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (2006) | 2.02% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 June (1960) | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes | flooding |
Natural resources | cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | 1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 62 km; oil 71 km (2007) | gas 7,020 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2004) |
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] | Caucus SNK [Josef ZOSER]; Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Miroslav KALOUSEK, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jirina NOVAKOVA, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia or KSC [Miroslav STEPAN, chairman]; Czech National Social Party of CSNS [Jaroslav ROVNY, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Stanislav GROSS, acting chairman]; European Democrats [Jan KASL]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Hana Marvanova, chairwoman]; Open Democracy [Sona PAUKRTOVA, chairwoman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Bohemian and Moravian Trade Union Confederation [Milan STECH] |
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.) |
10,241,138 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.39% (2007 est.) | -0.05% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
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: 9,543 km
standard gauge: 9,421 km 1.435-m gauge (2,893 km electrified) narrow gauge: 122 km 0.760-m gauge (23 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10% | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 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: privatization and modernization of the Czech telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily; growth in the use of mobile cellular telephones is particularly vigorous
domestic: 86% of exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber systems now being enhanced with Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other digital signals; trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay international: country code - 420; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9,700 (2006) | 3.626 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.415 million (2006) | 9,708,700 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2001) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east | Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country |
Total fertility rate | 6.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.2 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 10.6% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 15,000 km (2005) | 664 km (on Elbe, Vltava, and Oder rivers) (2004) |