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Compare Congo, Republic of the (2001) - Sierra Leone (2001)

Compare Congo, Republic of the (2001) z Sierra Leone (2001)

 Congo, Republic of the (2001)Sierra Leone (2001)
 Congo, Republic of theSierra Leone
Administrative divisions 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*
Age structure 0-14 years:
42.43% (male 618,411; female 609,633)

15-64 years:
54.23% (male 765,501; female 804,125)

65 years and over:
3.34% (male 38,772; female 57,894) (2001 est.)
0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326)

15-64 years:
52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155)

65 years and over:
3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Airports 33 (2000 est.) 11 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total:
4

over 3,047 m:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
3 (2000 est.)
total:
1

over 3,047 m:
1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
29

1,524 to 2,437 m:
7

914 to 1,523 m:
12

under 914 m:
10 (2000 est.)
total:
10

914 to 1,523 m:
7

under 914 m:
3 (2000 est.)
Area total:
342,000 sq km

land:
341,500 sq km

water:
500 sq km
total:
71,740 sq km

land:
71,620 sq km

water:
120 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Montana slightly smaller than South Carolina
Background Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO. Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army.
Birth rate 38.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues:
$870 million

expenditures:
$970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
revenues:
$96 million

expenditures:
$351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Capital Brazzaville Freetown
Climate tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Coastline 169 km 402 km
Constitution Draft constitution approved by transitional parliament in September 2000 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times
Country name conventional long form:
Republic of the Congo

conventional short form:
none

local long form:
Republique du Congo

local short form:
none

former:
Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo
conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone

conventional short form:
Sierra Leone
Currency Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States leone (SLL)
Death rate 16.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $5 billion (1999 est.) $1.28 billion (1999)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador David H. KAEUPER

embassy:
NA

mailing address:
NA

telephone:
[243] (88) 43608

FAX:
[243] (88) 41036

note:
the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa)
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr.

embassy:
Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown

mailing address:
use embassy street address

telephone:
[232] (22) 226481 through 226485

FAX:
[232] (22) 225471
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission:
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Serge MOMBOULI

chancery:
4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011

telephone:
[1] (202) 726-5500

FAX:
[1] (202) 726-1860
chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH

chancery:
1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:
[1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263

FAX:
[1] (202) 483-1793
Disputes - international most of the Congo river boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Stanley Pool/Pool Malebo area) civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia
Economic aid - recipient $159.1 million (1995) $203.7 million (1995)
Economy - overview The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. Moreover, the government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to the government's shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the Republic of the Congo's budget deficit. Even with the IMF's renewed confidence and high world oil prices, Congo is unlikely to realize growth of more than 5% in 2001-02. With the return to fragile peace, the IMF approved a $14 million credit in November 2000 to aid post-conflict reconstruction. Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad.
Electricity - consumption 406.9 million kWh (1999) 223.2 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports 126 million kWh (1999) 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - production 302 million kWh (1999) 240 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
0.66%

hydro:
99.34%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel:
100%

hydro:
0%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Mount Berongou 903 m
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
Environment - current issues air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing
Environment - international agreements party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
Law of the Sea
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans NA%; note - Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that of 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians
Exchange rates Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996)
Executive branch chief of state:
President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 August 1992 (next was to be held 27 July 1997 but will be delayed for several years pending the drafting of a new constitution)

election results:
Pascal LISSOUBA elected president in 1992; percent of vote - Pascal LISSOUBA 61.3%, Bernard KOLELAS 38.7%; note - LISSOUBA was deposed in 1997, replaced by Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO
chief of state:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms

election results:
Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5%
Exports $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities petroleum 50%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
Exports - partners US 23%, Benelux 14%, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, China (1998) Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
GDP purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
10%

industry:
48%

services:
42% (1999 est.)
agriculture:
43%

industry:
26%

services:
31% (1999)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 3.8% (2000 est.) 4.2% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 1 00 S, 15 00 E 8 30 N, 11 30 W
Geography - note about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them -
Heliports - 1 (2000 est.)
Highways total:
12,800 km

paved:
1,242 km

unpaved:
11,558 km (1996)
total:
11,300 km

paved:
904 km

unpaved:
10,396 km (1997)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
lowest 10%:
0.5%

highest 10%:
43.6% (1989)
Imports $870 million (f.o.b., 2000) $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals
Imports - partners France 23%, US 9%, Belgium 8%, UK 7%, Italy (1997 est.) UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999)
Independence 15 August 1960 (from France) 27 April 1961 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate NA% NA%
Industries petroleum extraction, cement kilning, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarette making mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining
Infant mortality rate 99.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.5% (2000 est.) 15% (2000 est.)
International organization participation ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 1 (2000)
Irrigated land 10 sq km (1993 est.) 290 sq km (1993 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Cour Supreme Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court
Labor force NA 1.369 million (1981 est.)

note:
only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries total:
5,504 km

border countries:
Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km
total:
958 km

border countries:
Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Land use arable land:
0%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
29%

forests and woodland:
62%

other:
9% (1993 est.)
arable land:
7%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
31%

forests and woodland:
28%

other:
33% (1993 est.)
Languages French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Legal system based on French civil law system and customary law based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral National Transitional Council (75 seats, members elected by reconciliation forum of 1,420 delegates on NA January 1998); note - the National Transitional Council replaced the bicameral Parliament

elections:
National Transitional Council - last held NA January 1998 (next to be held NA 2001); note - at that election the National Transitional Council is to be replaced by a bicameral assembly

election results:
National Transitional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA
unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)

elections:
last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001)

election results:
percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992
Life expectancy at birth total population:
47.57 years

male:
44.38 years

female:
50.85 years (2001 est.)
total population:
45.6 years

male:
42.69 years

female:
48.61 years (2001 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
74.9%

male:
83.1%

female:
67.2% (1995 est.)
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic

total population:
31.4%

male:
45.4%

female:
18.2% (1995 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Map references Africa Africa
Maritime claims territorial sea:
200 NM
territorial sea:
200 NM

continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine - total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT

ships by type:
cargo 1 (2000 est.)
Military branches Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie Army
Military expenditures - dollar figure $110 million (FY93) $46 million (FY96/97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 3.8% (FY93) 2% (FY96/97)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
684,922 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
347,946 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age 20 years of age -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
32,350 (2001 est.)
-
National holiday Independence Day, 15 August (1960) Independence Day, 27 April (1961)
Nationality noun:
Congolese (singular and plural)

adjective:
Congolese or Congo
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s)

adjective:
Sierra Leonean
Natural hazards seasonal flooding dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms
Natural resources petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

note:
by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning
Pipelines crude oil 25 km -
Political parties and leaders the most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP (an alliance of Convention for Alternative Democracy, Congolese Labor Party or PCT, Liberal Republican Party, National Union for Democracy and Progress, Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction, and Union for the National Renewal) [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Association for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO] All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader]
Political pressure groups and leaders Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC Trade Unions and Student Unions
Population 2,894,336

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 2001 est.)
5,426,618 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 68% (1989 est.)
Population growth rate 2.2% (2001 est.) 3.61% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999)
Radios 341,000 (1997) 1.12 million (1997)
Railways total:
894 km

narrow gauge:
894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000)
total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed

narrow gauge:
84 km 1.067-m gauge
Religions Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%
Sex ratio at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.67 male(s)/female

total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
0.96 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.98 male(s)/female

total population:
0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out-of-order

domestic:
primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable

international:
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service

domestic:
national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001)

international:
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 22,000 (1997) 17,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1,000 (1996) 650 (1999)
Television broadcast stations 1 (1999) 2 (1999)
Terrain coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
Total fertility rate 5 children born/woman (2001 est.) 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% NA%
Waterways 1,120 km

note:
the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for local traffic only
800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round)
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