Compare Congo, Republic of the (2002) - French Guiana (2004)

Compare Congo, Republic of the (2002) z French Guiana (2004)

	Congo, Republic of the (2002)	French Guiana (2004)

Administrative divisions	9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune; Bouenza, Brazzaville, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha	none (overseas department of France)
Age structure	0-14 years: 42.4% (male 630,985; female 622,024) 15-64 years: 54.3% (male 783,238; female 823,882) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 39,369; female 58,950) (2002 est.)	0-14 years: 29.6% (male 28,959; female 27,657) 15-64 years: 64.5% (male 66,388; female 57,020) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 5,736; female 5,549) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products	corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry
Airports	33 (2001)	11 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002)	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 11 (2002)	total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km	total: 91,000 sq km land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Montana	slightly smaller than Indiana
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.	First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou.
Birth rate	37.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $870 million expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)	revenues: $225 million expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996)
Capital	Brazzaville	Cayenne
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; little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline	169 km	378 km
Constitution	constitution approved by referendum in January 2002	28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of the Congo conventional short form: Congo (Brazzaville) local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo	conventional long form: Department of Guiana conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane
Currency	Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States	euro (EUR)
Death rate	16.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$5 billion (1999 est.)	$1.2 billion (1988)
Dependency status	-	overseas department of France
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Robin R. SANDERS embassy: NA mailing address: NA telephone: [243] (88) 43608 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)	none (overseas department of France)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Serge MOMBOULI chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860	none (overseas department of France)
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)	Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa)
Economic aid - recipient	$159.1 million (1995) (1995)	NA (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. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to a 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's budget deficit. Given a fragile peace, agreements with the IMF and the World Bank, and general international support for reconstruction and development, prospects for structural reform and 4% growth in 2002-03 appear strong.	The economy is tied closely to the larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers.
Electricity - consumption	406.9 million kWh (1999)	423.2 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (1999)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	126 million kWh (1999)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	302 million kWh (1999)	455 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 1% hydro: 99% 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: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation	NA
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	-
Ethnic groups	Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3% note: Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that in 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997	black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10%
Exchange rates	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro	Euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)
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 seven-year term (eligible for a second seven-year term); election last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO 89.4%, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia MBOUNGOU 2.7%	chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002) head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils
Exports	$2.6 billion f.o.b. (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	petroleum 90%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds	shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing
Exports - partners	US 20.9%, South Korea 15.5%, China 6.7%, Germany 3.2% (2000)	France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001)
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	the flag of France is used
GDP	purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $1.551 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 10% industry: 48% services: 42% (2001 est.)	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: NA (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4.2% (2001 est.)	NA
Geographic coordinates	1 00 S, 15 00 E	4 00 N, 53 00 W
Geography - note	about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them	mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent
Highways	total: 12,800 km paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1996)	total: 722 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1996)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	-	small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe
Imports	$725 million f.o.b. (2001)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs	food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals
Imports - partners	France 20.5%, US 9.8%, Italy 7.5%, Belgium 3.8% (2000)	France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.)
Independence	15 August 1960 (from France)	none (overseas department of France)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	NA
Industries	petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes	construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining
Infant mortality rate	97.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 12.46 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3% (2001 est.)	1.5% (2002 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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO	UPU, WCL, WFTU
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	10 sq km (1998 est.)	20 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme	Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana)
Labor force	NA	58,800 (1997)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980)
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: 1,183 km border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km
Land use	arable land: 0.5% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 99.37% (1998 est.)	arable land: 0.14% permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001)
Languages	French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users)	French
Legal system	based on French civil law system and customary law	French legal system
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (66 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (137 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 11 July 2002 (next to be held NA July 2007); National Assembly - last held 27 May and 26 June 2002 (next to be held by NA May 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FDP 56, other 10; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FDP 83, UDR 6, UPADS 3, other 45	unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 47.71 years male: 44.27 years female: 51.24 years (2002 est.)	total population: 76.89 years male: 73.57 years female: 80.38 years (2004 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 total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon	Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname
Map references	Africa	South America
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of France
Military branches	Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie, National Police	no regular military forces; Gendarmerie
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$84 million (FY01)	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.8% (FY01)	NA
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 702,048 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 52,294 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 356,388 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 33,914 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - military age	20 years of age (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 32,350 (2002 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 15 August (1960)	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Nationality	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo	noun: French Guianese (singular and plural) adjective: French Guianese
Natural hazards	seasonal flooding	high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding
Natural resources	petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower	bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
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]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Rally for Democracy and the Republic or RDR [Raymond Damasge NGOLLO]; Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR [leader NA]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO]	Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]
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	NA
Population	2,958,448 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 2002 est.)	191,309 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA
Population growth rate	2.18% (2002 est.)	2.25% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire	Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)	AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998)
Radios	341,000 (1997)	-
Railways	total: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000 est.)	-
Religions	Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%	Roman Catholic
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 (2002 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2004 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: NA domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	22,000 (1998)	51,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular	3,300 (1998)	138,200 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2002)	3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin	low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
Total fertility rate	4.94 children born/woman (2002 est.)	3.05 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	22% (2001)
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	3,760 km note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004)

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