Congo, Republic of the (2002) | Palau (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha | 16 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatohobei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsorol |
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: 26.6% (male 2,746; female 2,578)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 7,456; female 6,319) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 437; female 480) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes |
Airports | 33 (2001) | 3 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 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: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence. |
Birth rate | 37.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $870 million
expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $57.7 million
expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Brazzaville | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror |
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 and humid; wet season May to November |
Coastline | 169 km | 1,519 km |
Constitution | constitution approved by referendum in January 2002 | 1 January 1981 |
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: Republic of Palau
conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Palau District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 16.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.89 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $5 billion (1999 est.) | $0 (FY99/00) |
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) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Francis J. RICCIARDONE, US ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau
embassy: Koror (no street address) mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hersey KYOTA
chancery: 1800 K Street NW, Suite 714, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
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) | border delineation disputes being negotiated with Philippines, Indonesia |
Economic aid - recipient | $159.1 million (1995) (1995) | $155.8 million ; note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities |
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 consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 50,000 in FY00/01. The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development. |
Electricity - consumption | 406.9 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 126 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 302 million kWh (1999) | - |
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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 |
Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.) |
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 | the US dollar is used |
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 Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. reelected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. 64%, Polycarp BASILIUS 33%; Elias Camsek CHIN elected vice president; percent of vote - Elias Camsek CHIN 70%, Sandra PIERANTOZZI 29% |
Exports | $2.6 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $18 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum 90%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds | shellfish, tuna, copra, garments |
Exports - partners | US 20.9%, South Korea 15.5%, China 6.7%, Germany 3.2% (2000) | US, Japan, Singapore (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $174 million
note: GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 48% services: 42% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2001 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 15 00 E | 7 30 N, 134 30 E |
Geography - note | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them | westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands |
Highways | total: 12,800 km
paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1996) |
total: 61 km
paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $725 million f.o.b. (2001) | $99 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 20.5%, US 9.8%, Italy 7.5%, Belgium 3.8% (2000) | US, Guam, Japan, Singapore, Korea (2000) |
Independence | 15 August 1960 (from France) | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making |
Infant mortality rate | 97.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 15.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2001 est.) | 3.4% (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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas |
Labor force | NA | 9,845 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 20%, industry NA, services NA (1990) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.5%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 99.37% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 8.7%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 86.95% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) | English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
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 |
bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Delegates - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (four new members elected); House of Delegates - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 16 (one new member elected) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.71 years
male: 44.27 years female: 51.24 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 69.82 years
male: 66.67 years female: 73.15 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: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 NM | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm extended fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie, National Police | no regular military forces; Police Force |
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.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 356,388 (2002 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) | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun: Palauan(s)
adjective: Palauan |
Natural hazards | seasonal flooding | typhoons (June to December) |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.85 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] | none |
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.) |
20,016 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.18% (2002 est.) | 1.46% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire | Koror |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2002) |
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% | Christian (Roman Catholics 49%, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion, which is indigenous to Palau) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.14 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: NA international: country code - 680; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,000 (1998) | 6,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,300 (1998) | 1,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 1 (cable) (2005) |
Terrain | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs |
Total fertility rate | 4.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.46 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 2.3% (2000 est.) |
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 |
- |