Congo, Republic of the (2004) | Angola (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha | 18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.9% (male 571,224; female 563,723)
15-64 years: 58.5% (male 865,596; female 888,125) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 45,093; female 64,279) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.3% (male 2,318,326; female 2,272,726)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 2,904,595; female 2,806,430) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 131,316; female 159,778) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish |
Airports | 32 (2003 est.) | 244 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 32
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 28
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.) |
total: 211
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 80 (2002) |
Area | total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
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, but ushered in a period of ethnic unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers with significant potential for offshore development. | Civil war has been the norm in Angola since independence from Portugal in 1975. A 1994 peace accord between the government and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) provided for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government and armed forces. A national unity government was installed in April of 1997, but serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost in fighting over the past quarter century. The death of insurgent leader Jonas SAVIMBI in 2002 and a subsequent cease fire with UNITA may bode well for the country. |
Birth rate | 28.66 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 46.18 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.025 billion
expenditures: $946.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $928 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million |
Capital | Brazzaville | Luanda |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) |
Coastline | 169 km | 1,600 km |
Constitution | constitution approved by referendum 20 January 2002 | 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992 |
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 Angola
conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | kwanza (AOA) |
Death rate | 14.49 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 24.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $5 billion (2000 est.) | $10.4 billion (2001 est.) |
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 Christopher William DELL
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: American Embassy Luanda, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (2) 445-481, 447-028, 446-224 FAX: [244] (2) 446-924 |
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 Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKIDI
chancery: 1615 M Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: Houston and New York |
Disputes - international | the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $159.1 million (1995) | $383.5 million (1999) |
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. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic problems of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. | Angola is an economy in disarray because of a quarter century of nearly continuous warfare. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and 90% of exports. Violence continues, millions of land mines remain, and many farmers are reluctant to return to their fields. As a result, much of the country's food must still be imported. To fully take advantage of its rich natural resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to end its conflict and continue reforming government policies. Internal strife discourages investment outside of the petroleum sector, which is producing roughly 800,000 barrels of oil per day. While Angola made progress in bringing inflation down further, from over 300% in 2000 to about 110% in 2001, the government has failed to make sufficient progress on reforms recommended by the IMF, such as increasing foreign exchange reserves and promoting greater transparency in government spending. Angola's GDP could be among the world's fastest growing in 2002 if oil production from the Girassol field, which began production in December 2001, reaches 200,000 barrels per day as expected. |
Electricity - consumption | 633 million kWh (2001) | 1.107 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 358.1 million kWh (2001) | 1.19 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 40%
hydro: 60% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation | overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water |
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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
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 |
Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999) | kwanza per US dollar - 32.8716 (January 2002), 22.058 (2001), 10.041 (2000), 2.791 (1999), 0.393 (1998), 0.229 (1997); note - in December 1999 the kwanza was revalued with six zeroes dropped off the old value |
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 Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed Prime Minister on 6 December 2002, but this is not a position of real power cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by universal ballot for a NA-year term; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed |
Exports | NA (2001) | $7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds | crude oil 90%, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton |
Exports - partners | China 28.6%, Taiwan 19.3%, US 16%, South Korea 12.9% (2003) | US 44.5%, EU 17.3%, China 22.7%, South Korea 8.1% (2000) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.148 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $13.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6.9%
industry: 53.9% services: 39.2% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 70% services: 24% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $700 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,330 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.3% (2003 est.) | 5.4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 15 00 E | 12 30 S, 18 30 E |
Geography - note | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them | Cabinda is separated from rest of country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Highways | total: 12,800 km
paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1999 est.) |
total: 76,626 km
paved: 19,156 km unpaved: 57,470 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states |
Imports | NA (2001) | $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods |
Imports - partners | France 22.2%, US 6.8%, Italy 6.2%, China 5.1%, Belgium 4.6%, India 4.4% (2003) | EU 47.4%, South Korea 16%, South Africa 15.9%, US 11.3%, Brazil 5.5% (2000) |
Independence | 15 August 1960 (from France) | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing; brewing; tobacco products; sugar; textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 93.86 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 99.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 87.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
191.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2003 est.) | 110% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | NA (2000 est.) | 5 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 85%, industry and services 15% (1997 est.) |
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: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.51%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 99.36% (2001) |
arable land: 2.41%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 97.19% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets |
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 National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, others 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, others 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.51 years
male: 48.51 years female: 50.55 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 38.87 years
male: 37.62 years female: 40.18 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42% male: 56% female: 28% (1998 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 39,305 GRT/63,528 DWT
ships by type: cargo 8, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Congolese Armed Forces (FAC): Army, Air Force, Navy | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $68.6 million (2003) | $1.2 billion (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (2003) | 22% (1999) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 773,790 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,532,469 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 390,884 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,272,509 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 31,964 (2004 est.) | males: 103,807 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
Natural hazards | seasonal flooding | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 53 km; oil 646 km (2004) | crude oil 179 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] | Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [interim leader: Paulo Lukamba "GATO"], largest opposition party has engaged in years of armed resistance; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS], ruling party in power since 1975; Social Renewal Party or PRS [disputed leadership: Eduardo KUANGANA, Antonio MUACHICUNGO]; UNITA-Renovada [Secretary General: Jorge VALENTIM], party officially reunited with UNITA in October 2002
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but only won a few seats and have little influence in the National Assembly |
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 | Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO; Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province |
Population | 2,998,040
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 2004 est.) |
10,593,171 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.42% (2004 est.) | 2.18% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire | Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malongo, Mocamedes, Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2000) |
Radios | - | 815,000 (2000) |
Railways | total: 894 km
narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
total: 2,771 km (inland, much of the track is unusable because of land mines still in place from the civil war)
narrow gauge: 2,648 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2000 est.) |
Religions | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 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: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: telephone service limited mostly to government and business use; HF radiotelephone used extensively for military links
domestic: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 7,000 (2003) | 72,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 330,000 (2003) | 25,800 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 6 (2000) |
Terrain | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau |
Total fertility rate | 3.54 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 6.43 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003) | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 4,385 km (on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2004) | 1,295 km |