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Compare Congo, Republic of the (2004) - Reunion (2005)

Compare Congo, Republic of the (2004) z Reunion (2005)

 Congo, Republic of the (2004)Reunion (2005)
 Congo, Republic of theReunion
Administrative divisions 10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons
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: 30.4% (male 120,698/female 115,108)


15-64 years: 63.6% (male 243,668/female 250,143)


65 years and over: 6.1% (male 19,234/female 28,097) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn
Airports 32 (2003 est.) 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 4


over 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.)
total: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
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.)
-
Area total: 342,000 sq km


land: 341,500 sq km


water: 500 sq km
total: 2,517 sq km


land: 2,507 sq km


water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Montana slightly smaller than Rhode Island
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. The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route.
Birth rate 28.66 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 19.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $1.025 billion


expenditures: $946.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
revenues: $1.26 billion


expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998)
Capital Brazzaville Saint-Denis
Climate tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April
Coastline 169 km 207 km
Constitution constitution approved by referendum 20 January 2002 4 October 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 Reunion


conventional short form: Reunion


local long form: none


local short form: Ile de la Reunion


former: Bourbon Island
Currency Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States -
Death rate 14.49 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $5 billion (2000 est.) $NA
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 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) NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.)
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. The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France.
Electricity - consumption 633 million kWh (2001) 1.084 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 300 million kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 358.1 million kWh (2001) 1.166 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


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


highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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
French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian
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) euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)
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 Laurent CAYREL (since 16 July 2005)


head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993)


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 the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
Exports NA (2001) NA
Exports - commodities petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993)
Exports - partners China 28.6%, Taiwan 19.3%, US 16%, South Korea 12.9% (2003) France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (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 the flag of France is used
GDP purchasing power parity - $2.148 billion (2003 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 6.9%


industry: 53.9%


services: 39.2% (2003 est.)
agriculture: 8%


industry: 19%


services: 73% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $700 (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 1.3% (2003 est.) 2.5% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 1 00 S, 15 00 E 21 06 S, 55 36 E
Geography - note about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean
Highways total: 12,800 km


paved: 1,242 km


unpaved: 11,558 km (1999 est.)
total: 1,214 km (including 88 km of four-lane roads) (2001)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Imports NA (2001) NA
Imports - commodities capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products
Imports - partners France 22.2%, US 6.8%, Italy 6.2%, China 5.1%, Belgium 4.6%, India 4.4% (2003) France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000)
Independence 15 August 1960 (from France) none (overseas department of France)
Industrial production growth rate 0% (2002 est.) NA%
Industries petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction
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.)
total: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 8.52 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.4% (2003 est.) NA%
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 InOC, UPU, WFTU
Irrigated land 10 sq km (1998 est.) 120 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Cour Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel
Labor force NA (2000 est.) 309,900 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000)
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: 0.51%


permanent crops: 0.13%


other: 99.36% (2001)
arable land: 13.6%


permanent crops: 1.2%


other: 85.2% (2001)
Languages French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) French (official), Creole widely used
Legal system based on French civil law system and customary law French law
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 (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)


elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010)


election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7


note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1
Life expectancy at birth total population: 49.51 years


male: 48.51 years


female: 50.55 years (2004 est.)
total population: 73.95 years


male: 70.55 years


female: 77.52 years (2005 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: 88.9%


male: 87%


female: 90.8% (2003 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Map references Africa World
Maritime claims territorial sea: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine - total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT


by type: chemical tanker 1


foreign-owned: 1 (France 1)


registered in other countries: 1 (2005)
Military - note - defense is the responsibility of France
Military branches Congolese Armed Forces (FAC): Army, Air Force, Navy no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $68.6 million (2003) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.8% (2003) -
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 773,790 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 390,884 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 31,964 (2004 est.) -
National holiday Independence Day, 15 August (1960) Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Nationality noun: Congolese (singular and plural)


adjective: Congolese or Congo
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)


adjective: Reunionese
Natural hazards seasonal flooding periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano
Natural resources petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower fish, arable land, hydropower
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines gas 53 km; oil 646 km (2004) -
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] Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA]
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 2,998,040


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.)
776,948 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line NA NA%
Population growth rate 1.42% (2004 est.) 1.38% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire Le Port
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001)
Railways total: 894 km


narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2003)
-
Religions Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995)
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: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis


domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network


international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
Telephones - main lines in use 7,000 (2003) 300,000 est (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 330,000 (2003) 489,800 (2002)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2002) 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001)
Terrain coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
Total fertility rate 3.54 children born/woman (2004 est.) 2.47 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate NA (2003) 36% (1999 est.)
Waterways 4,385 km (on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2004) -
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