Compare Congo, Republic of the (2004) - Southern Ocean (2008)

Compare Congo, Republic of the (2004) z Southern Ocean (2008)

	Congo, Republic of the (2004)	Southern Ocean (2008)

Administrative divisions	10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune; Bouenza, Brazzaville, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha	-
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.)	-
Agriculture - products	cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products	-
Airports	32 (2003 est.)	-
Airports - with paved runways	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (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: 20.327 million sq km note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Montana	slightly more than twice the size of the US
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.	A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.
Birth rate	28.66 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $1.025 billion expenditures: $946.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)	-
Capital	Brazzaville	-
Climate	tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator	sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter
Coastline	169 km	17,968 km
Constitution	constitution approved by referendum 20 January 2002	-
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	-
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.)	-
Debt - external	$5 billion (2000 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)	-
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	-
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	Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Economic aid - recipient	$159.1 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. 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.	Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer, 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000.
Electricity - consumption	633 million kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - imports	300 million kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - production	358.1 million kWh (2001)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m	lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation	increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
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	the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing) note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence), which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
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	-
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)	-
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%	-
Exports	NA (2001)	-
Exports - commodities	petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds	-
Exports - partners	China 28.6%, Taiwan 19.3%, US 16%, South Korea 12.9% (2003)	-
Fiscal 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	-
GDP	purchasing power parity - $2.148 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 6.9% industry: 53.9% services: 39.2% (2003 est.)	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $700 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	1.3% (2003 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	1 00 S, 15 00 E	60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
Geography - note	about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them	the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Highways	total: 12,800 km paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1999 est.)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	-
Imports	NA (2001)	-
Imports - commodities	capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs	-
Imports - partners	France 22.2%, US 6.8%, Italy 6.2%, China 5.1%, Belgium 4.6%, India 4.4% (2003)	-
Independence	15 August 1960 (from France)	-
Industrial production growth rate	0% (2002 est.)	-
Industries	petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes	-
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.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.4% (2003 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	-
Irrigated land	10 sq km (1998 est.)	-
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme	-
Labor force	NA (2000 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	-
Land use	arable land: 0.51% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 99.36% (2001)	-
Languages	French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)	-
Legal system	based on French civil law system and customary 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	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 49.51 years male: 48.51 years female: 50.55 years (2004 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 est.)	-
Location	Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon	body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
Map references	Africa	Antarctic Region
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	-
Military branches	Congolese Armed Forces (FAC): Army, Air Force, Navy	-
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)	-
Nationality	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo	-
Natural hazards	seasonal flooding	huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 m thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue
Natural resources	petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower	probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fish
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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]	-
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	-
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.)	-
Population below poverty line	NA	-
Population growth rate	1.42% (2004 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)	-
Railways	total: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2003)	-
Religions	Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%	-
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.)	-
Suffrage	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)	-
Telephones - main lines in use	7,000 (2003)	-
Telephones - mobile cellular	330,000 (2003)	-
Television broadcast stations	1 (2002)	-
Terrain	coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin	the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 m over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Total fertility rate	3.54 children born/woman (2004 est.)	-
Transportation - note	-	Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal
Unemployment rate	NA (2003)	-
Waterways	4,385 km (on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2004)	-

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