Congo, Republic of the (2008) | Antigua and Barbuda (2001) | |
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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 | 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.3% (male 885,039/female 873,753)
15-64 years: 50.8% (male 958,992/female 973,445) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 44,994/female 64,387) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
27.97% (male 9,527; female 9,203) 15-64 years: 67.15% (male 22,450; female 22,519) 65 years and over: 4.88% (male 1,360; female 1,911) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock |
Airports | 31 (2007) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007) |
total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 26
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 9 (2007) |
total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
total:
442 sq km (Antigua 281 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km) land: 442 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Redonda |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | 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 took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, and ushered in a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003, but the calm is tenuous and refugees continue to present a humanitarian crisis. The Republic of Congo was once one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need to hope for new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term. | The islands of Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. Some 3,000 refugees fleeing a volcanic eruption on nearby Montserrat have settled in Antigua and Barbuda since 1995. |
Birth rate | 42.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 19.5 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.639 billion
expenditures: $2.104 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$122.6 million expenditures: $141.2 million, including capital expenditures of $17.3 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | name: Brazzaville
geographic coordinates: 4 15 S, 15 17 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Saint John's |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 169 km | 153 km |
Constitution | approved by referendum 20 January 2002 | 1 November 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:
none conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
Currency | - | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.87 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5 billion (2000 est.) | $357 million (1998) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert WEISBERG
embassy: BDEAC Building, 4th Floor, Brazzaville mailing address: NA telephone: [242] 81-1480 FAX:: [243] 81-5324 |
the US does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda (embassy closed 30 June 1994); the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda |
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 Lionel Alexander HURST chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 362-5211 FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 consulate(s) general: Miami |
Disputes - international | Congo hosts about 63,000 refugees from neighboring states, primarily from the Pool border area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; 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 | $1.449 billion (2005) | $2.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy is a mixture of subsistance agriculture, an industrial sector based largely on oil, and 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 through oil-backed loans that have contributed to a growing debt burden and chronic revenue shortfalls. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. However, 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. 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 challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. Recovery of oil prices has boosted the economy's GDP and near-term prospects. In March 2006, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) treatment for Congo. | Tourism continues to be the dominant activity in the economy accounting directly or indirectly for more than half of GDP. The budding offshore financial sector has been seriously hurt by financial sanctions imposed by the US and UK as a result of the loosening of its money-laundering controls. The government has made efforts to comply with international demands in order to get the sanctions lifted. Antigua and Barbuda was listed as a tax haven by the OECD in 2000. The dual island nation's agricultural production is mainly directed to the domestic market; the sector is constrained by the limited water supply and labor shortages that reflect the pull of higher wages in tourism and construction. Manufacturing comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components. Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which accounts for about one-third of all tourist arrivals. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.272 billion kWh (2005) | 88.4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 1.8 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 6 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7.341 billion kWh (2005) | 95 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation | water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3% | black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 483.6 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
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);
head of government: Prime Minister Isidore MVOUBA (since 7 January 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held in 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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General James B. CARLISLE (since NA 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD (since 8 March 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general chosen by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | 20,750 bbl/day (2004) | $38 million (1998) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% |
Exports - partners | US 35.9%, China 31.4%, Taiwan 9.9%, South Korea 8% (2006) | OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3% |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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
note: uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
red, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $533 million (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.6%
industry: 57.1% services: 37.3% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 12.5% services: 83.5% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2007 est.) | 4.6% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 15 00 E | 17 03 N, 61 48 W |
Geography - note | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them | - |
Highways | - | total:
1,165 km paved: 384 km unpaved: 781 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as a drug-money-laundering center |
Imports | 11,410 bbl/day (2004) | $330 million (1998) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil |
Imports - partners | France 23.5%, China 13.2%, US 7.6%, India 7%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.3% (2006) | US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3% |
Independence | 15 August 1960 (from France) | 1 November 1981 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -1% (2007 est.) | 6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) |
Infant mortality rate | total: 83.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 88.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 77.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
22.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2007 est.) | 1.6% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction) |
Labor force | NA | 30,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | - | commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983) |
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: 1.45%
permanent crops: 0.15% other: 98.4% (2005) |
arable land:
18% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 11% other: 62% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) | English (official), local dialects |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | based on English common 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 in 2008); National Assembly - last held 24 June and 5 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) 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 - PCT 46, MCDDI 11, UPADS 11, MAR 5, MSD 5, independents 37, other 22 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (17-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 9 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ALP 12, UPP 4, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.29 years
male: 52.1 years female: 54.52 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
70.74 years male: 68.45 years female: 73.14 years (2001 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 has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1960 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1) (2007) | total:
681 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,070,390 GRT/5,289,904 DWT ships by type: bulk 15, cargo 424, chemical tanker 10, combination bulk 4, container 176, liquefied gas 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 29 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 2, Germany 4, Slovenia 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Congolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Congolaises, FAC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise), Gendarmerie, Special Presidential Security Guard (GSSP) (2008) | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (includes Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.1% (2006) | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) | Independence Day, 1 November (1981) |
Nationality | noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun:
Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s) adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
Natural hazards | seasonal flooding | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism |
Net migration rate | -3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 89 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 758 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Action Movement for Renewal or MAR; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Congolese Labour Party or PCT; Movement for Solidarity and Development or MSD; 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; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO]; many less important parties | Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three opposition parties - United National Democratic Party or UNDP, Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, and Progressive Labor Movement or PLM) |
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 | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] |
Population | 3,800,610
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 2007 est.) |
66,970 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.639% (2007 est.) | 0.74% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Saint John's |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 36,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 894 km
narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
total:
77 km narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane) |
Religions | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% | Anglican (predominant), other Protestant, some Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.985 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.699 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 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; fixed-line infrastructure inadequate providing less than 1 connection per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has surged reaching 16 per 100 persons
domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: good automatic telephone system international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,900 (2005) | 28,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 490,000 (2005) | 1,300 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.31 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 7% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 1,125 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2006) | none |