Congo, Republic of the (2008) | Lebanon (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 | 5 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Ech Chimal, Ej Jnoub, El Bekaa, Jabal Loubnane |
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:
27.57% (male 509,975; female 490,031) 15-64 years: 65.72% (male 1,136,995; female 1,247,184) 65 years and over: 6.71% (male 110,964; female 132,625) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats |
Airports | 31 (2007) | 8 (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:
5 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 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:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
total:
10,400 sq km land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut |
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. | Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a party, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 25,000 troops in Lebanon based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon in May of 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese Christians and Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. |
Birth rate | 42.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 20.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.639 billion
expenditures: $2.104 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$3.31 billion expenditures: $5.55 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 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) |
Beirut |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows |
Coastline | 169 km | 225 km |
Constitution | approved by referendum 20 January 2002 | 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Taif Accord) of October 1989 |
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:
Lebanese Republic conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan |
Currency | - | Lebanese pound (LBP) |
Death rate | 12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5 billion (2000 est.) | $9.6 billion (2000 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador David M. SATTERFIELD embassy: Antelias, Beirut mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Beirut; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: [961] (4) 543600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136 |
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 Dr. Farid ABBOUD chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles |
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 | Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as a part of Lebanon from which Hizballah conducts cross-border attacks |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.449 billion (2005) | $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001) |
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. | The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy has made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% per year in 1996 and 1997 but slowed to 2% in 1998, -1% in 1999, and 1% in 2000. Annual inflation fell during the course of the 1990s from more than 100% to 0%, and foreign exchange reserves jumped from $1.4 billion to more than $6 billion. Burgeoning capital inflows have generated foreign payments surpluses, and the Lebanese pound has remained very stable for the past two years. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. Solidere, a $2-billion firm, has managed the reconstruction of Beirut's central business district; the stock market reopened in January 1996; and international banks and insurance companies are returning. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by tapping foreign exchange reserves and by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. The newly re-installed HARIRI government's announced policies fail to address the ever-increasing budgetary deficits and national debt burden. The gap between rich and poor has widened in the 1990s, resulting in grassroots dissatisfaction over the skewed distribution of the reconstruction's benefits. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.272 billion kWh (2005) | 7.86 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 1.8 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 6 million kWh (2005) | 654 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7.341 billion kWh (2005) | 7.748 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
91.29% hydro: 8.71% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills |
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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3% | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% |
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) | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (January 2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.8 (1999), 1,516.1 (1998), 1,539.5 (1997), 1,571.4 (1996) |
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:
President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998) head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 23 October 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly; the current Cabinet was formed in 1998 elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim election results: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
Exports | 20,750 bbl/day (2004) | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds | foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal and metal products, electrical equipment and products, jewelry, paper and paper products |
Exports - partners | US 35.9%, China 31.4%, Taiwan 9.9%, South Korea 8% (2006) | UAE 9%, Saudi Arabia 8%, Syria 6%, US 6%, Kuwait 6%, France 5%, Belgium 5%, Jordan 4% (1999) |
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
note: uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $18.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.6%
industry: 57.1% services: 37.3% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
12% industry: 27% services: 61% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2007 est.) | 1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 15 00 E | 33 50 N, 35 50 E |
Geography - note | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them | Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity |
Highways | - | total:
7,300 km paved: 6,350 km unpaved: 950 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | inconsequential producer of hashish; a Lebanese/Syrian eradication campaign started in the early 1990s has practically eliminated the opium and cannabis crops |
Imports | 11,410 bbl/day (2004) | $6.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, metals, fuels, agricultural foods |
Imports - partners | France 23.5%, China 13.2%, US 7.6%, India 7%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.3% (2006) | Italy 13%, France 11%, Germany 8%, US 7%, Switzerland 6%, Japan, UK, Syria (1999) |
Independence | 15 August 1960 (from France) | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | -1% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes | banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating |
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.) |
28.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2007 est.) | 0% (2000 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 | ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 22 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (2003) | 860 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) |
Labor force | NA | 1.3 million (1999 est.)
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | services NA%, industry NA%, agriculture NA% |
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:
454 km border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.45%
permanent crops: 0.15% other: 98.4% (2005) |
arable land:
18% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 8% other: 64% (1996 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - Muslim 57% (of which Sunni 25%, Sh'ite 25%, Druze 6%, Alawite less than 1%), Christian 43% (of which Maronite 23%); seats by party - Muslim 64 (of which Sunni 27, Sh'ite 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.29 years
male: 52.1 years female: 54.52 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
71.52 years male: 69.13 years female: 74.03 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 can read and write total population: 86.4% male: 90.8% female: 82.2% (1997 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea:
12 NM |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1) (2007) | total:
71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 379,705 GRT/592,672 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 42, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Netherlands 1, Syria 1 (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) | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $343 million (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.1% (2006) | 4.8% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
980,412 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
605,332 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun:
Lebanese (singular and plural) adjective: Lebanese |
Natural hazards | seasonal flooding | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land |
Net migration rate | -3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 89 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 758 km (2007) | crude oil 72 km (none in operation) |
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 | political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations |
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 | 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.) |
3,627,774 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 28% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.639% (2007 est.) | 1.38% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 2.85 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 894 km
narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
total:
399 km (mostly unusable because of damage in civil war) standard gauge: 317 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km (1999) |
Religions | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% | Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL% |
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: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education |
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:
telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,900 (2005) | 700,000 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 490,000 (2005) | 580,000 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin | narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.05 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 18% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | 1,125 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2006) | none |