Congo, Republic of the (2008) | Nauru (2004) | |
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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 | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
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: 38.2% (male 2,516; female 2,372)
15-64 years: 60% (male 3,782; female 3,898) 65 years and over: 1.9% (male 128; female 113) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products | coconuts |
Airports | 31 (2007) | 1 (2003 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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 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) |
- |
Area | total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | about 0.1 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. | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 42.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 25.61 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.639 billion
expenditures: $2.104 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | name: Brazzaville
geographic coordinates: 4 15 S, 15 17 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 169 km | 30 km |
Constitution | approved by referendum 20 January 2002 | 29 January 1968 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: Congo (Brazzaville) local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.95 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $5 billion (2000 est.) | $33.3 million (2002) |
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 Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
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 |
Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
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) | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) (2000 est.) |
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. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are now depleted. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income have been invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. In 2004 the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat has substantially mounted. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.272 billion kWh (2005) | 27.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 1.8 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 6 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 7.341 billion kWh (2005) | 30 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
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) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.2641 (2002) 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (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);
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 Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president |
Exports | 20,750 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds | phosphates |
Exports - partners | US 35.9%, China 31.4%, Taiwan 9.9%, South Korea 8% (2006) | Japan 42.3%, India 38.5%, South Korea 7.7% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 |
blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $60 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.6%
industry: 57.1% services: 37.3% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2007 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 15 00 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
Highways | - | total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | offshore banking recently stopped, remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime |
Imports | 11,410 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | France 23.5%, China 13.2%, US 7.6%, India 7%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.3% (2006) | Australia 67.9%, Indonesia 10.7%, US 7.1% (2003) |
Independence | 15 August 1960 (from France) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | -1% (2007 est.) | NA |
Industries | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
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.) |
total: 10.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2007 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
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, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court |
Labor force | NA | - |
Labor force - by occupation | - | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British 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 |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.29 years
male: 52.1 years female: 54.52 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 62.33 years
male: 58.78 years female: 66.06 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.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1) (2007) | none |
Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
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) | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.1% (2006) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 3,275 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,810 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | seasonal flooding | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | -3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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 | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [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 | 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.) |
12,809 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.639% (2007 est.) | 1.87% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 894 km
narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
- |
Religions | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third 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: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,900 (2005) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 490,000 (2005) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.29 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 0% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 1,125 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2006) | - |