Compare Congo, Republic of the (2008) - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2008)

Compare Congo, Republic of the (2008) z Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2008)

	Congo, Republic of the (2008)	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2008)

Administrative divisions	10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune; Bouenza, Brazzaville, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha	6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick
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: 25.9% (male 15,596/female 15,027) 15-64 years: 67.6% (male 41,259/female 38,620) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 3,358/female 4,289) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products	bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish
Airports	31 (2007)	6 (2007)
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: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
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 (2007)
Area	total: 342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km	total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km) land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Montana	twice 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.	Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on St. Vincent until 1719. Disputed between France and the United Kingdom for most of the 18th century, the island was ceded to the latter in 1783. Between 1960 and 1962, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979.
Birth rate	42.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	16.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $3.639 billion expenditures: $2.104 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $94.6 million expenditures: $85.8 million (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)	name: Kingstown geographic coordinates: 13 09 N, 61 14 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator	tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
Coastline	169 km	84 km
Constitution	approved by referendum 20 January 2002	27 October 1979
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: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Death rate	12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	5.97 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$5 billion (2000 est.)	$223 million (2004)
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 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
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 Ellsworth I. A. JOHN chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: New York
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	joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
Economic aid - recipient	$1.449 billion (2005)	$4.89 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (2005)
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.	Economic growth slowed slightly in 2007 after reaching a 10 year high of nearly 7% in 2006, but is expected to remain robust, hinging upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors and a recent increase in construction activity. This lower-middle-income country is vulnerable to natural disasters - tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002. In 2005, the islands had more than 160,000 tourist arrivals, mostly to the Grenadines. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. The government's ability to invest in social programs and respond to external shocks is constrained by its high debt burden - 25 percent of current revenues are directed towards debt servicing.
Electricity - consumption	5.272 billion kWh (2005)	107 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	1.8 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	6 million kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	7.341 billion kWh (2005)	115 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: La Soufriere 1,234 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation	pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive
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, 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 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7%
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 - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)
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 Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Exports	20,750 bbl/day (2004)	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds	bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch; tennis racquets
Exports - partners	US 35.9%, China 31.4%, Taiwan 9.9%, South Korea 8% (2006)	France 26.2%, Greece 21.3%, Italy 18.9%, Russia 7.2%, UK 6.8% (2006)
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 vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 5.6% industry: 57.1% services: 37.3% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 10% industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.8% (2007 est.)	4.4% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	1 00 S, 15 00 E	13 15 N, 61 12 W
Geography - note	about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them	the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation
Imports	11,410 bbl/day (2004)	1,468 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels
Imports - partners	France 23.5%, China 13.2%, US 7.6%, India 7%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.3% (2006)	Singapore 17.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 12.1%, US 11.1%, Italy 11%, Spain 9.5%, Turkey 4.6%, Germany 4.4% (2006)
Independence	15 August 1960 (from France)	27 October 1979 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-1% (2007 est.)	-0.9% (1997 est.)
Industries	petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes	food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch
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: 14.01 deaths/1,000 live births male: 15.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2007 est.)	1% (2005 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, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO
Irrigated land	20 sq km (2003)	10 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
Labor force	NA	41,680 (1991 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 26% industry: 17% services: 57% (1980 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	0 km
Land use	arable land: 1.45% permanent crops: 0.15% other: 98.4% (2005)	arable land: 17.95% permanent crops: 17.95% other: 64.1% (2005)
Languages	French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)	English, French patois
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	unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and six appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 7 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.3%, NDP 44.7%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 53.29 years male: 52.1 years female: 54.52 years (2007 est.)	total population: 74.09 years male: 72.21 years female: 76.04 years (2007 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 ever attended school total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon	Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Map references	Africa	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	registered in other countries: 1 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1) (2007)	total: 582 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,598,917 GRT/8,255,014 DWT by type: bulk carrier 92, cargo 353, carrier 19, chemical tanker 4, container 17, liquefied gas 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum tanker 19, refrigerated cargo 31, roll on/roll off 21, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 536 (Austria 2, Bangladesh 1, Barbados 1, Belgium 9, Bulgaria 13, Canada 6, China 106, Croatia 7, Cyprus 3, Czech Republic 1, Denmark 16, Egypt 4, Estonia 20, France 7, Germany 3, Greece 81, Guyana 2, Hong Kong 7, Iceland 15, India 5, Iran 1, Israel 4, Italy 19, Kenya 2, Latvia 20, Lebanon 7, Lithuania 7, Malta 1, Monaco 6, Montenegro 1, Netherlands 5, Norway 19, Pakistan 1, Philippines 1, Poland 1, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 1, Romania 1, Russia 19, Singapore 6, Slovenia 5, Sweden 2, Switzerland 12, Syria 11, Turkey 20, Ukraine 12, UAE 12, UK 9, US 21) (2007)
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; Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Coast Guard (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.1% (2006)	NA
National holiday	Independence Day, 15 August (1960)	Independence Day, 27 October (1979)
Nationality	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo	noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s) adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian
Natural hazards	seasonal flooding	hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat
Natural resources	petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower	hydropower, cropland
Net migration rate	-3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-7.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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	New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; Unity Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU)
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.)	118,149 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA%
Population growth rate	2.639% (2007 est.)	0.248% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)	AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)
Railways	total: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)	-
Religions	Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%	Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, other (includes Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant) 12%
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: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.068 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.783 male(s)/female total population: 1.039 male(s)/female (2007 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: adequate system domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines; mobile-cellular teledensity about 75 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 1-784; the East Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) and Southern Caribbean fiber optic system (SCF) submarine cables carry international calls; connectivity also provided by VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia
Telephones - main lines in use	15,900 (2005)	22,600 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	490,000 (2005)	87,600 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	1 (plus 3 repeaters) (2004)
Terrain	coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin	volcanic, mountainous
Total fertility rate	5.99 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.81 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	15% (2001 est.)
Waterways	1,125 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2006)	-

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