Faroe Islands (2005) | Congo, Republic of the (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 49 municipalities | 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 21.3% (male 4,997/female 4,999)
15-64 years: 64.9% (male 16,120/female 14,360) 65 years and over: 13.8% (male 2,923/female 3,563) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.43% (male 618,411; female 609,633) 15-64 years: 54.23% (male 765,501; female 804,125) 65 years and over: 3.34% (male 38,772; female 57,894) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | milk, potatoes, vegetables; sheep; salmon, other fish | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 33 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 1,399 sq km
land: 1,399 sq km water: 0 sq km (some lakes and streams) |
total:
342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | eight times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | The population of the Faroe Islands is largely descended from Viking settlers who arrived in the 9th century. The islands have been connected politically to Denmark since the 14th century. A high degree of self-government was attained in 1948. | Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO. |
Birth rate | 13.97 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 38.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $488 million
expenditures: $484 million, including capital expenditures of $21 million (1999) |
revenues:
$870 million expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Torshavn | Brazzaville |
Climate | mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator |
Coastline | 1,117 km | 169 km |
Constitution | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) | Draft constitution approved by transitional parliament in September 2000 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Faroe Islands local long form: none local short form: Foroyar |
conventional long form:
Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 8.69 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $64 million (1999) | $5 billion (1999 est.) |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1948 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | chief of mission:
Ambassador David H. KAEUPER embassy: NA mailing address: NA telephone: [243] (88) 43608 FAX: [243] (88) 41036 note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | chief of mission:
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Serge MOMBOULI chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860 |
Disputes - international | because anticipated offshore hydrocarbon resources have not been realized, earlier Faroese proposals for full independence have been deferred; Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line boundary; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm | most of the Congo river boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Stanley Pool/Pool Malebo area) |
Economic aid - recipient | $135 million (annual subsidy from Denmark) (1998) | $159.1 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The Faroese economy has had a strong performance since 1994, mostly as a result of increasing fish landings and high and stable export prices. Unemployment is minimal and there are signs of labor shortages in several sectors. The positive economic development has helped the Faroese Home Rule Government produce increasing budget surpluses, which in turn has helped to reduce the large public debt, most of it owed to Denmark. However, the total dependence on fishing makes the Faroese economy extremely vulnerable, and the present fishing efforts appear in excess of what is a sustainable level of fishing in the long term. Oil finds close to the Faroese area give hope for deposits in the immediate Faroese area, which may eventually lay the basis for a more diversified economy and thus lessen dependence on Danish economic assistance. Aided by a substantial annual subsidy (15% of GDP) from Denmark, the Faroese have a standard of living not far below the Danes and other Scandinavians. | The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. Moreover, the government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to the government's shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the Republic of the Congo's budget deficit. Even with the IMF's renewed confidence and high world oil prices, Congo is unlikely to realize growth of more than 5% in 2001-02. With the return to fragile peace, the IMF approved a $14 million credit in November 2000 to aid post-conflict reconstruction. |
Electricity - consumption | 204.6 million kWh (2002) | 406.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 126 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 220 million kWh (2002) | 302 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
0.66% hydro: 99.34% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Slaettaratindur 882 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Scandinavian | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans NA%; note - Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that of 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997 |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001), 8.0831 (2000) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Birgit KLEIS, chief administrative officer (since 1 November 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Joannes EIDESGAARD (since 3 February 2004) cabinet: Landsstyri appointed by the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the Faroese Parliament; election last held 20 January 2004 (next to be held no later than January 2008) election results: Joannes EIDESGAARD elected prime minister; percent of parliamentary vote - NA% note: coalition of Social Democrats, Union Party, and People's Party |
chief of state:
President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 August 1992 (next was to be held 27 July 1997 but will be delayed for several years pending the drafting of a new constitution) election results: Pascal LISSOUBA elected president in 1992; percent of vote - Pascal LISSOUBA 61.3%, Bernard KOLELAS 38.7%; note - LISSOUBA was deposed in 1997, replaced by Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO |
Exports | NA | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products 94%, stamps, ships (1999) | petroleum 50%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
Exports - partners | Denmark 33.5%, UK 29.7%, Norway 8.4%, Nigeria 7.2% (2004) | US 23%, Benelux 14%, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, China (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | white with a red cross outlined in blue extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted toward the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 27%
industry: 11% services: 62% (1999) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 48% services: 42% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,000 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 10% (2001 est.) | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 62 00 N, 7 00 W | 1 00 S, 15 00 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 17 inhabited islands and one uninhabited island, and a few uninhabited islets; strategically located along important sea lanes in northeastern Atlantic; precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them |
Highways | total: 463 km
paved: 454 km unpaved: 9 km (1999) |
total:
12,800 km paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA | $870 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 29%, consumer goods 36%, raw materials and semi-manufactures 32%, fuels, fish and salt (1999) | petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Denmark 52.8%, Norway 18.3%, Iceland 4.4%, Sweden 4.2% (2004) | France 23%, US 9%, Belgium 8%, UK 7%, Italy (1997 est.) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 15 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | fishing, fish processing, small ship repair and refurbishment, handicrafts | petroleum extraction, cement kilning, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarette making |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
99.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.1% (1999) | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | IMO (associate), NC, NIB, UPU | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | none | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 24,250 (October 2000) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | fishing, fish processing, and manufacturing 33%, construction and private services 33%, public services 34% | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
5,504 km border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.14%
permanent crops: 0% other: 97.86% (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 29% forests and woodland: 62% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) |
Legal system | Danish | based on French civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Faroese Parliament or Logting (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis from the seven constituencies to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 January 2004 (next to be held no later than January 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - Union Party 23.7%, Social Democrats 21.8%, Republican Party 21.7%, People's Party 20.6%, Center Party 5.2%, Independence Party 4.6%; seats by party - Union Party 7, Social Democrats 7, Republican Party 8, People's Party 7, Center Party 2, Independence Party 1 note: election of 2 seats to the Danish Parliament was last held on 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Republican Party 1, People's Party 1 |
unicameral National Transitional Council (75 seats, members elected by reconciliation forum of 1,420 delegates on NA January 1998); note - the National Transitional Council replaced the bicameral Parliament
elections: National Transitional Council - last held NA January 1998 (next to be held NA 2001); note - at that election the National Transitional Council is to be replaced by a bicameral assembly election results: National Transitional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.21 years
male: 75.77 years female: 82.67 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
47.57 years male: 44.38 years female: 50.85 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% note: probably the same as Denmark proper |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 74.9% male: 83.1% female: 67.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Northern Europe, island group between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Iceland to Norway | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
territorial sea:
200 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 24,051 GRT/11,998 DWT
by type: cargo 6, container 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 8 (Denmark 2, Germany 1, Iceland 2, Norway 2, United Kingdom 1) (2005) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Denmark | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces | Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $110 million (FY93) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 3.8% (FY93) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
684,922 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
347,946 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
32,350 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Olaifest (Olavasoka), 29 July | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Faroese (singular and plural)
adjective: Faroese |
noun:
Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo |
Natural hazards | NA | seasonal flooding |
Natural resources | fish, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 25 km |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Jenis A. RANA]; Independence Party [Kari P. HOJGAARD]; People's Party [Anfinn KALLSBERG]; Republican Party [Hogni HOYDAL]; Social Democratic Party [Joannes EIDESGAARD]; Union Party [Kaj Oeo JOHANNESEN] | the most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP (an alliance of Convention for Alternative Democracy, Congolese Labor Party or PCT, Liberal Republican Party, National Union for Democracy and Progress, Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction, and Union for the National Renewal) [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Association for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC |
Population | 46,962 (July 2005 est.) | 2,894,336
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.62% (2005 est.) | 2.2% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Torshavn | Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 341,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: good international communications; good domestic facilities
domestic: digitalization was completed in 1998; both NMT (analog) and GSM (digital) mobile telephone systems are installed international: country code - 298; satellite earth stations - 1 Orion; 1 fiber-optic submarine cable to the Shetland Islands, linking the Faroe Islands with Denmark and Iceland; fiber-optic submarine cable connection to Canada-Europe cable |
general assessment:
services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out-of-order domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 23,000 (2002) | 22,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,700 (2002) | 1,000 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus 43 low-power repeaters) (September 1995) | 1 (1999) |
Terrain | rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin |
Total fertility rate | 2.2 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 5 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 1% (October 2000) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 1,120 km
note: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for local traffic only |