Compare Kuwait (2008) - Congo, Republic of the (2004)

Compare Kuwait (2008) z Congo, Republic of the (2004)

	Kuwait (2008)	Congo, Republic of the (2004)

Administrative divisions	6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir	10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune; Bouenza, Brazzaville, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha
Age structure	0-14 years: 26.7% (male 340,814/female 328,663) 15-64 years: 70.5% (male 1,128,231/female 636,967) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 44,542/female 26,342) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 37.9% (male 571,224; female 563,723) 15-64 years: 58.5% (male 865,596; female 888,125) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 45,093; female 64,279) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	practically no crops; fish	cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products
Airports	7 (2007)	32 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	slightly smaller than Montana
Background	Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family has ruled since returning to power in 1991, and reestablished an elected legislature that in recent years has become increasingly assertive.	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, but ushered in a period of ethnic unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers with significant potential for offshore development.
Birth rate	21.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	28.66 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $66.92 billion expenditures: $36.39 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $1.025 billion expenditures: $946.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Capital	name: Kuwait geographic coordinates: 29 22 N, 47 58 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Brazzaville
Climate	dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters	tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator
Coastline	499 km	169 km
Constitution	approved and promulgated 11 November 1962	constitution approved by referendum 20 January 2002
Country name	conventional long form: State of Kuwait conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt	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
Currency	-	Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Death rate	2.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	14.49 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$33.61 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$5 billion (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Alan MISENHEIMER embassy: Bayan 36302, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 259-1001 FAX: [965] 538-0282	chief of mission: Ambassador Robin R. SANDERS embassy: NA mailing address: NA telephone: [243] (88) 43608 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	chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM al-Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517	chief of mission: Ambassador Serge MOMBOULI chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860
Disputes - international	Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf	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
Economic aid - recipient	$2.6 million (2004)	$159.1 million (1995)
Economy - overview	Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 104 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. High oil prices in recent years have helped build Kuwait's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. As a result of this positive fiscal situation, the need for economic reforms is less urgent and the government has not earnestly pushed through new initiatives. Despite its vast oil reserves, Kuwait experienced power outages during the summer months in 2006 and 2007 because demand exceeded power generating capacity. Power outages are likely to worsen, given its high population growth rates, unless the government can increase generating capacity. In May 2007 Kuwait changed its currency peg from the US dollar to a basket of currencies in order to curb inflation and to reduce its vulnerability to external shocks.	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. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to a 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's budget deficit. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic problems of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty.
Electricity - consumption	36.28 billion kWh (2005)	633 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	300 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	41.11 billion kWh (2005)	358.1 million kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m
Environment - current issues	limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification	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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping	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	Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%	Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3% note: Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that in 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997
Exchange rates	Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2844 (2007), 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003)	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah head of government: Prime Minister NASIR MUHAMMAD al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 3 April 2007); First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006) and Faysal al-HAJJI (since 5 April 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the amir elections: none; the amir is hereditary; the amir appoints the prime minister and deputy prime ministers	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 seven-year term (eligible for a second seven-year term); election last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO 89.4%, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia MBOUNGOU 2.7%
Exports	2.2 million bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	oil and refined products, fertilizers	petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds
Exports - partners	Japan 20.4%, South Korea 16.2%, Taiwan 10.8%, Singapore 9.7%, US 9%, Netherlands 5.3%, China 4.1% (2006)	China 28.6%, Taiwan 19.3%, US 16%, South Korea 12.9% (2003)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; design, which dates to 1961, based on the Arab revolt flag of World War I	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 - $2.148 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 0.4% industry: 54.7% services: 44.9% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 6.9% industry: 53.9% services: 39.2% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $700 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.6% (2007 est.)	1.3% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 N, 45 45 E	1 00 S, 15 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location at head of Persian Gulf	about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them
Heliports	4 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 12,800 km paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Imports	2,611 bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing	capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	US 14.1%, Germany 7.9%, Japan 7.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.8%, China 5.7%, UK 5.4%, Italy 4.6% (2006)	France 22.2%, US 6.8%, Italy 6.2%, China 5.1%, Belgium 4.6%, India 4.4% (2003)
Independence	19 June 1961 (from UK)	15 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	0.8% (2007 est.)	0% (2002 est.)
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials	petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes
Infant mortality rate	total: 9.47 deaths/1,000 live births male: 10.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 93.86 deaths/1,000 live births male: 99.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 87.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.9% (2007 est.)	2.4% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	130 sq km (2003)	10 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court of Appeal	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Labor force	1.167 million note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2007 est.)	NA (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	-
Land boundaries	total: 462 km border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 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: 0.84% permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.99% (2005)	arable land: 0.51% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 99.36% (2001)
Languages	Arabic (official), English widely spoken	French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)
Legal system	civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on French civil law system and customary law
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; all cabinet ministers are also ex officio voting members of the National Assembly) elections: last held 29 June 2006 (next election to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by bloc - NA; seats by bloc - Islamic Bloc (Sunni) 17, Popular Bloc 9, National Action Bloc (liberals) 8, independents 16	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 NA July 2007); National Assembly - last held 27 May and 26 June 2002 (next to be held by NA May 2007) 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 - FDP 83, UDR 6, UPADS 3, other 45
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.36 years male: 76.25 years female: 78.52 years (2007 est.)	total population: 49.51 years male: 48.51 years female: 50.55 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.3% male: 94.4% female: 91% (2005 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia	Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon
Map references	Middle East	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	territorial sea: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,195,831 GRT/3,566,308 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 3, petroleum tanker 21 registered in other countries: 28 (Bahrain 3, Comoros 1, Liberia 1, Libya 1, Panama 1, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 6, UAE 8) (2007)	-
Military branches	Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2007)	Congolese Armed Forces (FAC): Army, Air Force, Navy
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$68.6 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.3% (2006)	2.8% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 773,790 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 390,884 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 31,964 (2004 est.)
National holiday	National Day, 25 February (1950)	Independence Day, 15 August (1960)
Nationality	noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo
Natural hazards	sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August	seasonal flooding
Natural resources	petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas	petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower
Net migration rate	16.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2007)	gas 53 km; oil 646 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	none; formation of political parties is in practice illegal, but is not forbidden by law	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]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; 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 [leader NA]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO]
Political pressure groups and leaders	a number of political groups act as de facto parties; several legislative blocs operate in the National Assembly: tribal groups, merchants, Shi'a activists, Islamists, secular liberals and pro-government deputies; in mid-2006, a coalition of Islamists, liberals, and Shia campaigned successfully for electoral reform to reduce corruption	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	2,505,559 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)	2,998,040 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 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA
Population growth rate	3.561% note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2007 est.)	1.42% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)
Railways	-	total: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2003)
Religions	Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15%	Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.771 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.691 male(s)/female total population: 1.526 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	NA years of age; universal (adult); note - males in the military or police are not allowed to vote; adult females were allowed to vote as of 16 May 2005; all voters must have been citizens for 20 years	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: the quality of service is excellent domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: country code - 965; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat	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: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	510,300 (2005)	7,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.536 million (2006)	330,000 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)	1 (2002)
Terrain	flat to slightly undulating desert plain	coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin
Total fertility rate	2.86 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.54 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.2% (2004 est.)	NA (2003)
Waterways	-	4,385 km (on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2004)

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