Mayotte (2008) | Congo, Republic of the (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) | 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: 45.8% (male 48,016/female 47,533)
15-64 years: 52.5% (male 59,111/female 50,437) 65 years and over: 1.8% (male 1,864/female 1,822) (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), coffee, copra | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 31 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (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) |
Area | total: 374 sq km
land: 374 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | Mayotte was ceded to France along with the other islands of the Comoros group in 1843. It was the only island in the archipelago that voted in 1974 to retain its link with France and forego independence. | 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. |
Birth rate | 40.35 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 42.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $420 million
expenditures: $394 million (2005) |
revenues: $3.639 billion
expenditures: $2.104 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | name: Mamoudzou
geographic coordinates: 12 46 S, 45 13 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Brazzaville
geographic coordinates: 4 15 S, 15 17 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November) | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator |
Coastline | 185.2 km | 169 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | approved by referendum 20 January 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte
conventional short form: Mayotte |
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 |
Death rate | 7.53 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | departmental collectivity of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert WEISBERG
embassy: BDEAC Building, 4th Floor, Brazzaville mailing address: NA telephone: [242] 81-1480 FAX:: [243] 81-5324 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) | 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 | claimed by Comoros | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $201.3 million; note - extensive French financial assistance (2005) | $1.449 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is based primarily on the agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance, an important supplement to GDP. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle to the development of tourism. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 139.2 million kWh (2005) | 5.272 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 1.8 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 6 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 7.341 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Benara 660 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, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | NA | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 483.6 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007); represented by Prefect Jean-Paul KIHL (since 17 January 2005)
head of government: President of the General Council Said Omar OILI (since 8 April 2004) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term; next election to be held in 2010 |
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% |
Exports | $6.5 million f.o.b. (2005) | 20,750 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra, coconuts, coffee, cinnamon | petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
Exports - partners | France 43%, Comoros 36%, Reunion 15% (2006) | US 35.9%, China 31.4%, Taiwan 9.9%, South Korea 8% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | unofficial, local flag with the coat of arms of Mayotte centered on a white field, above which the name of the island appears in red capital letters; the main elements of the coat of arms, flanked on either side by a seahorse, appear above a scroll with the motto RA HACHIRI (We are Vigilant); the only official flag is the national flag of France | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 5.6%
industry: 57.1% services: 37.3% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.8% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 50 S, 45 10 E | 1 00 S, 15 00 E |
Geography - note | part of Comoro Archipelago; 18 islands | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $341 million f.o.b.; note - excludes petroleum imports (2005) | 11,410 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, metals, chemicals | capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 49%, Seychelles 8.8%, China 4.1%, South Africa 2.8% (2006) | France 23.5%, China 13.2%, US 7.6%, India 7%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.3% (2006) |
Independence | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) | 15 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -1% (2007 est.) |
Industries | newly created lobster and shrimp industry, construction | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | total: 59.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 65.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.7% (2005) | 7% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | InOC, UPU | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA | 20 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 44,560 (2002) | NA |
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: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 1.45%
permanent crops: 0.15% other: 98.4% (2005) |
Languages | Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) |
Legal system | the laws of France, where applicable, apply | based on French civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 21 and 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - MDM 23.3%, UMP 22.8%, PS 10.2%, MRC 8.9%, FRAP 6.5%, MPM 1.2%, other 27.1%; seats by party - MDM 6, UMP 9, MRC 2, MPM 1, diverse left 1 note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held in September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - UMP-RPR 55.1%, UDF 44.9%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.16 years
male: 59.94 years female: 64.45 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 53.29 years
male: 52.1 years female: 54.52 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | registered in other countries: 1 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France; a small contingent of French forces is stationed on the island | - |
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) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.1% (2006) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Mahorais (singular and plural)
adjective: Mahoran |
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
Natural hazards | cyclones during rainy season | seasonal flooding |
Natural resources | NEGL | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 3.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 89 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 758 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA]; Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Ahmed MADI]; Federation of Mahorans or UMP-RPR [Mansour KAMARDINE]; Force of the Rally and the Alliance for Democracy or FRAP; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Mouhoutar SALIM]; Renewed Communist Party of Mayotte or MRC [Omar SIMBA]; Socialist Party or PS [Ibrahim ABUBACAR] (local branch of French Parti Socialiste); Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE] | 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 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 | 208,783 (July 2007 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.617% (2007 est.) | 2.639% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 894 km
narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 97%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) 3% | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.172 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.023 male(s)/female total population: 1.092 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: small system administered by French Department of Posts and Telecommunications
domestic: NA international: country code - 269; microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communications to Comoros |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,000 (2002) | 15,900 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 48,100 (2005) | 490,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (2001) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin |
Total fertility rate | 5.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 5.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 25.4% (2005) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 1,125 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2006) |