Compare Norfolk Island (2005) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2008)

Compare Norfolk Island (2005) z Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2008)

	Norfolk Island (2005)	Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2008)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu note: according to the Constitution adopted in December 2005, the current administrative divisions will be subdivided into 26 new provinces by 2009
Age structure	0-14 years: 20.2% 15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 47.6% (male 15,718,614/female 15,557,058) 15-64 years: 49.9% (male 16,224,734/female 16,571,549) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 680,313/female 999,244) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry	coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
Airports	1 (2004 est.)	237 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 26 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 211 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 99 (2007)
Area	total: 34.6 sq km land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Background	Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions.	Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability. Col. Joseph MOBUTU seized power and declared himself president in a November 1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to MOBUTU Sese Seko - as well as that of the country - to Zaire. MOBUTU retained his position for 32 years through several sham elections, as well as through the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to the toppling of the MOBUTU regime by a rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda and fronted by Laurent KABILA. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but in August 1998 his regime was itself challenged by a second insurrection again backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Troops from Angola, Chad, Namibia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe intervened to support KABILA's regime. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph KABILA, was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003. Joseph KABILA as president and four vice presidents represented the former government, former rebel groups, the political opposition, and civil society. The transitional government held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the presidency, National Assembly, and provincial legislatures in 2006. KABILA was inaugurated president in December 2006. The National Assembly was installed in September 2006. Its president, Vital KAMERHE, was chosen in December. Provincial assemblies were constituted in early 2007, and elected governors and national senators in January 2007.
Birth rate	NA	42.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $20 million expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00)	revenues: $700 million expenditures: $2 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	Kingston	name: Kinshasa geographic coordinates: 4 19 S, 15 18 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation	tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October)
Coastline	32 km	37 km
Constitution	Norfolk Island Act of 1979	18 February 2006
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island conventional short form: Norfolk Island	conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo local short form: none former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire abbreviation: DRC
Death rate	NA	10.34 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	NA	$10 billion (2006 est.)
Dependency status	territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	chief of mission: Ambassador William GARVELINK embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (81) 556-0151 FAX: [243] (81) 556-0175
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	chief of mission: Ambassador Faida MITIFU chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009: note - Consular Office at 1726 M Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609
Disputes - international	none	heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledge to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC); in 2006, the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) maintained over 18,000 uniformed peacekeepers in the region, first deployed in 1999; despite significant repatriation efforts by governments and international organizations, in 2006, Angolans, Rwandans, Sudanese, and residents of other neighboring states reside as refugees in the DROC; members of Uganda's Lords Resistance Army forces take refuge in DROC's Garamba National Park; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Economic aid - recipient	NA	$1.828 billion (2005)
Economy - overview	Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs.	The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - is slowly recovering from two decades of decline. Conflict, which began in August 1998, dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, increased external debt, and resulted in the deaths of more than 3.5 million people from violence, famine, and disease. Foreign businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. Conditions began to improve in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. The transitional government reopened relations with international financial institutions and international donors, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms, although progress is slow and the International Monetary Fund curtailed their program for the DRC at the end of March 2006 because of fiscal overruns. Much economic activity still occurs in the informal sector, and is not reflected in GDP data. Renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most export income, boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth. Government reforms and improved security may lead to increased government revenues, outside budget assistance, and foreign direct investment, although an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and a lack of transparency in government policy are continuing long-term problems.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	572 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	418 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	NA kWh	352 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Bates 319 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
Environment - current issues	NA	poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians	over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000)	Congolese francs per US dollar - NA (2007), 464.69 (2006), 437.86 (2005), 401.04 (2004), 405.34 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003) head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2%	chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 17 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency which he retained through the 2003-2006 transition; he was subsequently elected president in October 2006 head of government: Prime Minister Antoine GIZENGA (since 30 December 2006); cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president elections: under the new constitution the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 30 July 2006 with a second round held on 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: results of 29 October 2006 elections (second round); Joseph KABILA 58%, Jean-Pierre BEMBA Gombo 42% note: Joseph KABILA succeeded his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, following the latter's assassination in January 2001; negotiations with rebel leaders led to the establishment of a transitional government in July 2003 with free elections held on 30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006 confirming Joseph KABILA as president
Exports	$1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00)	229,700 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados	diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt
Exports - partners	Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe	Belgium 29.4%, China 21.1%, Brazil 12.3%, Chile 7.8%, Finland 7.2%, US 4.9% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band	sky blue field divided diagonally from the lower hoist corner to upper fly corner by a red stripe bordered by two narrow yellow stripes; a yellow, five-pointed star appears in the upper hoist corner
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: NA	agriculture: 55% industry: 11% services: 34% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - NA	-
GDP - real growth rate	NA	7% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 02 S, 167 57 E	0 00 N, 25 00 E
Geography - note	most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated	straddles equator; has very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands
Highways	total: 80 km paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	one of Africa's biggest producers of cannabis, but mostly for domestic consumption; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center
Imports	$17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92)	8,220 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities	NA	foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Imports - partners	Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe	South Africa 17.7%, Belgium 10.9%, France 8.5%, Zimbabwe 8.1%, Zambia 6.9%, Kenya 6.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.4% (2006)
Independence	none (territory of Australia)	30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	NA%
Industries	tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete	mining (diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, coltan zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement, commercial ship repair
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 65.52 deaths/1,000 live births male: 71.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA	18.2% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	UPU	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	110 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions	Constitutional Court; Appeals Court or Cour de Cassation; Council of State; High Military Court; plus civil and military courts and tribunals
Labor force	1,345	15 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10%	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 10,730 km border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)	arable land: 2.86% permanent crops: 0.47% other: 96.67% (2005)
Languages	English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian	French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Legal system	based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law	a new constitution was adopted by referendum 18 December 2005; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms) elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties)	bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly (500 seats; 61 members elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies, 439 members elected by open list proportional-representation in multi-member constituencies; to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (108 seats; members elected by provincial assemblies to serve five-year terms) elections: National Assembly - last held 30 July 2006 (next to be held in 2011); Senate - last held 19 January 2007 (next to be held by 2012) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 111, MLC 64, PALU 34, MSR 27, FR 26, RCD 15, independents 63, others 160 (includes 63 political parties that won 10 or fewer seats); Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 22, MLC 14, FR 7, RCD 7, PDC 6, CDC 3, MSR 3, PALU 2, independents 26, others 18 (political parties that won a single seat)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 57.2 years male: 54.97 years female: 59.5 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba total population: 65.5% male: 76.2% female: 55.1% (2003 est.)
Location	Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia	Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Map references	Oceania	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,004 GRT/1,640 DWT by type: petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Congo, Republic of the 1) (2007)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia	-
Military branches	-	Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force (Force Aerienne Congolaise, FAC) (2008)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2.5% (2006)
National holiday	Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856)	Independence Day, 30 June (1960)
Nationality	noun: Norfolk Islander(s) adjective: Norfolk Islander(s)	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo
Natural hazards	typhoons (especially May to July)	periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Natural resources	fish	cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber
Net migration rate	NA	1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 62 km; oil 71 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	none	Christian Democrat Party or PDC [Jose ENDUNDO]; Congolese Rally for Democracy or RCD [Azarias RUBERWA]; Convention of Christian Democrats or CDC; Forces of Renewal or FR [Mbusa NYAMWISI]; Movement for the Liberation of the Congo or MLC [Jean-Pierre BEMBA]; People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy or PPRD [Joseph KABILA]; Social Movement for Renewal or MSR [Pierre LUMBI]; Unified Lumumbist Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI]; Union of Mobutuist Democrats or UDEMO [MOBUTU Nzanga]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	NA
Population	1,828 (July 2005 est.)	65,751,512 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	-0.01% (2005 est.)	3.39% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005)	AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)
Railways	-	total: 5,138 km narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census)	Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%
Sex ratio	NA	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.681 male(s)/female total population: 0.985 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system	general assessment: adequate domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station	general assessment: Inadequate; state-owned fixed-line operator has been unable to expand fixed-line connections and there are now fewer than 10,000 connections; given the backdrop of a wholly inadequate fixed-line infrastructure, the use of cellular services has surged and subscribership now exceeds 4 million - roughly 7 per 100 persons domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 243; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004)	9,700 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002)	4.415 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005)	4 (2001)
Terrain	volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains	vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Total fertility rate	NA	6.37 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	0%	NA%
Waterways	-	15,000 km (2005)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.