Reunion (2003) | Congo, Republic of the (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.4% (male 570,491; female 563,079)
15-64 years: 58% (male 844,655; female 868,851) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 44,166; female 63,016) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
Airports | 2 (2002) | 31 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 27
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | 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 ethnically based 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 | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 29.46 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues: $870 million
expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Saint-Denis | Brazzaville |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator |
Coastline | 207 km | 169 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | constitution approved by referendum 20 January 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
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 | euro (EUR) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 14.2 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 | none (overseas department 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 | none | 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 | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France | $159.1 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | 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 | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) | 633 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 300 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) | 358.1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 0.3%
hydro: 99.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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 | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | 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 | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 697 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) 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; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
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 | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) | petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) | Taiwan 28.1%, South Korea 20.4%, China 9.3%, US 8.4%, Germany 6.6%, France 5.2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 48% services: 42% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 0% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 1 00 S, 15 00 E |
Geography - note | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them |
Highways | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
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 | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) | France 22.1%, Italy 8.5%, Belgium 6%, US 5.2%, India 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 15 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0% (2002 est.) |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 95.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 101.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 89.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, InOC, WFTU | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 309,900 (2000) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) | - |
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: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.5%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 99.37% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) |
Legal system | French law | based on French civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 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 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: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 50.02 years
male: 49.04 years female: 51.02 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
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 Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon |
Map references | World | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 NM |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) | Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $84 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.8% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 754,814 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 381,556 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 20 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,795 (2003 est.) | males: 31,644 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | seasonal flooding |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 53 km; oil 673 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] | 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 | 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 | 755,171 (July 2003 est.) | 2,954,258
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 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.47% (2003 est.) | 1.53% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Le Port, Pointe des Galets | Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 894 km
narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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 | 268,500 (1999) | 22,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 197,000 (September 2000) | 3,300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin |
Total fertility rate | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 36% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 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 |