Compare Reunion (2004) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2002)

Compare Reunion (2004) z Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2002)

	Reunion (2004)	Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2002)

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	10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and one city (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu
Age structure	0-14 years: 30.9% (male 121,050; female 115,440) 15-64 years: 63.1% (male 238,553; female 245,236) 65 years and over: 6% (male 18,626; female 27,248) (2004 est.)	0-14 years: 48.2% (male 13,369,493; female 13,256,174) 15-64 years: 49.3% (male 13,343,303; female 13,860,996) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 581,568; female 813,944) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn	coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
Airports	2 (2003 est.)	232 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 24 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 205 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 91 (2002)
Area	total: 2,517 sq km land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km	total: 2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Rhode Island	slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
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.	Since 1997 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC; formerly called Zaire) has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow in 1994 of refugees from the fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. The government of former president MOBUTU Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent KABILA in May 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999 by the DROC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued. KABILA was assassinated on 16 January 2001 and his son Joseph KABILA was named head of state ten days later. In October 2002, the new president was successful in getting occupying Rwandan forces to withdraw from eastern Congo; two months later, an agreement was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and set up a government of national unity.
Birth rate	19.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	45.55 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.26 billion expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998)	revenues: $269 million expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million
Capital	Saint-Denis	Kinshasa
Climate	tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April	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	207 km	37 km
Constitution	28 September 1958 (French Constitution)	24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990; transitional constitution promulgated in April 1994; in November 1998, a draft constitution was approved by former President Laurent KABILA but it was not ratified by a national referendum; one outcome of the ongoing inter-Congolese dialogue is to be a new constitution
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: 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: DROC
Currency	euro (EUR)	Congolese franc (CDF)
Death rate	5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	14.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	NA	$12.9 billion (2000 est.)
Dependency status	overseas department of France	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas department of France)	chief of mission: Ambassador Aubrey HOOKS embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (88) 43608 FAX: [243] (88) 43467
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas department of France)	chief of mission: Ambassador Faida MITIFU chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609
Disputes - international	none	Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war that has drawn in military forces from neighboring states, with Uganda and Rwanda supporting the rebel movements that occupy much of the eastern portion of the state; Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, political rebels, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda; most of the Congo River boundary with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area)
Economic aid - recipient	$NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.)	$195.3 million (1995) (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 of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began in August 1998, has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue and has increased external debt. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, raging inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms.
Electricity - consumption	1.005 billion kWh (2001)	4.55 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	404 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	55 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production	1.08 billion kWh (2001)	5.268 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 2% hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian	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	euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)	Congolese francs per US dollar - 305 (January 2002), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999), 1.61 (1998), 1.31 (1997) note: on 30 June 1998 the Congolese franc was introduced, replacing the new zaire
Executive branch	chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since 16 August 2004) 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 Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: National Executive Council, appointed by the president elections: before Laurent Desire KABILA seized power on 16 May 1997, the president was elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 29 July 1984 (next was scheduled to be held in May 1997); formerly, there was also a prime minister who was elected by the High Council of the Republic; note - elections were not held in 1991 as called for by the constitution election results: results of the last election were: MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga reelected president in 1984 without opposition note: Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga was president from 24 November 1965 until forced into exile on 16 May 1997 when his government was overthrown militarily by Laurent Desire KABILA; KABILA immediately assumed governing authority and pledged to hold elections by April 1999, but, in December 1998, announced that elections would be postponed until all foreign military forces attempting to topple the government had withdrawn from the country; KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph KABILA
Exports	NA (2001)	$750 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities	sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993)	diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil
Exports - partners	France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000)	Benelux 62%, US 18%, South Africa, Finland, Italy (1999)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	the flag of France is used	light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side
GDP	purchasing power parity - $4.348 billion (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $32 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 8% industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 54% industry: 9% services: 37% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $590 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.5% (2003 est.)	-4% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates	21 06 S, 55 36 E	0 00 N, 25 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	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
Heliports	-	1 (2002)
Highways	total: 2,724 km paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994)	total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)(1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	illicit producer of cannabis, 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	NA (2001)	$1.024 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities	manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products	foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Imports - partners	France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000)	South Africa 28%, Benelux 14%, Nigeria 9%, Kenya 7%, China (1999)
Independence	none (overseas department of France)	30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	NA%
Industries	sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction	mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement
Infant mortality rate	total: 7.95 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	98.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA	358% (2001 est.)
International organization participation	InOC, UPU, WFTU	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2001)
Irrigated land	120 sq km (1998 est.)	110 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Labor force	309,900 (2000)	14.51 million (1993 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000)	agriculture 65%, industry 16%, services 19% (1991 est.)
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: 13.6% permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.2% (2001)	arable land: 2.96% permanent crops: 0.52% other: 96.52% (1998 est.)
Languages	French (official), Creole widely used	French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Legal system	French law	based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010) 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 (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 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	a 300-member Transitional Constituent Assembly established in August 2000 elections: NA; members of the Transitional Constituent Assembly were appointed by former President Laurent Desire KABILA
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 73.69 years male: 70.29 years female: 77.26 years (2004 est.)	total population: 49.13 years male: 47.19 years female: 51.13 years (2002 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 French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba total population: 77.3% male: 86.6% female: 67.7% (1995 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar	Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Map references	World	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT by type: chemical tanker 1 foreign-owned: Sweden 1 registered in other countries: 1	none (2002 est.)
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, Navy, Air Force, Special Security Battalion
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$250 million (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	4.6% (FY97)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 202,385 (2004 est.)	males age 15-49: 11,996,175 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 103,073 (2004 est.)	males age 15-49: 6,110,595 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 7,070 (2004 est.)	-
National holiday	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)	Independence Day, 30 June (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	periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Natural resources	fish, arable land, hydropower	cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-2.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: one million refugees fled into Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DROC) in 1994 as a result of the ethnic fighting in Rwanda; fighting in the DROC between rebels and government forces in October 1996 caused 875,000 refugees to return to Rwanda in late 1996 and early 1997 and additional refugees have returned in subsequent years; fighting between the Congolese government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese displaced in DROC and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2002 est.)
Pipelines	-	petroleum products 390 km
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]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA]	Democratic Social Christian Party or PDSC [Andre BO-BOLIKO]; Forces for Renovation for Union and Solidarity or FONUS [Joseph OLENGHANKOY]; National Congolese Lumumbist Movement or MNC [Francois LUMUMBA]; Popular Movement of the Revolution or MPR [three factions: MPR-Fait Prive (Catherine NZUZI wa Mbombo); MPR/Vunduawe (Felix VUNDUAWE); MPR/Mananga (MANANGA Dintoka Mpholo)]; Unified Lumumbast Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI wa Mulumba]; Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans or UFERI [two factions: UFERI (Lokambo OMOKOKO); UFERI/OR (Adolph Kishwe MAYA)]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	766,153 (July 2004 est.)	55,225,478 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 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	NA%
Population growth rate	1.42% (2004 est.)	2.79% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	Le Port, Pointe des Galets	Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001)	AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)
Radios	-	18.03 million (1997)
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 note: severely reduced route-distance in use because of damage to facilities by civil strife (2000 est.)
Religions	Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995)	Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%
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 (2004 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system	general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia	general assessment: poor domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	300,000 est (2001)	20,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular	489,800 (2002)	15,000 (2000)
Television broadcast stations	35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001)	4 (2001)
Terrain	mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast	vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Total fertility rate	2.5 children born/woman (2004 est.)	6.77 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	36% (1999 est.)	NA%
Waterways	-	15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes)

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