Compare Sierra Leone (2007) - Congo, Republic of the (2002)

Compare Sierra Leone (2007) z Congo, Republic of the (2002)

	Sierra Leone (2007)	Congo, Republic of the (2002)

Administrative divisions	3 provinces and 1 area; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western	9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune; Bouenza, Brazzaville, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha
Age structure	0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297) 15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 42.4% (male 630,985; female 622,024) 15-64 years: 54.3% (male 783,238; female 823,882) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 39,369; female 58,950) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish	cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products
Airports	10 (2007)	33 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 11 (2002)
Area	total: 71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km	total: 342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than South Carolina	slightly smaller than Montana
Background	The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007.	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.
Birth rate	45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	37.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $96 million expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)	revenues: $870 million expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
Capital	name: Freetown geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Brazzaville
Climate	tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December 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	402 km	169 km
Constitution	1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times	constitution approved by referendum in January 2002
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone	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	22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	16.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	$1.61 billion (2003 est.)	$5 billion (1999 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471	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 Ibrahim M. KAMARA chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793	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	as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998	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	$343.4 million (2005 est.)	$159.1 million (1995) (1995)
Economy - overview	Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.	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. Given a fragile peace, agreements with the IMF and the World Bank, and general international support for reconstruction and development, prospects for structural reform and 4% growth in 2002-03 appear strong.
Electricity - consumption	227.9 million kWh (2005)	406.9 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	126 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production	245 million kWh (2005)	302 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 1% hydro: 99% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m
Environment - current issues	rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishing	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, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification	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	20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians	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	leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002)	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro
Executive branch	chief of state: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4%	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 bbl/day	$2.6 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities	diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish	petroleum 90%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds
Exports - partners	Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006)	US 20.9%, South Korea 15.5%, China 6.7%, Germany 3.2% (2000)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue	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 - $2.5 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 49% industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 10% industry: 48% services: 42% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	7.1% (2006 est.)	4.2% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 30 N, 11 30 W	1 00 S, 15 00 E
Geography - note	rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa	about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them
Heliports	2 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 12,800 km paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1996)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	NA bbl/day	$725 million f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals	petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006)	France 20.5%, US 9.8%, Italy 7.5%, Belgium 3.8% (2000)
Independence	27 April 1961 (from UK)	15 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	NA%
Industries	diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair	petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes
Infant mortality rate	total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	97.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1% (2002 est.)	3% (2001 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	300 sq km (2003)	10 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Labor force	1.369 million (1981 est.)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	-
Land boundaries	total: 958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 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: 7.95% permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005)	arable land: 0.5% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 99.37% (1998 est.)
Languages	English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)	French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users)
Legal system	based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on French civil law system and customary law
Legislative branch	unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10	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: 40.58 years male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 est.)	total population: 47.71 years male: 44.27 years female: 51.24 years (2002 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 74.9% male: 83.1% female: 67.2% (1995 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia	Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm	territorial sea: 200 NM
Merchant marine	total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007)	-
Military branches	Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007)	Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie, National Police
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$84 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.3% (2006)	2.8% (FY01)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 702,048 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 356,388 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	20 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 32,350 (2002 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 April (1961)	Independence Day, 15 August (1960)
Nationality	noun: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo
Natural hazards	dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms	seasonal flooding
Natural resources	diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite	petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower
Net migration rate	0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines	-	crude oil 25 km
Political parties and leaders	All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others	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	trade unions and student unions	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	6,144,562 (July 2007 est.)	2,958,448 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	70.2% (2004)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.292% (2007 est.)	2.18% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)
Radios	-	341,000 (1997)
Railways	-	total: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000 est.)
Religions	Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%	Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)	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	24,000 (2002)	22,000 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	113,200 (2003)	3,300 (1998)
Television broadcast stations	2 (1999)	1 (2002)
Terrain	coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east	coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin
Total fertility rate	6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)	4.94 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	NA%
Waterways	800 km (600 km year round) (2005)	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

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