Compare Sierra Leone (2008) - Congo, Republic of the (2005)

Compare Sierra Leone (2008) z Congo, Republic of the (2005)

	Sierra Leone (2008)	Congo, Republic of the (2005)

Administrative divisions	3 provinces and 1 area; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western	10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune; Bouenza, Brazzaville, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha
Age structure	0-14 years: 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: 37.3% (male 571,011/female 563,414) 15-64 years: 59% (male 886,297/female 907,348) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 45,799/female 65,257) (2005 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)	32 (2004 est.)
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 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.)
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	Democracy is slowly being reestablished 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 military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.	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 ethnic unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003, but the calm is tenuous and refugees continue to present a humanitarian crisis. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers with significant potential for offshore development.
Birth rate	45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	27.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $96 million expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)	revenues: $870.1 million expenditures: $1.102 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 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	approved by referendum 20 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
Death rate	22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	14.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$1.61 billion (2003 est.)	$5 billion (2000 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 Roger A. MEECE 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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Hassan M. CONTECH 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	about 7,000 Congolese refugees fleeing internal civil conflicts since the mid-1990s still reside in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Economic aid - recipient	$343.4 million (2005 est.)	$159.1 million (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 physical 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. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty.
Electricity - consumption	227.9 million kWh (2005)	573.6 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	250 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	245 million kWh (2005)	348 million kWh (2002)
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 - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003)	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
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	431.1 bbl/day (2004)	NA
Exports - commodities	diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish	petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds
Exports - partners	Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006)	China 26.8%, Taiwan 19.2%, North Korea 8.4%, US 7.3%, France 5.5%, South Korea 4.8% (2004)
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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 49% industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 7.4% industry: 52% services: 40.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.8% (2007 est.)	3.7% (2004 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 (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Imports	8,864 bbl/day (2004)	NA
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals	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 32.7%, US 10.1%, Germany 6.2%, Italy 6%, China 5.2%, Netherlands 4.5% (2004)
Independence	27 April 1961 (from UK)	15 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	0% (2002 est.)
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.)	total: 92.41 deaths/1,000 live births male: 98.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 86.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1% (2002 est.)	1.8% (2004 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, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
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: 0.51% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 99.36% (2001)
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 is the most widespread)
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 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: 52.26 years male: 51.17 years female: 53.39 years (2005 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: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 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)	Congolese Armed Forces (FAC): Army, Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise), Navy, Gendarmerie, Republican Guard (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$126.5 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.3% (2006)	2.8% (2004)
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, gold, magnesium, 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 (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 53 km; oil 646 km (2004)
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.)	3,039,126 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 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	70.2% (2004)	NA
Population growth rate	2.292% (2007 est.)	1.31% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Brazzaville, Djeno, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)
Railways	-	total: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)
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: 1.01 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: marginal telephone 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: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	24,000 (2002)	7,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	113,200 (2003)	330,000 (2003)
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.)	3.54 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	NA (2003)
Waterways	800 km (600 km year round) (2005)	4,385 km (on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2004)

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