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Compare Western Sahara (2002) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2003)

Compare Western Sahara (2002) z Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2003)

 Western Sahara (2002)Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2003)
 Western SaharaCongo, Democratic Republic of the
Administrative divisions none (under de facto control of Morocco) 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: NA%


15-64 years: NA%


65 years and over: NA%
0-14 years: 48.3% (male 13,734,706; female 13,624,579)


15-64 years: 49.2% (male 13,648,155; female 14,203,077)


65 years and over: 2.5% (male 583,366; female 831,156) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
Airports 11 (2001) 229 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2002)
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: 8


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 3 (2002)
total: 205


1,524 to 2,437 m: 19


914 to 1,523 m: 95


under 914 m: 91 (2002)
Area total: 266,000 sq km


land: 266,000 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 2,345,410 sq km


land: 2,267,600 sq km


water: 77,810 sq km
Area - comparative about the size of Colorado slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Background Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire; a referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. 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 NA births/1,000 population 45.12 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
revenues: $269 million


expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.)
Capital none Kinshasa
Climate hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew 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 1,110 km 37 km
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: none


conventional short form: Western Sahara


former: Spanish Sahara
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 Moroccan dirham (MAD) Congolese franc (CDF)
Death rate NA deaths/1,000 population 14.87 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $NA $12.9 billion (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US none 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 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 Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties reject other proposals 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, Lendu, Hema 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 - heads of the Great Lakes states pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; 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 $195.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. 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, has increased external debt, and has resulted in the deaths from war, famine, and disease of perhaps 3.5 million people. 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, inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. 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. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data.
Electricity - consumption 83.7 million kWh (2000) 3.839 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000) 1.097 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000) 60 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 90 million kWh (2000) 5.243 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
fossil fuel: 1.8%


hydro: 98.2%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m


highest point: unnamed location 463 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
Environment - current issues sparse water and lack of arable land 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: none of the selected agreements


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 Arab, Berber 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 Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 11.584 (January 2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997) Congolese francs per US dollar - 346.49 (2002), 206.62 (2001), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999), 1.61 (1998)
Executive branch none 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: prior to the overthrow of MOBUTU Sese Seko, 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 - a Transitional Government is drafting a new constitution with free elections scheduled to be held in NA 2005


election results: results of the last election were: MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga reelected president in 1984 without opposition


note: Joseph KABILA succeeded his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, following the latter's assassination in January 2001, negotiations with rebel leaders led to the establishment of a Transitional Government in July 2003 with free elections scheduled to be held in NA 2005
Exports $NA NA (2001)
Exports - commodities phosphates 62% diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt
Exports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts Belgium 64.4%, US 13.4%, Zimbabwe 6.7%, Finland 4.9% (2002)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description - 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 - $NA purchasing power parity - $34 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: 40%-45% (1996 est.) (1996 est.)
agriculture: 55%


industry: 11%


services: 34% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $NA purchasing power parity - $600 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate NA% 3.5% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 24 30 N, 13 00 W 0 00 N, 25 00 E
Geography - note the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas 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: 6,200 km


paved: 1,350 km


unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est.)
total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km (1999 est.)
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 NA (2001)
Imports - commodities fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Imports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts Belgium 14.6%, South Africa 14.2%, Nigeria 10.3%, France 9.5%, Germany 7.3%, Netherlands 5.3%, Kenya 5.2% (2002)
Independence - 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
Industrial production growth rate NA% NA%
Industries phosphate mining, handicrafts mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement
Infant mortality rate NA deaths/1,000 live births total: 96.56 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 105.15 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 87.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA% 16% (2002 est.)
International organization participation none ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 1 (2001)
Irrigated land NA sq km 110 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch - Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Labor force 12,000 14.51 million (1993 est.)
Labor force - by occupation animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% NA
Land boundaries total: 2,046 km


border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
total: 10,730 km


border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km
Land use arable land: 0%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (1998 est.)
arable land: 2.96%


permanent crops: 0.52%


other: 96.52% (1998 est.)
Languages Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Legal system - based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch - 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: NA years


male: NA years


female: NA years
total population: 48.93 years


male: 46.83 years


female: 51.09 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: NA


total population: NA%


male: NA%


female: NA%
definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba


total population: 65.5%


male: 76.2%


female: 55.1% (2003 est.)
Location Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Map references Africa Africa
Maritime claims contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine - none (2002 est.)
Military branches - Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Security Battalion
Military expenditures - dollar figure $NA $250 million (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 4.6% (FY97)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 12,292,933 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 6,267,752 (2003 est.)
National holiday - Independence Day, 30 June (1960)
Nationality noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)


adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)


adjective: Congolese or Congo
Natural hazards hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Natural resources phosphates, iron ore 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 - -1.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population


note: 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 internally displaced and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2003 est.)
Pipelines - gas 54 km; oil 71 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders - 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 none NA
Population 256,177 (July 2002 est.) 56,625,039


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 NA (2002 est.) 2.9% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)
Radios 56,000 (1997) -
Railways 0 km total: 4,772 km


narrow gauge: 3,621 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2002)
Religions Muslim Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%
Sex ratio NA at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system general assessment: sparse and limited system


domestic: NA


international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco
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 about 2,000 (1999 est.) 20,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (1999) 15,000 (2000)
Television broadcast stations NA 4 (2001)
Terrain mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Total fertility rate NA children born/woman 6.69 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% NA%
Waterways none 15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes)
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