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Compare Western Sahara (2004) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2003)
Compare Western Sahara (2004) z Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2003)
| Western Sahara (2004) | Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2003) | |
 |  | |
| 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 (2003 est.) | 229 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (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: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
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 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized 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, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991 but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered 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 (2001) | 3.839 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.097 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 60 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2001) | 5.243 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | 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 - 9.574 (2003), 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999) | 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 (2001) | 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% (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 (2001) | 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 (2000) | 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 | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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 (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: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
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: Sahrawi,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 | 267,405 (July 2004 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 | 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) |
| Railways | - | 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: country code - 212; 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 | - | 15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes) |
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