Compare Western Sahara (2008) - Congo, Republic of the (2008)

Compare Western Sahara (2008) z Congo, Republic of the (2008)

	Western Sahara (2008)	Congo, Republic of the (2008)

Administrative divisions	none (under de facto control of Morocco)	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: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421) 15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 46.3% (male 885,039/female 873,753) 15-64 years: 50.8% (male 958,992/female 973,445) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 44,994/female 64,387) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish	cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products
Airports	9 (2007)	31 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007)	total: 5 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 9 (2007)
Area	total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km
Area - comparative	about the size of Colorado	slightly smaller than Montana
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. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since August 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met three times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara, with a fourth round of negotiations planned for March 2008.	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 took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, and ushered in a period of ethnic and political 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 was once one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need to hope for new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term.
Birth rate	NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	42.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $3.639 billion expenditures: $2.104 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	none time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Brazzaville geographic coordinates: 4 15 S, 15 17 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew	tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator
Coastline	1,110 km	169 km
Constitution	-	approved by referendum 20 January 2002
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara	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	NA	12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$5 billion (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	none	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert WEISBERG embassy: BDEAC Building, 4th Floor, Brazzaville mailing address: NA telephone: [242] 81-1480 FAX:: [243] 81-5324
Diplomatic representation in the US	none	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	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria	Congo hosts about 63,000 refugees from neighboring states, primarily from the Pool border area of 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	$NA	$1.449 billion (2005)
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. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara.	The economy is a mixture of subsistance agriculture, an industrial sector based largely on oil, and 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 through oil-backed loans that have contributed to a growing debt burden and chronic revenue shortfalls. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. However, 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. 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. Recovery of oil prices has boosted the economy's GDP and near-term prospects. In March 2006, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) treatment for Congo.
Electricity - consumption	79.05 million kWh (2005)	5.272 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	1.8 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	6 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	85 million kWh (2005)	7.341 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m
Environment - current issues	sparse water and lack of arable land	air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation
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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups	Arab, Berber	Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3%
Exchange rates	Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003)	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 483.6 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
Executive branch	none	chief of state: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); head of government: Prime Minister Isidore MVOUBA (since 7 January 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO 89.4%, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia MBOUNGOU 2.7%
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)	20,750 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	phosphates 62%	petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds
Exports - partners	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)	US 35.9%, China 31.4%, Taiwan 9.9%, South Korea 8% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	-	divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red note: uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40%	agriculture: 5.6% industry: 57.1% services: 37.3% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	NA%	2.8% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 30 N, 13 00 W	1 00 S, 15 00 E
Geography - note	the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas	about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	1,698 bbl/day (2004)	11,410 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs	capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)	France 23.5%, China 13.2%, US 7.6%, India 7%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.3% (2006)
Independence	-	15 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	-1% (2007 est.)
Industries	phosphate mining, handicrafts	petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 83.26 deaths/1,000 live births male: 88.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 77.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA%	7% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	none	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	20 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Labor force	12,000	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 50% industry and services: 50%	-
Land boundaries	total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 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: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005)	arable land: 1.45% permanent crops: 0.15% other: 98.4% (2005)
Languages	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic	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 French civil law system and customary law
Legislative branch	-	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 in 2008); National Assembly - last held 24 June and 5 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) 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 - PCT 46, MCDDI 11, UPADS 11, MAR 5, MSD 5, independents 37, other 22
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 53.29 years male: 52.1 years female: 54.52 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 est.)
Location	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco	Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue	territorial sea: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	registered in other countries: 1 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1) (2007)
Military branches	-	Congolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Congolaises, FAC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise), Gendarmerie, Special Presidential Security Guard (GSSP) (2008)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	3.1% (2006)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 15 August (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	seasonal flooding
Natural resources	phosphates, iron ore	petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower
Net migration rate	-	-3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 89 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 758 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	-	Action Movement for Renewal or MAR; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Congolese Labour Party or PCT; Movement for Solidarity and Development or MSD; 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; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO]; many less important parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	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	382,617 note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.)	3,800,610 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 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA%
Population growth rate	NA	2.639% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)
Railways	-	total: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Muslim	Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%
Sex ratio	NA	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.985 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.699 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed	18 years of age; universal
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: services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out of order; fixed-line infrastructure inadequate providing less than 1 connection per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has surged reaching 16 per 100 persons 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	about 2,000 (1999 est.)	15,900 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (1999)	490,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	NA	1 (2001)
Terrain	mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast	coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin
Total fertility rate	NA	5.99 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	NA%
Waterways	-	1,125 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2006)

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