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Congo, Republic of
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National name: République du
Congo
President: Denis Sassou-Nguesso
(1997)
Current government officials
Land area: 131,853 sq mi (341,499 sq km);
total area: 132,047 sq mi (342,000 sq km)
Population (2008 est.): 3,903,318
(growth rate: 2.6%); birth rate: 41.7/1000; infant mortality rate:
81.2/1000; life expectancy: 53.7; density per sq mi: 11
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Brazzaville, 1,169,900
Other large city: Pointe-Noire,
544,200
Monetary unit: CFA Franc
Languages:
French (official), Lingala, Monokutuba,
Kikongo, many local languages and dialects
Ethnicity/race:
Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%,
Europeans and other 3%
National Holiday:
Independence Day, August 15
Religions:
Christian 50%, animist 48%, Islam 2%
Literacy rate: 84% (2003 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007
est.): $13.23 billion; per capita $3,700. Real growth rate:
-1.6%. Inflation: 2.6%. Unemployment: n.a. Arable
land: 1%. Agriculture: cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice,
corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products. Labor
force: n.a. Industries: petroleum extraction, cement,
lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes.
Natural resources: petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc,
uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower.
Exports: $2.209 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): petroleum,
lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds. Imports:
$806.5 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): capital equipment, construction
materials, foodstuffs. Major trading partners: China, Taiwan,
North Korea, U.S., France, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Netherlands
(2004).
.Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 7,000 (2003); mobile cellular: 330,000 (2003). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001).
Television broadcast stations: 1 (2002). Internet
hosts: 46 (2003). Internet users: 15,000 (2003).
Transportation: Railways: total: 894 km
(2004). Highways: total: 12,800 km; paved: 1,242 km; unpaved:
11,558 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 4,385 km (on Congo and
Oubanqui rivers) (2004). Ports and harbors: Brazzaville,
Djeno, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire. Airports: 32
(2004 est.).
International disputes: 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.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
The Congo is situated in west-central Africa
astride the equator. It borders Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African
Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Angola exclave of
Cabinda, with a short stretch of coast on the South Atlantic. Its area is
nearly three times that of Pennsylvania. Most of the inland is tropical
rain forest, drained by tributaries of the Congo River.
Government
Dictatorship.
History
In precolonial times, the region now called the
Republic of Congo was dominated by three kingdoms: Kongo (originating
about 1000), the Loango (flourishing in the 17th century), and Tio. After
the Portuguese located the Congo River in 1482, commerce was carried on
with the tribes, especially the slave trade.
The Frenchman Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza signed
a treaty with Makoko, ruler of the Bateke people, in 1880, thus
establishing French control. It was first called French Congo, and after
1905 Middle Congo. With Gabon and Ubangi-Shari, it became the colony of
French Equatorial Africa in 1910. Abuse of laborers led to public outcry
against the French colonialists as well as rebellions among the Congolese,
but the exploitation of the native workers continued until 1930. During
World War II the colony joined Chad in supporting the Free French cause
against the Vichy government. The Congo proclaimed its independence
without leaving the French Community in 1960, calling itself the Republic
of Congo.
The Congo's second president, Alphonse
Massemba-Débat, instituted a Marxist-Leninist government. In 1968, Maj.
Marien Ngouabi overthrew him but kept the Congo on a Socialist course. He
was sworn in for a second five-year term in 1975. A four-man commando
squad assassinated Ngouabi on March 18, 1977. Col. Joachim Yhombi-Opango,
army chief of staff, assumed the presidency on April 4. Yhombi-Opango
resigned on Feb. 4, 1979, and was replaced by Col. Denis
Sassou-Nguesso.
In July 1990 the leaders of the ruling party
voted to end the one-party system. A national political conference, hailed
as a model for sub-Saharan Africa, renounced Marxism in 1991 and scheduled
the country's first free elections for 1992. Pascal Lissouba became the
country's first democratically elected president.
Political and ethnic tensions intensified in
1993 after legislative elections, when the opposition's rejection of the
results developed into violence. A peace agreement was signed between the
government and the opposition in Aug. 1994. A four-month civil war (June
5–Oct. 15, 1997) devastated Brazzaville, the capital. Buttressed by
military aid from Angola, former Marxist dictator Denis Sassou-Nguesso
overthrew President Lissouba. In late 1999 a peace agreement was signed
between Sassou-Nguesso, who comes from the north, and the rebels
representing the populous south. The postwar period has been traumatic for
the desperately poor country.
In March 2002, President Sassou-Nguesso was
reelected with 89.4% of the vote. His opponents were either barred from
the country or withdrew from the election.
The so-called Ninja rebels continued to battle
government forces, each attempting to gain or maintain control of the
country's rich oil reserves and each seemingly unconcerned about the toll
this new outbreak of violence took on civilians. In May 2003, the
government and Ninja rebels signed an agreement to end hostilities.
See also Encyclopedia: Congo.
U.S. State Dept. Country
Notes: Congo (Brazzaville)
Fact Monster/Information Please®
Database, © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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