The Republic of the Congo

Wealth and National Well-Being

Country Comparisons:
2010: see chart (lower)

World Factbook: "The economy is a mixture of subsistence 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."

Oil production, 2008: 239,900 barrels per day.

Exports 33.6 percent larger than imports in cash value. (2004) Exports "petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds."

People

Living in an urban area:
2008: 61%

Migration
2009: More leaving than arriving. A net loss of 1.82 persons per 1,000 People.

Literacy, Age 15 and Older
2003: males 89.6%, females 78.4%

Religions
Christian 50 percent. Animist 48 percent. Muslim 2 percent.

Geography

Western Africa, northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and southeast of Gabon, with 169 kilometers of coastline along the South Atlantic Ocean. Slightly smaller than Montana (342,000 square kilometers). Tropical.

Government

Parliamentary republic. Chief-of-state: president elected by popular vote and serving seven-year terms. Bicameral legislature. Capital: Brazzaville.

Recent History

Independence from France on August 15, 1960. Marxist led until 1990. Democratically elected government in 1992. Civil War in 1997. Constitution approved by referendum in 2002. Peace accord within the country in 2003.