Republic of Congo Hotels

The National Capital of Congo is: Brazzaville
Congo Area in Square Kilometers: 342000.0
Population Statistics of Congo are: 3039126
Congo is located in the continent of Africa. The Africa continent code is AF


Largest Populated Areas in Congo :

Boukiero Population Density - 504
Mont Boukiero Population Density - 504

Republic of the Congo
 
Republic of the Congo

Geography
Area: 342,000 sq. km (132,000 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New Mexico.
Cities: Capital--Brazzaville (pop. 800,000). Other cities--Pointe-Noire (450,000), Dolisie (150,000).
Climate: Tropical. Tropical jungle in the North (country seasonally split--half lies above the Equator; half below the Equator).
Terrain: Coastal plains, fertile valleys, central plateau, forested flood plains.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Congolese (sing. and pl.).
Population (July 2007 est.): 3,800,610.
Annual growth rate (2007 est.): 2.639%.
Ethnic groups: 15 principal Bantu groups; more than 70 subgroups. Largest groups are Bacongo, Vili, Bateke, M'Bochi, and Sangha. Also present is a small population (less than 100,000) of Pygmies, ethnically unrelated to the Bantu majority.
Religions: Traditional beliefs 50%, Roman Catholic 35%, other Christian 15%, Muslim 2%.
Languages: French (official), Lingala and Munukutuba (national).
Health: Infant mortality rate (2007 est.)--83.26 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy (2007 est.)--53.29 yrs.
Work force: About 40% of population, two-thirds of whom work in agriculture.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: August 15, 1960.
Constitution: New constitution adopted in nationwide referendum on January 20, 2002.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), Council of Ministers (cabinet). Legislative--bicameral legislature made up of a Senate and a National Assembly. Judicial--Supreme Court, Court of Accounts and Budgetary Discipline, Courts of Appeal (Title VIII of the 2002 constitution), and the Constitutional Court (Title IX of the 2002 constitution). Other--Economic Council and Human Rights Commission.
Administrative subdivisions: 10 departments, divided into districts, plus the capital district.
Political parties: More than 100 new parties formed (but not all function) since multi-party democracy was introduced in 1990. The largest are the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS), Congolese Labor Party (PCT), Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (MCDDI), Coalition for Democracy and Social Progress (RDPS), Coalition for Democracy and Development (RDD), Union of Democratic Forces (UFD), Union of Democratic Renewal (URD), Union for Development and Social Progress (UDPS). Following the June-October 1997 war and the 1998-99 civil conflict, many parties, including UPADS and MCDDI, were left in disarray as their leadership fled the country. By 2002, many of the leaders had returned, with several notable exceptions--including former Presidents Pascal Lissouba and Joachim Yhomby-Opango.
Suffrage: Universal adult.

Economy
GDP (2006 est.): $5.093 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2006 est.): 6%.
Per capita income (2003): $700.
Natural resources: Petroleum, wood, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower.
Structure of production (2001): Government and services--40.3%; petroleum sector--38.9%; agriculture and forestry--10.5%; utilities and industry--6.0%; other--4.3%.
Agriculture: Products--manioc, sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa, forest products. Land--less than 2% cultivated.
Trade (2006 est.): Exports--$5.996 billion (f.o.b.): petroleum (89% of export earnings), lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds. Imports--$1.964 billion (f.o.b.): capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs.

PEOPLE
Congo's sparse population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country, leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle in the north virtually uninhabited. Thus, Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, with 70% of its total population living in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the 332-mile railway that connects them. In southern rural areas, industrial and commercial activity suffered as a consequence of the civil wars in the late 1990s. Except in Kouilou province and Pointe Noire, commercial activity other than subsistence activity came nearly to a halt. A slow recovery began in 2000.

Before the 1997 war, about 9,000 Europeans and other non-Africans lived in Congo, most of whom were French. Only a fraction of this number remains.

Republic of the Congo