total population: 74.9%
male: 83.1%
female: 67.2% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: none
local long form: Republique du Congo
local short form: none
former: Congo/Brazzaville, Congo
Data code: CF
Government type: republic
Capital: Brazzaville
Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regions, singular—region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha
Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Congolese National Day, 15 August (1960)
Constitution: new constitution approved by referendum March 1992 but is now being redrafted by President SASSOU-NGUESSO
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October
1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president
Pascal LISSOUBA); note—the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: normally the prime minister, appointed from the
majority party by the president; however, since his inauguration,
President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO has been both chief of state and head
of government
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 16 August 1992 (next was to be held 27 July 1997
but will be delayed for several years pending the drafting of a new
constitution)
election results: Pascal LISSOUBA elected president in 1992; percent
of vote—Pascal LISSOUBA 61%, Bernard KOLELAS 39%; note—LISSOUBA was
deposed in 1997, replaced by Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO
Legislative branch: unicameral National Transitional Council (75
seats, members elected by reconciliation forum of 1,420 delegates;
note—the National Transitioanl Council replaced the bicameral
Paarliament in mid-1997
elections: National Transitional Council—last held NA January 1998
(next to be held NA 2001); note—at that election the National
Transitional Council is to be replaced by a bicameral assembly
election results: National Transitional Council—percent of vote by
party—NA; seats by party—NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: the most important of the many
SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Association for Democracy and
TCHICAYA, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral
BOKAMBA-YANGOUMA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Union of Congolese
Socialist Youth or UJSC; Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC;
Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; General Union of
Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC,
CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MONUA, NAM,
OAU, OPCW, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Serge
MOMBOULI
chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador J. Aubrey HOOKS embassy: Avenue Amilcar Cabral, Brazzaville mailing address: B. P. 1015, Brazzaville note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa)
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; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
Economy
Economy—overview: The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, 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. Subsequently, falling oil prices cut GDP growth by half. Moreover, the government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to the government's shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994 but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. 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. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices in 1998, which worsened the Republic of the Congo's budget deficit. A second blow was the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$3.9 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 2.5% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$1,500 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 10% industry: 59% services: 31% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1997 est.)
Labor force: NA
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $870 million
expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1997 est.)
Industries: petroleum extraction, cement kilning, lumbering,
brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, cigarette making
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity—production: 438 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: