XAF
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29
(2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Congo, Republic of the
Telephones - main lines in use:
7,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
330,000 (2003)
Telephone system:
general assessment: services barely adequate for government use;
key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo;
intercity lines frequently out of order
domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and
coaxial cable
international: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)
Radios:
341,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (2002)
Televisions:
33,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.cg
Internet hosts:
46 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)
Internet users:
15,000 (2003)
Transportation Congo, Republic of the
Railways: total: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (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)
Pipelines:
gas 53 km; oil 646 km (2004)
Ports and harbors:
Brazzaville, Djeno, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire
Airports:
32 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.)
Military Congo, Republic of the
Military branches:
Congolese Armed Forces (FAC): Army, Air Force (Armee de l'Air
Congolaise), Navy, Gendarmerie, Republican Guard (2005)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18–49: 686,123 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18–49: 360,492 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 34,281 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$126.5 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.8% (2004)
Transnational Issues Congo, Republic of the
Disputes - international:
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
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 60,000 (multiple civil wars since 1992; most IDPs are ethnic
Lari) (2004)
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Cook Islands
Introduction Cook Islands
Background:
Named after Captain COOK, who sighted them in 1770, the islands
became a British protectorate in 1888. By 1900, administrative
control was transferred to New Zealand; in 1965 residents chose
self-government in free association with New Zealand. The emigration
of skilled workers to New Zealand and government deficits are
continuing problems.
Geography Cook Islands
Location:
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about
one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Geographic coordinates:
21 14 S, 159 46 W
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total: 240 sq km
land: 240 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
1.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
120 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate:
tropical; moderated by trade winds
Terrain:
low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Te Manga 652 m
Natural resources:
NEGL
Land use:
arable land: 17.39%
permanent crops: 13.04%
other: 69.57% (2001)
Irrigated land:
NA
Natural hazards:
typhoons (November to March)
Environment - current issues:
NA
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography