"text":"Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso, and ushered in a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Central Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon"
"text":"Angola 231 km, Cameroon 494 km, Central African Republic 487 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,229 km, Gabon 2,567 km"
}
},
"Coastline":{
"text":"169 km"
},
"Maritime claims":{
"territorial sea":{
"text":"12 nm"
},
"contiguous zone":{
"text":"24 nm"
},
"exclusive economic zone":{
"text":"200 nm"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin"
"text":"air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them"
}
},
"People and Society":{
"Nationality":{
"noun":{
"text":"Congolese (singular and plural)"
},
"adjective":{
"text":"Congolese or Congo"
}
},
"Ethnic groups":{
"text":"Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3%"
},
"Languages":{
"text":"French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)"
"text":"estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2015 est.)"
"text":"previous 1992; latest approved by referendum 20 January 2002 (2002)"
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"mixed legal system of French civil law and customary law"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"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 chief of state and head of government"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso (since 25 October 1997); note - the position of prime minister was abolished in September 2009"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Council of Ministers appointed by the president"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 12 July 2009 (next to be held in 2016)"
},
"election results":{
"text":"Denis SASSOU-Nguesso reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-Nguesso (FDU) 78.6%, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia MBOUNGOU (independent) 7.5%, Nicephore Fylla de SAINT-EUDES 7%, other 6.9%"
"text":"bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate (72 seats; members indirectly elected by regional councils by simple majority vote to serve 6-year terms with one-half of membership renewed every three years) and the National Assembly (139 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed; members serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"Senate - last held on 12 October 2014 for 36 of the expiry seats (next to be held in 2020); National Assembly - last held on 15 July and 5 August 2012 (next to be held in July 2017)"
"text":"Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RMP 33, FDU 23, UPADS 2, other 7, independent 7; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCT 89, MCDDI 7, UPADS 7, RDPS 5, MAR 4, RC 3, MUST 2, UPDP 2, CPR 1, PRL 1, PUR 1, UFD 1, UR 1, independent 12, vacant 3"
"text":"Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of NA judges); note - the High Court of Justice, outside the judicial authority, tries cases involving treason by the president of the republic"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"judges elected by parliament and serve until retirement age"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"courts of appeal; regional and district courts; employment tribunals; juvenile courts"
"text":"Action Movement for Renewal or MAR [Roland BOUITI-VIAUDO] ++ Citizen's Rally or RC ++ Congolese Labour Party or PCT [Denis SASSOY-NGUESSO] ++ Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Guy Price Parfait KO] ++ Movement for Unity, Solidarity, and Work or MUST [Claudine MUNARI] ++ Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Pascal Tsaty MABIALA] ++ Party for the Unity of the Republic or PUR ++ Patriotic Union for Democracy and Progress or UPDP [Auguste-Celestin GONGARD NKOUA ++ Prospects and Realities Club or CPR ++ Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Bernard BATCHI] ++ Rally of the Presidential Majority or RMP ++ Republican and Liberal Party or PRL ++ Union for the Republic or UR ++ Union of Democratic Forces ++ Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR ++ United Democratic Forces or FDU [Sebastian EBAO]; many smaller parties"
"text":"Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC ++ General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC ++ Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC ++ Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC"
"text":"divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; green symbolizes agriculture and forests, yellow the friendship and nobility of the people, red is unexplained but has been associated with the struggle for independence",
"note":{
"text":"uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia"
}
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"lion, elephant; national colors: green, yellow, red"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"La Congolaise\" (The Congolese)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Jacques TONDRA and Georges KIBANGHI/Jean ROYER and Joseph SPADILIERE"
},
"note":{
"text":"originally adopted 1959, restored 1991"
}
}
},
"Economy":{
"Economy - overview":{
"text":"The economy is a mixture of subsistence farming and hunting, an industrial sector based largely on oil and support services, and government spending. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. Natural gas is increasingly being converted to electricity rather than being flared, greatly improving energy prospects. New mining projects, particularly iron ore, which entered production in late 2013 may add as much as $1 billion to annual government revenue. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF, including recently concluded Article IV consultations. The current administration faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. The recent drop in oil prices has constrained government spending; lower oil prices forced the government to cut more than $1 billion in planned spending. Officially the country became a net external creditor as of 2011, with external debt representing only about 16% of GDP and debt servicing less than 3% of government revenue."
"Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy":{
"text":"6.691 million Mt (2012 est.)"
}
},
"Communications":{
"Telephones - fixed lines":{
"total subscriptions":{
"text":"16,300"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants":{
"text":"less than 1 (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular":{
"total":{
"text":"4.9 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants":{
"text":"106 (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system":{
"general assessment":{
"text":"primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable with services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out of order"
},
"domestic":{
"text":"fixed-line infrastructure inadequate, providing less than 1 connection per 100 persons; in the absence of an adequate fixed-line infrastructure, mobile-cellular subscribership has surged to 90 per 100 persons"
"text":"1 state-owned TV and 3 state-owned radio stations; several privately owned TV and radio stations; satellite TV service is available; rebroadcasts of several international broadcasters are available (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations":{
"text":"AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001)"
},
"Television broadcast stations":{
"text":"1 (2001)"
},
"Internet country code":{
"text":".cg"
},
"Internet users":{
"total":{
"text":"89,500"
},
"percent of population":{
"text":"1.9% (2014 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation":{
"Airports":{
"text":"27 (2013)"
},
"Airports - with paved runways":{
"total":{
"text":"8"
},
"over 3,047 m":{
"text":"2"
},
"2,438 to 3,047 m":{
"text":"1"
},
"1,524 to 2,437 m":{
"text":"5 (2013)"
}
},
"Airports - with unpaved runways":{
"total":{
"text":"19"
},
"1,524 to 2,437 m":{
"text":"8"
},
"914 to 1,523 m":{
"text":"9"
},
"under 914 m":{
"text":" ++ 2 (2013)"
}
},
"Pipelines":{
"text":"gas 232 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 982 km (2013)"
"text":"1,120 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui Rivers above Brazzaville; there are many ferries across the river to Kinshasa; the Congo south of Brazzaville-Kinshasa to the coast is not navigable because of rapids, necessitating a rail connection to Pointe Noire; other rivers are used for local traffic only) (2011)"
},
"Merchant marine":{
"registered in other countries":{
"text":"1 (Democratic Republic of the Congo 1) (2010)"
"text":"Congolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Congolaises, FAC): Army (Armee de Terre), Navy, Congolese Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise); Gendarmerie; Special Presidential Security Guard (GSSP) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"18 years of age for voluntary military service; women may serve in the Armed Forces (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"928,664"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"914,265 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"577,944"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"566,587 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually":{
"male":{
"text":"50,000"
},
"female":{
"text":"49,641 (2010 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is undefined except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area"
