"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 two-year civil war that ended in 1999 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso, who had ruled from 1979 to 1992, and sparked a short period of ethnic and political unrest that was resolved by a peace agreement in late 1999. A new constitution adopted three years later provided for a multi-party system and a seven-year presidential term, and elections arranged shortly thereafter retained SASSOU-Nguesso. Following a year of renewed fighting, President SASSOU-Nguesso and southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. SASSOU-Nguesso was reelected in 2009 and, after passing a referendum allowing him to run for additional terms, was reelected again in 2016 and 2021. 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."
"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":"Ubangi (shared with Central African Republic [s] and Democratic Republic of Congo [m]) - 2,270 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"French (official), French Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)"
"text":"<br>Buku oyo ya bosembo ya Mokili Mobimba Ezali na Makanisi ya Liboso Mpenza. (Lingala)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"<p>The Republic of the Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, with nearly 70% of Congolese living in urban areas. The population is concentrated in the southwest of the country, mainly in the capital Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and along the railway line that connects the two. The tropical jungles in the north of the country are sparsely populated. Most Congolese are Bantu, and most belong to one of four main ethnic groups, the Kongo, Teke, Mbochi, and Sangha, which consist of over 70 subgroups.</p> <p>The Republic of Congo is in the early stages of a demographic transition, whereby a population shifts from high fertility and mortality rates to low fertility and mortality rates associated with industrialized societies. Its total fertility rate (TFR), the average number of children born per woman, remains high at 4.4 as of 2022. While its TFR has steadily decreased, the progress slowed beginning in about 1995. The slowdown in fertility reduction has delayed the demographic transition and Congo’s potential to reap a demographic dividend, the economic boost that can occur when the share of the working-age population is larger than the dependent age groups.</p> <p>The TFR differs significantly between urban and rural areas – 3.7 in urban areas versus 6.5 in rural areas. The TFR also varies among regions. The urban regions of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire have much lower TFRs than other regions, which are predominantly or completely rural. The gap between desired fertility and actual fertility is also greatest in rural areas. Rural families may have more children to contribute to agricultural production and/or due to a lack of information about and access to contraception. Urban families may prefer to have fewer children because raising them is more expensive and balancing work and childcare may be more difficult. The number of births among teenage girls, the frequency of giving birth before the age of fifteen, and a lack of education are the most likely reasons for higher TFRs in rural areas. Although 90% of school-age children are enrolled in primary school, repetition and dropout rates are high and the quality of education is poor. Congolese women with no or little education start having children earlier and have more children in total than those with at least some secondary education.</p> <p></p>"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> on 22 March 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; the Republic of the Congo is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine"
"text":"air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation; wildlife protection"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator"
"text":"<em>due to floods -</em> above average rainfall amounts since November 2022 triggered flooding in December 2022 and January 2023 in central and northern parts of the country, displacing people; according to damage assessment reports, about 165,000 people have been affected in 23 districts in the departments of Cuvette, Likouala, Plateaux and Sangha (2023)"
"text":"Ubangi (shared with Central African Republic [s] and Democratic Republic of Congo [m]) - 2,270 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"French Congo, Middle Congo, People's Republic of the Congo, Congo/Brazzaville"
},
"etymology":{
"text":"named for the Congo River, which makes up much of the country's eastern border; the river name derives from Kongo, a Bantu kingdom that occupied its mouth at the time of Portuguese discovery in the late 15th century and whose name stems from its people the Bakongo, meaning \"hunters\""
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"presidential republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Brazzaville"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"4 15 S, 15 17 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"text":"named after the Italian-born French explorer and humanitarian, Pierre Savorgnan de BRAZZA (1852-1905), who promoted French colonial interests in central Africa and worked against slavery and the abuse of African laborers"
"text":"proposed by the president of the republic or by Parliament; passage of presidential proposals requires Supreme Court review followed by approval in a referendum; such proposals may also be submitted directly to Parliament, in which case passage requires at least three-quarters majority vote of both houses in joint session; proposals by Parliament require three-fourths majority vote of both houses in joint session; constitutional articles including those affecting the country’s territory, republican form of government, and secularity of the state are not amendable"
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for 2 additional terms); election last held on 21 March 2021 (next to be held on 21 March 2026)"
"text":"<p><em>2021: </em>Denis SASSOU-Nguesso reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-Nguesso (PCT) 88.4%, Guy Price Parfait KOLELAS (MCDDI) 8.0%, other 3.6%</p> <p><em>2016: </em>Denis SASSOU-Nguesso reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-Nguesso (PCT) 60.4%, Guy Price Parfait KOLELAS (MCDDI) 15.1%, Jean-Marie MOKOKO (independent) 13.9%, Pascal Tsaty MABIALA (UPADS) 4.4%, other 6.2%</p>"
"text":"bicameral Parliament or Parliament consists of:<br>Senate (72 seats; members indirectly elected by local, district, and regional councils by simple majority vote to serve 6-year terms) note- the Senate is renewed in its entirety following a constitutional reform implemented in 2015 ending the renewal by half<br>National Assembly (151 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed; members serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"<strong></strong><br>Senate - last held on 31 August 2017 (next to be held in 2023)<br>National Assembly - last held on 10 and 31 July 2022 (next to be held in July 2027)"
"text":"<p>Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCT 46, independent 12, MAR 2, RDPS 2, UPADS 2, DRD 1, FP 1, MCDDI 1, PRL 1, Pulp 1, PUR 1, RC 1; composition - men 58, women 14, percent of women 19.4%<br><br>National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCT 112, UPADS 7, UDH-YUKI 7, MAR 4, RLP 2, CLUB 2002 2, DRR 2, RDPS 2, PAC 1, MSD 1, MDP 1, CPR 1, PPRD 1, CR 1, MCDDI 1, independent 6; composition - men 134, women 17, percent of women 11.3%; note - total Parliament percent of women 13.9%<br><br><br></p> <p></p>"
"text":"Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of NA judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members); note - a 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":"Supreme Court judges elected by Parliament and serve until age 65; Constitutional Court members appointed by the president of the republic - 3 directly by the president and 6 nominated by Parliament; members appointed for renewable 9-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Court of Audit and Budgetary Discipline; courts of appeal; regional and district courts; employment tribunals; juvenile courts"
"text":"Alliance of the Presidential Majority or AMP<br>Action Movement for Renewal or MAR [Roland BOUITI-VIAUDO]<br>Citizen's Rally or RC [Claude Alphonse NSILOU]<br>Congolese Labour Party or PCT [Denis SASSOU-Nguesso]<br>Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [VACANT]<br>Movement for Unity, Solidarity, and Work or MUST [Claudine MUNARI]<br>Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Pascal Tsaty MABIALA]<br>Party for the Unity and the Republic or PUR [Wilfrid NGUESSO]<br>Patriotic Union for Democracy and Progress or UPDP [Auguste-Celestin GONGARD NKOUA]<br>Perspectives and Realities Club or CPR [Aimé Hydevert MOUAGNI]<br>Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystère TCHICAYA]<br>Republican and Liberal Party or PRL [Bonaventure MIZIDY]<br>Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Josué Rodrigue NGOUONIMBA]<br>Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR [Guy Kinfoussia ROMAIN]<br>Union for the Republic or UR [Michel Bidimbou POUELA]"
"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",
"text":"primarily an oil- and natural resources-based economy; recovery from mid-2010s oil devaluation has been slow and curtailed by COVID-19; extreme poverty increasing, particularly in southern rural regions; attempting to implement recommended CEMAC reforms; increasing likelihood of debt default"
"text":"suffering from economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty; 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; youth are seeking the Internet more than their parents and often gain access through cyber cafes; only the most affluent have Internet access in their homes; operator has plans to upgrade national broadband through fiber link to West Africa Cable System (WACS) landing station at Pointe-Noire with connections to Angola and DRC; fiber network project with aims to connect north and south regions; DRC operator added fiber link between Brazzaville and Kinshasa (2020)"
"text":"country code - 242; WACS submarine cables to Europe and Western and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)"
"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"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> road network in Congo is composed of 23,324 km of which 17,000 km are classified as national, departmental, and routes of local interest: 6,324 km are non-classified routes"
"text":"1,120 km (2011) (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubangui 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)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the Gendarmerie is a paramilitary force with domestic law enforcement and security responsibilities; it is under the Ministry of Defense, but also reports to the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Interior also controls the National Police"
"text":"the FAC is viewed as having limited capabilities due to obsolescent and poorly maintained equipment and low levels of training; its primary focus is internal security; since its creation in 1961, the FAC has had a turbulent history; it has been sidelined by some national leaders in favor of personal militias, endured an internal rebellion (1996), and clashed with various rebel groups and political or ethnic militias (1993-1996, 2002-2005, 2017); during the 1997-1999 civil war, the military generally split along ethnic lines, with most northern officers supporting eventual winner SASSOU-Nguesso, and most southerners backing the rebels; others joined ethnic-based factions loyal to regional warlords; forces backing SASSOU-Nguesso were supported by Angolan troops and received some French assistance; the FAC also has undergone at least three reorganizations that included the incorporation of former rebel combatants and various ethnic and political militias; in recent years, France has provided some advice and training, and a military cooperation agreement was signed with Russia in 2019 (2023)"
"text":"<p><em>Republic of the Congo-Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC): </em>the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area<br><br><em>Republic of the Congo-Angola:</em> (Kabinda Exclave) None identified</p>"
