Profile - Republic of Congo

I INTRODUCTION
Congo, Republic of the, republic in west central Africa, bounded on the north by Cameroon and the Central African Republic, on the east and south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire), on the southwest by Angola (Cabinda enclave) and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by Gabon. Formerly called People’s Republic of the Congo, the republic has an area of 342,000 sq km (132,000 sq mi). Brazzaville is the capital and largest city.

II LAND AND RESOURCES
Along the Atlantic coast is a low, treeless plain, which rises inland to the Mayumbe Mountains, an almost completely forested region with an average elevation of about 550 m (about 1,800 ft). In the south central region is the fertile valley of the Niari River. To the north lies the central highlands region, the Plateau Batéké. The plateau is cut by numerous tributaries of the Congo and Ubangi rivers. The Congo Basin occupies the northeastern part of the country. Dense tropical rain forests cover more than half of the country and constitute a major natural resource. The principal commercial species are okoumé (a mahogany) and limba (a hardwood). Savanna vegetation is found in the northeast and the higher plateau areas. Wildlife is diverse and abundant, including antelope, giraffes, cheetahs, crocodiles, and numerous birds and snakes.

The climate is tropical, with mostly high heat and humidity. While the Mayumbe Mountains experience a long dry season, parts of the Congo Basin receive more than 2,500 mm (more than 100 in) of rainfall annually. Average temperatures in Brazzaville are 26° C (78° F) in January and 23° C (73° F) in July, with an annual rainfall of about 1,500 mm (about 60 in). Temperatures along the coast are slightly cooler.

Petroleum, found offshore, is the Congo’s principal mineral resource. Other resources include potash, gold, iron ore, lead, and copper.

III POPULATION
The population of the Congo comprises four major ethnic groups divided into about 75 smaller groups. The Kongo, the major ethnic group, accounting for about one-half of the total population, occupy the section southwest of Brazzaville. The M’Bochi live in the area where the savanna and forest meet in the northern region; the Sangha also inhabit the northern forest zone; and the Teke live in the central region. About 12,000 pygmies also live in the country.

A Population Characteristics The population of the Congo (1998 estimate) is 2,658,123, giving the country an overall population density of 8 persons per sq km (20 per sq mi). About half the population follows traditional religious beliefs. Most of the remainder are Christian, primarily members of the Roman Catholic church, which had nearly 1 million adherents in the Congo in the early 1990s. Muslims are 2 percent of the population. Although French is the official language of the Congo, most people speak an African language.

B Principal Cities

The Congo’s most important cities are Brazzaville, the capital and major industrial center; and Pointe-Noire, the chief seaport.

C Education Schooling is free and compulsory in the Congo for children of ages 6 to 16. In the 1995-1996 school year primary school enrollment was 497,305 pupils, and 214,650 students attended secondary schools, including technical and teacher-training schools. The country’s only university, Université Marien-Ngouabi (1961), is in Brazzaville. It has a yearly enrollment of about 12,000 students. The estimated literacy rate in 1995 was 75 percent, one of the highest in Africa.

IV ECONOMY
The Congolese economy is based primarily on subsistence agriculture and the exploitation of natural resources. Commercial activities are also important, primarily because the country provides key port and transport facilities for the Central African Republic, Chad, and Gabon. In 1995 the estimated national budget included $302 million in revenues and $468 million in expenditures.

A Agriculture Cassava, pineapples, plantains, bananas, peanuts, maize, and avocados are the principal subsistence crops raised in the Congo. The main cash crops are sugarcane, palm kernels, cacao, and coffee. The most successful commercial agricultural operations are in the fertile Niari Valley.

B Forestry and Mining Forest products account for a substantial share of the Congo’s exports. Petroleum is produced from offshore oil fields, and crude oil typically accounts for about three-quarters of the country’s yearly exports. The output of crude petroleum in 1995 was 64 million barrels and is expected to increase as a new offshore field is developed. In addition, natural gas, lead, copper, and gold are mined.

C Manufacturing Industry is oriented mainly toward producing consumer goods. The largest industries process agricultural products (including tobacco) and forest products. Other manufactures include textiles, cement, footwear, and soap. A petroleum refinery began operation at Pointe-Noire in 1976.

D Currency and Banking The unit of currency is the CFA franc, issued by the Bank of the States of Central Africa in Brazzaville (583.67 CFA francs equal U.S.$1; 1997 average). An exchange rate of 50 CFA francs equal to 1 French franc was in force from 1948 to 1994, when the CFA franc was devalued by 50 percent. The leading commercial banks are the Banque Internationale du Congo and the Union Congolaise de Banques.

E Foreign Trade In 1996 imports cost $707 million and exports earned $1,435 million. The Congo engages in considerable trade with the nearby countries of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Gabon, with which it is joined in the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa. The country also has extensive commercial ties with France, the United States, and Italy.

F Transportation and Communications
Although broken by rapids, the Congo River and its tributaries provide a major and highly developed transportation network. The Congo-Ocean Railroad (510 km/317 mi) links Brazzaville to Pointe-Noire; a 286-km (178-mi) spur links the line to Moanda, Gabon. Only a small percentage of the 12,800 km (7,954 mi) of roads are paved. The road network is densest in the south. International airports serve Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.

There are 6 daily newspapers published in the Congo. The government radio station broadcasts from Brazzaville, and a national television network began transmission in 1963. In 1996 there were an estimated 124 radio receivers and 11 television sets for every 1,000 people. There were 8 telephone mainlines per 1,000 people in 1996.

V GOVERNMENT
A 1992 constitution declared the Congo a multiparty democracy with a president as head of state. Legislative power was vested in a 125-seat National Assembly and a 60-seat Senate. According to the constitution, popular elections to the presidency and the National Assembly were to be held every five years, while Senate elections were to be held every six years. In October 1997 former president Denis Sassou-Nguesso overthrew the government of President Pascal Lissouba and suspended the constitution. Sassou-Nguesso appointed a multiparty cabinet in November, and in early 1998 he declared that the Congo would be returned to democratic rule under a new constitution after a three-year transitional period.

VI HISTORY Some of the Bantu peoples in the Congo have been here since before AD 1000. When Diogo Cam, the first European explorer of the area, reached the Congo River in 1482, he found two large empires. The kingdom of Loango extended north and east from the river, and that of the Bakongo controlled the land near the mouth of the Congo River southward to the Cuanza River. Eventually, Portuguese imperialism and the slave trade destroyed the Bakongo’s empire and severely damaged that of the Loango. Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza of France explored the area in 1879 and 1880. He signed treaties with local rulers, placing the territory under French protection. The region became known as the Middle Congo, which in 1910 became one of the colonies federated into French Equatorial Africa. Brazzaville, the chief city of the Middle Congo, became the seat of government for the federation. After many attempts following World War II (1939-1945) to bind its African territories into a meaningful association, France began to grant them independence. The Middle Congo became an independent functioning republic in 1960 called Republic of the Congo.

Politics after independence were unstable; each disturbance made the government more radical. The first premier, Fulbert Youlou, outlawed all opposition but was overthrown in 1963. He was replaced by Alphonse Massamba-Débat and the National Revolutionary Movement; he secured good relations with Communist states throughout the world, especially the People’s Republic of China. In 1968 a coup organized by the army and more militant leftists overthrew Massamba-Débat and installed Marien Ngouabi as head of state. During the nine years of Ngouabi’s rule the Congo became even more of a Marxist country. In 1970, under a revolutionary constitution, the name of the nation was changed to People’s Republic of the Congo. Ngouabi was assassinated in 1977, and his place was assumed by General Joachim Yhombi-Opango. Despite its good relations with the Communist world, the Congo’s closest ties and much of its trade remained with France.

In 1979 Colonel Denis Sassou-Nguesso succeeded Yhombi-Opango as president; a treaty of cooperation and friendship was signed with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1981. Reelected to the presidency in 1984 and 1989, Sassou-Nguesso faced rising opposition as the 1990s began. A national conference that was held in 1991 and 1992 changed the country’s name back to Republic of the Congo, introduced a new national flag and anthem, and approved a new constitution to make the Congo a multiparty democracy. Pascal Lissouba defeated Sassou-Nguesso in the presidential election of August 1992. Accusations of ethnic favoritism plagued Lissouba during the mid-1990s. Armed factions arose in opposition to his rule, with many Congolese rallying behind Sassou-Nguesso. In 1997 heavy fighting erupted in Brazzaville, destroying much of the city. In October of that year Sassou-Nguesso overthrew Lissouba with military assistance from Angola.

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