The 2008 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Geographic coordinates:
0 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 10,730 km border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km
Coastline:
37 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
Climate:
tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October)
Terrain:
vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
Natural resources:
cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber
Land use:
arable land: 2.86% permanent crops: 0.47% other: 96.67% (2005)
Irrigated land:
110 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
1,283 cu km (2001)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.36 cu km/yr (53%/17%/31%) per capita: 6 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Environment - current issues:
poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography - note:
straddles equator; has narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands
People
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Population:
66,514,504 note: 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 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 47.1% (male 15,711,817/female 15,594,449) 15–64 years: 50.4% (male 16,672,399/female 16,875,468) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 674,766/female 985,607) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 16.3 years male: 16.1 years female: 16.5 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.236% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
43 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
11.88 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
1.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15–64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 83.11 deaths/1,000 live births male: 91.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 74.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 53.98 years male: 52.22 years female: 55.8 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.28 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
4.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1.1 million (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
100,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria, plague, and African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) water contact disease: schistosomiasis animal contact disease: rabies (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo
Ethnic groups:
over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population
Religions:
Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%
Languages:
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language),
Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba total population: 67.2% male: 80.9% female: 54.1% (2001 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 9 years male: 10 years female: 8 years (2003)
Education expenditures:
NA
Government
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Democratique