The 1991 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
resources: petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas
_#_Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 29%; forest and woodland 62%; other 7%
_#_Environment: deforestation; about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, or along the railroad between them
_*People #_Population: 2,309,444 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 108 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 56 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 5.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Congolese (sing., pl.); adjective—Congolese or Congo
_#_Ethnic divisions: about 15 ethnic groups divided into some 75 tribes, almost all Bantu; most important ethnic groups are Kongo (48%) in the south, Sangha (20%) and M'Bochi (12%) in the north, Teke (17%) in the center; about 8,500 Europeans, mostly French
_#_Religion: Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%
_#_Language: French (official); many African languages with Lingala and Kikongo most widely used
_#_Literacy: 57% (male 70%, female 44%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 79,100 wage earners; agriculture 75%, commerce, industry, and government 25%; 51% of population of working age; 40% of population economically active (1985)
_#_Organized labor: 20% of labor force (1979 est.)
_*Government #_Long-form name: Republic of the Congo
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Brazzaville
_#_Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regions, singular—region); Bouenza, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha; note—there may be a new capital district of Brazzaville
_#_Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France; formerly Congo/Brazzaville)
_#_Constitution: 8 July 1979, currently being modified
_#_Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law
_#_National holiday: National Day, 15 August (1960)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly (Assemblee Nationale Populaire)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State—President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 8 February 1979);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Brig. Gen. Louis-Sylvain
GOMA (since 9 January 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders: Congolese Labor Party (PCT), President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, leader; note—multiparty system legalized, with over 50 parties established
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President—last held 26–31 July 1989 (next to be held July 1994); results—President SASSOU-NGUESSO unanimously reelected leader of the PCT by the Party Congress, which automatically made him president;
People's National Assembly—last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held NA 1994); results—PCT was the only party; seats—(153 total) single list of candidates nominated by the PCT
_#_Communists: unknown number of Communists and sympathizers
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Union of Congolese Socialist Youth (UJSC), Congolese Trade Union Congress (CSC), Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women (URFC), General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students (UGEEC)
_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77,
GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UDEAC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Roger ISSOMBO; Chancery at 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington DC 20011; telephone (202) 726–5500;
US—Ambassador James Daniel PHILLIPS; Embassy at Avenue Amilcar Cabral, Brazzaville (mailing address is B. P. 1015, Brazzaville, or Box C, APO New York 09662–0006); telephone (242) 83–20-70 or 83–26-24
_#_Flag: red with the national emblem in the upper hoist-side corner; the emblem includes a yellow five-pointed star above a crossed hoe and hammer (like the hammer and sickle design) in yellow, flanked by two curved green palm branches; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
_*Economy #_Overview: Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing about two-thirds of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s rapidly rising oil revenues enabled Congo to finance large-scale development projects with growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The world decline in oil prices, however, has forced the government to launch an austerity program to cope with declining receipts and mounting foreign debts.
_#_GDP: $2.26 billion, per capita $1,050; real growth rate 0.6% (1989 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.6% (1989 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $522 million; expenditures $767 million, including capital expenditures of $141 million (1989)
_#_Exports: $751 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities—crude petroleum 72%, lumber, plywood, coffee, cocoa, sugar, diamonds;
partners—US, France, other EC
_#_Imports: $564 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities—foodstuffs, consumer goods, intermediate manufactures, capital equipment;
partners—France, Italy, other EC, US, FRG, Spain, Japan, Brazil
_#_External debt: $4.5 billion (December 1988)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 1.2% (1989); accounts for 33% of GDP, including petroleum
_#_Electricity: 133,000 kW capacity; 300 million kWh produced, 130 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: crude oil, cement, sawmills, brewery, sugar mill, palm oil, soap, cigarettes
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); cassava accounts for 90% of food output; other crops—rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables; cash crops include coffee and cocoa; forest products important export earner; imports over 90% of food needs
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70–89), $60 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970–88), $2.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979–89), $15 million; Communist countries (1970–89), $338 million
_#_Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural—francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1—256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*Communications #_Railroads: 797 km, 1.067-meter gauge, single track (includes 285 km that are privately owned)
_#_Highways: 12,000 km total; 560 km bituminous surface treated; 850 km gravel, laterite; 5,350 km improved earth; 5,240 km unimproved