Country Profile: The Republic of the Congo

Geography

Western Africa, northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and southeast of Gabon, with 169 kilometers of coastline along the South Atlantic Ocean. Slightly smaller than Montana (342,000 square kilometers). Tropical. Capital: Brazzaville.

Recent History

Independence from France in 1960. Marxist led until 1990. Democratically elected government in 1992. Civil War in 1997. Constitution approved by referendum in 2002. Peace accord in 2003.

Economy

Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.

Factbook: "The economy is a mixture of subsistence agriculture, an industrial sector based largely on oil, and support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports."

Estimated per capita GDP (2009 U.S. dollars)

2009: $4,100
2008: $3,900
2007: $3,700

GDP annual real (not per capita) growth rate estimate

2009: 6.6%
2008: 3.9%
2007: -1.6%

Oil production, 2008: 239,900 barrels per day.

Exports 33.6 percent larger than imports in cash value. (2004) Exports "petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds."

Military expenditures as a percentage of GDP

2006: 3.1%

Population

Living in an urban area: 61% (2008)

July 2009: 4.013 million. Growth rate: 2.754% (rates 19th)
July 2008: 3.9 million
July 2005: 3.0 million

Migration

2009: More leaving than arriving. A net loss of 1.82 persons per 1,000 population.

Health

Infant mortality (deaths before the age of one year per 1,000 live births)

2009: 79.78 (rates 20th)
2008: 81.29
2005: 92.41

Average life expectancy at birth:

2009: 54.15
2008: 53.74
2005: 48.97

Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: 4.9 percent. (2003)

Literacy, Age 15 and Older (2003)

Males 89.6 percent
Females 78.4 percent

Religion

Christian 50 percent. Animist 48 percent. Muslim 2 percent.

SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook>