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Reference
Republic of the Congo Facts and Figures from Encarta
Basic Facts
Official name Republic of the Congo
Capital Brazzaville
Area 342,000 sq km
132,000 sq mi
Republic of the Congo
People
Population 2,954,258 (2003 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 1.53 percent (2003 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 3,566,980 (2025 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 4,188,682 (2050 estimate)
Population density 8.6 persons per sq km (2003 estimate)
22 persons per sq mi (2003 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 66 percent (2001 estimate)
Share rural 34 percent (2001 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Brazzaville 1,187,000 (1999 estimate)
Pointe-Noire 500,000 (1997 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Kongo 48 percent
Sangha 20 percent
M'Bochi 12 percent
Teke 17 percent
Other 3 percent
Languages
French (official), African languages (Kikongo, Lingala, and Teke are the most widely used)
Religious affiliations
Roman Catholic 49 percent
Protestant 17 percent
Independent Christian 13 percent
Ethnoreligionists or indigenous beliefs 5 percent
Nonreligious 2 percent
Other 14 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 50 years (2003 estimate)
Female 51 years (2003 estimate)
Male 49 years (2003 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 95 deaths per 1,000 live births (2003 estimate)
Population per physician 4,664 people (1999)
Population per hospital bed 298 people (1990)
Literacy rate
Total 83.8 percent (2003 estimate)
Female 78.4 percent (2003 estimate)
Male 89.6 percent (2003 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 5.5 percent (1999-2000)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 10 years (2000)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 60 students per teacher (1999-2000)
Government
Form of government Republic
Voting qualifications Universal at age 18
Constitution
15 March 1992; suspended in 1997; a new constitution approved by referendum in January 2002
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 10,000 (2001)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 3 percent (2001)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $2.75 billion (2001)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $890 (2001)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 5.9 percent (2001)
Industry 66.1 percent (2001)
Services 28 percent (2001)
Employment
Number of workers 1,284,166 (2001)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 49 percent (1990)
Industry 15 percent (1990)
Services 37 percent (1990)
Unemployment rate Not available
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue $849 million (2000)
Total expenditure $821 million (2000)
Monetary unit
1 Communaut* Financière Africaine (CFA) franc, consisting of 100 centimes
Major trade partners for exports
Taiwan, South Korea, United States, China, and Brazil
Major trade partners for imports
France, United States, Italy, Belgium, and Hong Kong SAR
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 0.28 percent (2001 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 99.72 percent (2001 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2001 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0 percent (2001 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 126 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 7 (2001)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 13 (1998 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 0.14 (2001)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 8 (1995 estimate)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 20 (1997)
Paved road as a share of total roads 10 percent (1999)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the latest Europa World Yearbook and various International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.