range between the high 60s and low 80s F, although in the south the cooling effect of the Benguela Current may produce temperatures as low as the mid-50s F. The average daily humidity is about 80 percent.
 

Drainage

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The country’s drainage system is dominated by the Congo River. The Congo’s main northern tributary, the Ubangi River, flows southward from the Central African Republic and forms the country’s eastern border as far as the town of Liranga, where it joins the Congo proper. The main river continues southward to Malebo Pool, a shallow 300-square-mile lake, and then on to Livingstone (Zongo) Falls before turning southwest through Congo (Kinshasa) to the Atlantic Ocean. The major right-bank tributaries of the Congo, all within the Congo Republic, include the Sangha, Likouala, Alima, Nkéni, Léfini, Djoué, and Foulakari rivers.

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Plant and animal life

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Much of the country is covered with tropical rainforest, although logging has cleared areas in the south. The dense growth of African oak, red cedar, walnut, softwood okoumé, or gaboon mahogany, and hardwood limba (Terminalia superba) remaining in some regions provides an evergreen canopy over the sparse undergrowth of leafy plants and vines. Coconut palms, mangrove forests, and tall grasses and reeds grow in the coastal regions and eastern swamps. The plateaus and the Niari valley are covered with grasses and scattered broad-leaved trees.

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Several varieties of monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas, elephants, okapis, wild boars, and buffaloes live in the forests. Wildlife in the savanna regions includes antelopes, jackals, wild dogs, hyenas, and cheetahs. On the plateaus, rhinoceroses and giraffes are numerous, but lions are scarce. Birdlife includes predatory eagles, hawks, and owls, scavenging vultures, and wading herons. Sixteen percent of Congolese territory is protected; national parks include Nouabalé-Ndoki, in which dwell more than 300 species of bird and more than 1,000 plant and tree species, and Odzala-Kokoua, which is an important elephant and gorilla sanctuary.

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Ethnic groups, languages

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Except for the Pygmies and the Adamawa-Ubangi speaking populations in the northeast, the indigenous peoples all speak Bantu languages. Intergroup communication and trade fostered the development of two trade languages, Lingala and Kituba (Mono kutuba). Lingala is spoken north of Brazzaville, and Kituba is common in the area between the capital and the coast. French is the official language and the medium of educational instruction, as well as the language of the upper classes. About half of Congo’s inhabitants identify with the Kongo peoples, whose major subgroups include the Sundi, Kongo, Lali, Kougni, Bembe, Kamba, Dondo, Vili, and Yombe. The Ubangi peoples include the Makoua, Kouyou, Mboshi, Likouala, Ngala, and Bonga. The Teke and the Sanga, or “Gabonese Bantu,” are also divided into subgroups. The Binga Pygmies live in small bands, usually as clients of surrounding farming peoples. Of the Europeans who remained in Congo prior to the civil strife of the late 1990s—many of whom were French and resided in the major cities—only a fraction remain.

Religion 

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Seventy-five percent of the population is Christian. Adherents of Roman Catholicism account for about 33 percent of the country’s Christians. The Protestant community includes members of the Evangelical Church of the Congo. There are also independent African churches; the Kimbanguist Church, the largest independent church in Africa, is a member of the World Council of Churches. Other independent churches include the Matsouana Church and the Bougist Church. Most of the small Muslim community is made up of foreigners who reside in Brazzaville or Pointe-Noire.

 

Settlement patterns

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The country’s four main cultural regions developed from contact and exchange between neighboring clusters of peoples. The southern region between Brazzaville and the coast is inhabited by the Kongo peoples. Also in the south, the Teke inhabit the Batéké Plateau region. In the north, the Ubangi peoples live in the Congo River basin to the west of Mossaka, while the Binga Pygmies and the Sanga are scattered through the northern basin.

 

Precolonial trade between north and south stimulated both cooperation and competition, while French favoritism toward the peoples of the southwest and post-independence politics intensified ethnic and regional rivalries. Massive internal migration and urbanization since independence have reproduced these cleavages in the cities and towns.

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Population distribution within the country is very uneven. The southwestern quarter of the country is home to the majority of the population, while in the north and northeast, population is sparse. In spite of the civil conflict of the late 1990s, which dampened the rate of urbanization, Congo nevertheless remains highly urbanized relative to the sub-Saharan African average, with more than one-half of the population living in cities. Because the urban growth rate far exceeds that of the country as a whole, urbanization continues to intensify. Since this growth has been chiefly the result of internal migration, most rural communities have ties to the larger national community and economy.

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The major cities are Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire on the Atlantic coast, Nkayi (formerly Jacob) in the Niari valley, and Loubomo (formerly Dolisie) in the Mayombé region. Colonial creations by and large, the cities reflect French influence: a central administrative and commercial core is surrounded by residential areas. Before independence there was a marked separation between the spacious planned European neighborhoods and the less-regimented, more populous African parts of town. Since 1960, however, greater social and economic mobility in the African population, attempts at urban renewal, and massive rural-to-urban migration have blurred these distinctions.

 

Demographics

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Like many African countries, Congo has a fast-growing, relatively young population: the birth rate is among the world’s highest, and about 20 percent of the population is under 15 years of age. In the early portions of the 20th century, however, the country was part of the low-fertility belt, a region stretching from Gabon to Uganda where many societies experienced little or no population growth. Life expectancy, among the lowest on the continent prior to 1950, improved steadily in the last half of the 20th century, and by the early 2000s it had surpassed the average for sub-Saharan Africa.

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Urban in-migration has long been an important demographic trend. During the colonial era, the new colonial cities, and Brazzaville in particular, attracted African migrants. Congo has since become one of the most urban countries of sub-Saharan Africa, about two-thirds of the population residing in urban areas. Demographic trends have also been linked to local and neighboring patterns of conflict. More than one-third of the population was estimated to have been displaced as a result of the civil conflict of the late 1990s; many returned to their homes in 2000. In addition, refugees fleeing conflict in neighboring countries—particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo but also Rwanda, Angola, and elsewhere—have sought shelter in Congo.

 

Economy

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Petroleum and mining are the major export industries, followed by forestry and commercial agriculture. Light manufacturing (mostly shoes), sugar processing, and assembly industries assumed greater importance in the 1980s. These activities, however, employed only a small fraction of the labor force, most of which worked in agriculture and the non-salaried informal urban economy. In the late 1980s, following a fall in world oil prices, Congo experienced a major financial crisis. Negotiations for aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank produced agreements to privatize portions of the national economy and to reduce the national bureaucracy. Such agreements may have improved the ability of Congo to compete in the international economy; at the same time, they did little to ameliorate the poverty of much of the population.

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Congo continued to remain a heavily indebted country. Failure to make payments on outstanding debts prompted the suspension of disbursements by the World Bank in the late 1990s, shortly before the halt of all international aid with the outbreak of civil conflict. In 2000 the IMF approved emergency assistance, and the World Bank resumed its activities in 2001; in November 2007 the London Club of creditors canceled some 80 percent of Congo’s debt.

 

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

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For the most part, agriculture, which occupies more than one-third of the workforce, is subsistence in nature. Poor soil and the lack of fertilizers limit yields, and the country is not self-sufficient in food production. Most of the cultivated land is in family holdings that are too small for mechanized farming; international development strate- gies, which are shaped by reliance on large-scale production, have yet to devise effective ways to enhance small-scale production.

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In the savanna, land is cleared by burning, and women work the fields with hand tools. Cassava (manioc) is the basic food crop everywhere but in the south, where bananas and plantains are prevalent. Rice is grown in the Niari valley and in the north around Djambala. The diet is supplemented with yams, taros, sweet potatoes, corn, peanuts, and fruit. Livestock consists of sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry. The government has sponsored the raising of cattle since the introduction in the 1960s of n’dama cattle, a breed resistant to the tsetse fly.

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Sugarcane and tobacco are major cash crops. Palm kernels, cacao, and coffee are grown in more modest amounts. Other cash crops include rice, bananas, and cotton. Commercial agriculture and cattle ranching are concentrated in the Niari valley. Forest products accounted for more than 60 percent of the total exports in the late 1960s. Two decades later, however, petroleum made up more than 90 percent of exports, and it has remained the preeminent export product since that time. The relatively accessible forestry reserves of the country’s south have been exploited since the 1940s. Although the extensive forest reserves of the north were previously out of reach because of the region’s isolation, this changed rapidly from the mid-1990s. Congo is among the world’s largest producers of limba and okoumé woods. Products include logs, sawn wood, and veneers. Forestry was largely under French control until the 1960s, when African participation expanded.

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Commercial marine fishing is conducted off Pointe-Noire. The catch includes tuna, bass, sole, and sardines. Freshwater fishing on the rivers, lakes, and swamps is largely a subsistence activity. In the early 2000s, industrial and artisanal fishing activities yielded a roughly comparable catch.

 

Resources and power

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Important resources include petroleum and natural gas, most of which are produced in offshore fields. Large reserves of potash (potassium chloride) are found at Tchitondi (Holle), 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Pointe-Noire. Iron ore is found in the south and in the western Sangha basin. Minor deposits of gold and diamonds are located in the Kouilou valley, and there are copper and lead deposits west of Brazzaville. There are also deposits of zinc, tin, uranium, bauxite, and titanium.

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Forests of softwoods and hardwoods cover much of the country. The rivers and lakes are home to substantial fish resources. Hydroelectric power accounts for nearly all of the country’s domestic electricity production; additional energy needs are met through imports, chiefly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

Manufacturing

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The manufacturing sector is limited by small domestic markets, dependence upon foreign investment, and a lack of skilled labor. Most factories are located in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, Kayes, Loubomo, and towns in the Niari valley. Products include processed foods (particularly flour and sugar), beer and other beverages, cigarettes, textiles and clothing, footwear, processed wood and paper, chemicals, cement and bricks, glassware, and metal goods such as nails and metal furniture. The first petroleum refinery went into operation in 1976 at Pointe-Noire. Handicrafts include carvings, pottery, needlework, tiles, and bricks.

 

Finance and trade

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Congo is a member of Financial Cooperation in Central Africa (Coopération Financière en Afrique Centrale; CFA) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Union (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale; CEMAC). The central bank, Banque des États de l’Afrique Centrale, is based in Cameroon and issues the CFA franc, the currency used in CEMAC countries. Congo’s chief export is petroleum, which accounts for the vast majority of its export earnings; wood and wood products, including logs and sawn timber, are also notable exports. Significant imports include machinery and transport equipment, food and live animals, and basic manufactures. Among Congo’s principal trade partners are France, China, and Italy.

 

Services

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The contribution of the services sector, sizable in the early 1990s, was diminished as a result of both the rise of the petroleum industry and the effects of civil conflict. By the early 2000s services accounted for more than two-fifths of the Congolese gross domestic product (GDP). Diminished as a result of the instability of the late 1990s, the tourism sector has been slowly recovering. The majority of tourists from France or from neighboring countries.

 

Labor and taxation

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Agriculture employs more than one-third of the labor force, although it accounts for only a fraction of GDP. About 60 percent of the workforce is engaged in the services and industry sector. Among the taxes in Congo are those levied on income, including wages and real-estate income; capital and property taxes, among them land and stamp taxes; taxes on expenditure, such as the value-added tax and excise taxes; and taxes on business activity, including business and liquor licenses.

 

Transportation and telecommunications

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Congo’s road system is most developed in the south. Major routes link Brazzaville with Pointe-Noire and Loubomo with the Gabon border. Many roads are impassable during the rainy season. Railways are also concentrated in the south. The major Congo-Ocean Railway line runs for about 320 miles from Brazzaville west through Nkayi and Loubomo to Pointe-Noire. There is also a 175-mile branch line from Favre north to Mbinda on the Gabon border. These railways offer important transshipment services for neighboring countries, producing significant revenue. They are also important to mining and industrial development, for most industrial towns are located along them.

Water transportation has long linked Congo, Chad, and the Central African Republic.

 

The rivers, however, are interrupted by rapids and subject to seasonal variations in flow. Brazzaville is linked by ferry to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital is the most important inland port; in Brazzaville passengers and freight traveling downriver from Bangui, in the Central African Republic, transfer to the railroad and continue on to the ocean port of Pointe-Noire. This seaport is the major transshipment center for these three countries as well as western Cameroon, and it is one of Africa’s most important ports.

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Fixed-line telephone services are generally of poor quality. Although the number of main lines in use continued to increase modestly in the early 2000s, overall access remained low, particularly in comparison with cellular mobile telephones, the use of which was expanding rapidly. Access to personal computers is generally modest, and the proportion of the Congolese population that makes use of Internet services is low.

 

Government and society

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Under the constitution of 2002, Congo is a republic. The executive branch of the government is headed by the president, who is popularly elected to a maximum of two seven-year terms and serves as both chief of state and head of government. The president appoints the Council of Ministers. The legislative branch is bicameral and consists of the Senate and the National Assembly; members are elected to serve six-year and five-year terms, respectively.

 

Local government and justice

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For administrative purposes, Congo is divided into regions and districts. Brazzaville has the status of a capital district. Since becoming a multiparty state in 1990, Congo has had more than 100 political parties. Among the most active are the Congolese Labor Party (Parti Congolais du Travail; PCT), the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (Mouvement Congolais pour la Démocratie et le Développement Intégral; MCDDI), the Pan-African Union for Social Development (Union Panafricaine pour la Démocratie Sociale; UPADS), Rally for Democracy and Social Progress (Rassemblement pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social; RDPS), and the Union for Democracy and Republic (Union pour la Démocratie et la République; UDR).

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Although ethnic discrimination is proscribed by law, in practice the prohibition is not well enforced. Divisions along ethnic lines continue, and although those outside the dominant groups participate effectively in the government, the president’s group and those related to it factor prominently in the political process. Women have served in various government posts, including the National Assembly, the Senate, and the Council of Ministers. The constitution guarantees the independence of the judiciary. Congo’s judicial system includes the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, and the Constitutional Court. The president heads a Higher Council of Magistrates and nominates Supreme Court judges at the suggestion of that council. Supreme Court judges may not be removed.

 

Military

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Congo’s defense apparatus consists of an army, a navy, an air force, a gendarmerie, and a special presidential security force, among which the army is the largest contingent. Service is on a voluntary basis and lasts for two years. Forces armées de la République du Congo), also less formally denoted as the Forces armées congolaises or its acronym FAC, are the military forces of the Republic of the Congo. They consist of the Congolese Army, the Congolese Air Force, the Congolese Marine (Navy) [fr], and the Congolese National Gendarmerie. 

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Health and welfare

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The most common health problems are respiratory diseases, malaria, tuberculosis, and intestinal parasites—all preventable maladies. Other diseases include trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), yellow fever, leprosy, yaws, and HIV/AIDS. Although the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Congo is below the average for sub-Saharan Africa, it nevertheless remains substantially higher than the global average. Disease control is difficult because most water sources are polluted and sanitation is poor, even in the cities. Two of the largest hospitals are in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire. Other health facilities include regional health centres, infirmaries, dispensaries, maternal and child-care centers, and private clinics. Mobile health units combat communicable diseases in remote areas.

 

Education

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Education is free and compulsory for students between ages 6 and 16. Primary education, which begins at age six and lasts for six years, includes instruction in agriculture, manual skills, and domestic science. Secondary-level education is made up of two cycles of four and three years, respectively; courses are offered in vocational training, academic and technical training, general education, and teacher training. Institutions of higher learning include Marien Ngouabi University (1961; present name assumed in 1977) in Brazzaville and colleges and centers for specialized and technical training. Congo enjoys a literacy rate that is significantly higher than most countries in sub-Saharan Africa for both men and women, although a notable gap in literacy between the genders remains.

 

Culture

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Pre-colonial artistic expression emphasized ceremonial music, dance, sculpture, and oral literature. Christianity and colonialism had a great impact on these art forms. The carving of ritual objects became commercialized, and music and dance altered as a result of the introduction of Western instruments and musical styles. In the 1980s the Brazzaville region, along with Kinshasa, across the river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, became a vital centre for the production of contemporary African music, known as Congolese music or rumba. The genre, which mixes traditional African rhythms and instruments with those borrowed from other cultures, enjoys widespread popularity throughout Africa as well as around the world.

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Holidays observed in Congo include those celebrated by Christians around the world, such as Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas. Labor Day, and Independence Day are observed on May 1 and Aug. 15, respectively.

 

There are a number of libraries in Brazzaville, including the national library. The Marien Ngouabi Museum in Brazzaville has an excellent collection of indigenous masks from groups throughout the Congo River basin, particularly those of the Kongo people, who trace their ancestry back to the Kongo kingdom that ruled parts of both modern-day Congo and Angola.

 

Sports and recreation

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Soccer is very popular in Congo. The Congolese Football Federation was founded in 1962 and affiliatedd with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) that same year. The men’s national team, nicknamed the Diables Rouges (“Red Devils”), won the opening African Games tournament at home in 1965 and won their first African Cup of Nations in 1972. Besides football, men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball are popular. Congo first competed in the Olympic Games at the 1964 Tokyo Games.

 

Media and publishing

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Radio and television programs are broadcast on both state-owned and private stations in a variety of languages. The majority of Congolese receive their news through broadcast media and, in rural areas, particularly by means of state-run radio. Although the constitution provides for freedom of speech, some actions, including those that incite ethnic strife or civil war, are punishable by law. Both the government-owned and private broadcast media tend to be pro-government, and journalists often practice self-censorship. The majority of print media are circulated in the urban centers of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire. Important periodicals include the French-language weeklies Le Choc, Les Echos du Congo (pro-government), L’Observateur (independent), and Le Semaine Africaine (Roman Catholic).

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