Republic of the Congo
Encyclopedia
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state
in Central Africa
. It is bordered by Gabon
, Cameroon
, the Central African Republic
, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(formerly known as Zaire
), the Angola
n exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea
.
The region was dominated by Bantu tribes, who built trade links leading into the Congo River
basin. The republic
is a former French
colony. Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. The People's Republic of the Congo
was a Marxist-Leninist single-party state
from 1970 to 1991. Multiparty elections have been held since 1992, although a democratically elected government was ousted in the 1997 Republic of the Congo Civil War.
people, who later were largely displaced and absorbed by Bantu who found tribes during the Bantu expansions. The Bakongo are a Bantu ethnicity that also occupied parts of present-day Angola, Gabon, and Democratic Republic of the Congo, forming the basis for ethnic affinities and rivalries among those countries. Several Bantu kingdoms—notably those of the Kongo, the Loango
, and the Teke—built trade links leading into the Congo River basin.
The mouth of the Congo was reached by the Portuguese
explorer Diego Cao in 1484. Commercial relationships were quickly established between the inland Bantu kingdoms and European merchants who traded various commodities, manufactured goods, and slaves captured from the hinterlands. For centuries, the Congo river delta was a major commercial hub for transatlantic trade. However, when direct European colonization of the African continent began in the late 19th century, the power of the Bantu societies in the region eroded.
The area north of the Congo River came under French sovereignty in 1880 as a result of Pierre de Brazza's treaty with Makoko
of the Bateke
. This Congo Colony became known first as French Congo
, then as Middle Congo in 1903. In 1908, France organized French Equatorial Africa
(AEF), comprising Middle Congo, Gabon, Chad, and Oubangui-Chari
(the modern Central African Republic
). Brazzaville
was selected as the federal capital. Economic development during the first 50 years of colonial rule in Congo centered on natural resource extraction. The methods were often brutal: establishment of the Congo–Ocean Railroad following World War I
has been estimated to have cost at least 14,000 lives.
During the Nazi occupation of France during World War II
, Brazzaville functioned as the symbolic capital of Free France between 1940–1943. The Conference of 1944 heralded a period of major reform in French colonial policy. Congo benefited from the postwar expansion of colonial administrative and infrastructure spending as a result of its central geographic location within AEF and the federal capital at Brazzaville. It also received a local legislature after the adoption of the 1946 constitution that established the Fourth Republic
.
Following the revision of the French constitution that established the Fifth Republic
in 1958, the AEF was dissolved and its constituent parts reformed into autonomous colonies within the French Community
. During these reforms, Middle Congo became known as the Republic of the Congo in 1958 and published its first constitution in 1959. Antagonism between the pro-Opangault
Mbochi
s and the pro-Youlou
Balalis resulted in a series of riots in Brazzaville in February 1959, which had to be subdued by the French army.
The Republic of the Congo was granted full independence from France on August 15, 1960. Fulbert Youlou
ruled as the country's first president until labour elements and rival political parties instigated a three-day uprising that ousted him. The Congolese military took charge of the country briefly and installed a civilian provisional government headed by Alphonse Massamba-Débat. Under the 1963 constitution, Massamba-Débat was elected President for a five-year term. The regime adopted "scientific socialism
" as the country's constitutional ideology.
In 1965, Congo established relations with the Soviet Union
, the People's Republic of China
, North Korea
and North Vietnam
. Massamba-Débat was unable to reconcile various institutional and ideological factions and his regime ended abruptly with an August 1968 coup d'état
. Marien Ngouabi
, who had participated in the coup, assumed the presidency on December 31, 1968. One year later, President Ngouabi proclaimed Congo to be Africa's first "people's republic" and announced the decision of the National Revolutionary Movement to change its name to the Congolese Labour Party
(PCT). On March 16, 1977, President Ngouabi was assassinated. An 11-member Military Committee of the Party (CMP) was named to head an interim government with Joachim Yhombi-Opango
to serve as President of the Republic. Two years later, Yhombi-Opango was forced from power and Denis Sassou Nguesso
become the new president.
Sassou Nguesso aligned the country with the Eastern Bloc
and signed a twenty-year friendship pact with the Soviet Union. Over the years, Sassou had to rely more on political repression
and less on patronage
to maintain his dictatorship.
Pascal Lissouba
, another socialist who followed Sassou as president, did not bring much change. He delayed economic reforms.
Congo's democratic progress was derailed in 1997 when Lissouba and Sassou started to fight over power. As presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, tensions between the Lissouba and Sassou camps mounted. On June 5, President Lissouba's government forces surrounded Sassou's compound in Brazzaville and Sassou ordered members of his private militia (known as "Cobras") to resist. Thus began a four-month conflict that destroyed or damaged much of Brazzaville and caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths. In early October, the Angolan socialist regime began an invasion of Congo to install Sassou to power. In mid-October, the Lissouba government fell. Soon thereafter, Sassou declared himself President.
In the controversial elections in 2002
, Sassou won with almost 90% of the vote cast. His two main rivals Lissouba and Bernard Kolelas were prevented from competing and the only remaining credible rival, Andre Milongo
, advised his supporters to boycott the elections and then withdrew from the race. A new constitution
, agreed upon by referendum in January 2002
, granted the president new powers, extended his term to seven years, and introduced a new bicameral assembly. International observers took issue with the organization of the presidential election and the constitutional referendum, both of which were reminiscent in their organization of Congo's era of the single-party state. Following the presidential elections, fighting restarted in the Pool region between government forces and rebels led by Pastor Ntumi; a peace treaty to end the conflict was signed in April 2003.
The regime held the presidential election in July 2009
. According to the Congolese Observatory of Human Rights, a non-governmental organization, the election was marked by "very low" turnout and "fraud and irregularities." The regime announced Sassou as the winner.
; he has lacked serious competition in the presidential elections held under his rule. Sassou Nguesso is backed by his own Congolese Labour Party (PCT) as well as a range of smaller parties.
Internationally, Sassou's regime has been hit by corruption revelations despite attempts to censor them. One French investigation found over 110 bank accounts and dozens of lavish properties in France; Sassou denounced embezzlement investigations as "racist" and "colonial".
Many Pygmies in Congo live in precarious conditions, to which UNICEF and human-rights activists have voiced their concerns On the 30th December 2010, the Congolese parliament
adopted a law for the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples. This law is the first of its kind in Africa, and its adoption is a historic development for indigenous peoples on the continent.
These are:
Congo is located in the central-western part of sub-Saharan Africa
, along the Equator
, lying between latitudes 4°N
and 5°S
, and longitudes 11°
and 19°E
. To the south and east of it is the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is also bounded by Gabon
to the west, Cameroon
and the Central African Republic
to the north, and Cabinda
(Angola
) to the southwest. It has a short Atlantic
coast.
The capital, Brazzaville
, is located on the Congo River, in the south of the country, immediately across from Kinshasa
, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The southwest of the country is a coastal plain for which the primary drainage is the Kouilou-Niari River
; the interior of the country consists of a central plateau between two basins to the south and north. Forests are under increasing exploitation pressure.
Since the country is located on the Equator, the climate is consistent year-round, with the average day temperature being a humid 24 °C (75.2 °F) and nights generally between 16 °C (60.8 °F) and 21 °C (69.8 °F). The average yearly rainfall ranges from 1100 millimetres (43.3 in) in south in the Niari
valley to over 2000 millimetres (78.7 in) in central parts of the country. The dry season is from June to August while in the majority of the country the wet season has two rainfall maxima: one in March–May and another in September–November.
In 2006–07, researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society
studied gorillas in heavily forested regions centered on the Ouesso district of the Sangha Region
. They suggest a population on the order of 125,000 Western Lowland Gorilla
s, whose isolation from humans has been largely preserved by inhospitable swamps.
The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on petroleum
, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Petroleum extraction has supplanted forestry
as the mainstay of the economy. In 2008, oil sector accounted for 65% of the GDP, 85% of government revenue, and 92% of exports.
In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its petroleum earnings, contributing to a shortage of revenues. The January 12, 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone
currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 46% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since.
Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund
. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. When Sassou Nguesso returned to power at the end of the war in October 1997, he publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit.
The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic problems of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty, despite record-high oil prices since 2003. Natural gas and diamonds are also recent major Congolese exports, although Congo was excluded from the Kimberley Process
in 2004 amid allegations that most of its diamond exports were in fact being smuggled out of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo; it was re-admitted to the group in 2007.
The Republic of the Congo also has base metal, gold, iron and phosphate deposits. The country is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). The Congolese government has signed an agreement to lease 200,000 hectares of land to South Africa
n farmers to reduce its dependence on imports.
in the north virtually uninhabited. Thus, Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, with 70% of its total population living in a few urban areas, namely in Brazzaville
, Pointe-Noire
, or one of the small cities or villages lining the 534 kilometres (331.8 mi) railway which connects the two cities. In rural areas, industrial and commercial activity has declined rapidly in recent years, leaving rural economies dependent on the government for support and subsistence.
Ethnically and linguistically the population of the Republic of the Congo is diverse—Ethnologue
recognises 62 spoken languages in the country—but can be grouped into three categories. The Kongo
are the largest ethnic group and form roughly half of the population. The most significant subgroups of the Kongo are Laari
in Brazzaville and Pool regions and Vili around Pointe-Noire and along the Atlantic coast. The second largest group are the Teke
who live to the north of Brazzaville with 17% of the population. Boulangui
(M’Boshi) live in northwest and in Brazzaville and form 12% of the population.
Before the 1997 war, about 9,000 Europe
ans and other non-Africans lived in Congo, most of whom were French
; only a fraction of this number remains. Around 300 American
expatriates reside in the Congo. Nearly 2,000 white South African farmers have expressed interest in going to Congo. Pygmies make up 2% of Congo's population.
The people of Republic of the Congo are largely a mix of Catholics and Protestants, who account for 50.5% and 40.2% of the population respectively. The majority of Christians in the country are Catholic, while the remaining comprises various other Christian denominations. Followers of Islam
make up 1.3% of the population, and this is primarily due to an influx of foreign workers into the urban centres.
HIV
prevalence is at several percent among 15–49 year olds. Health expenditure was at US$ 30 per capita in 2004 A large proportion of the population is undernourished.
There were 20 physicians per 100,000 persons in the early 2000s.
Education between ages six and sixteen is compulsory. Students who complete six years of primary school and seven years of secondary school obtain a baccalaureate. At the university, students can obtain a bachelor's degree in three years and a master's after four. Marien Ngouabi University—which offers courses in medicine, law, and several other fields—is the country's only public university. Instruction at all levels is in French, and the educational system as a whole models the French system. The educational infrastructure has been seriously degraded as a result of political and economic crises. There are no seats in most classrooms, forcing children to sit on the floor. Enterprising individuals have set up private schools, but they often lack the technical knowledge and familiarity with the national curriculum to teach effectively. Families frequently enroll their children in private schools only to find they cannot make the payments.
General
Tourism
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
in Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
. It is bordered by Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
, Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
(formerly known as Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
), the Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf....
.
The region was dominated by Bantu tribes, who built trade links leading into the Congo River
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
basin. The republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
is a former French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colony. Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. The People's Republic of the Congo
People's Republic of the Congo
The People's Republic of the Congo was a self-declared Marxist-Leninist socialist state that was established in 1970 in the Republic of the Congo...
was a Marxist-Leninist single-party state
Single-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
from 1970 to 1991. Multiparty elections have been held since 1992, although a democratically elected government was ousted in the 1997 Republic of the Congo Civil War.
History
The earliest inhabitants of the region were PygmyPygmy
Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
people, who later were largely displaced and absorbed by Bantu who found tribes during the Bantu expansions. The Bakongo are a Bantu ethnicity that also occupied parts of present-day Angola, Gabon, and Democratic Republic of the Congo, forming the basis for ethnic affinities and rivalries among those countries. Several Bantu kingdoms—notably those of the Kongo, the Loango
Kingdom of Loango
The Kingdom of Loango, also known as the Kingdom of Lwããgu, was a pre-colonial African state from approximately the 15th to the 19th century in what is now the Republic of Congo. At its height in the seventeenth century the country stretched from Cape St Catherine in the north to almost the mouth...
, and the Teke—built trade links leading into the Congo River basin.
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
explorer Diego Cao in 1484. Commercial relationships were quickly established between the inland Bantu kingdoms and European merchants who traded various commodities, manufactured goods, and slaves captured from the hinterlands. For centuries, the Congo river delta was a major commercial hub for transatlantic trade. However, when direct European colonization of the African continent began in the late 19th century, the power of the Bantu societies in the region eroded.
The area north of the Congo River came under French sovereignty in 1880 as a result of Pierre de Brazza's treaty with Makoko
Makoko
Makoko is a slum neighborhood located in Lagos, Nigeria. At present its population is considered to be 85,840; however, the area was not officially counted as part of the 2007 census and the population today is considered to be much higher. Established in the 18th century primarily as a fishing...
of the Bateke
Bateke
The Bateke are a Central African ethnic group that speak the Teke languages. Its population is situated mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and with a minority in Gabon...
. This Congo Colony became known first as French Congo
French Congo
The French Congo was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and the Central African Republic...
, then as Middle Congo in 1903. In 1908, France organized French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...
(AEF), comprising Middle Congo, Gabon, Chad, and Oubangui-Chari
Oubangui-Chari
Oubangui-Chari, or Ubangi-Shari, was a French territory in central Africa which later became the independent Central African Republic . French activity in the area began in 1889 with the establishment of an outpost at Bangui, now the capital of CAR. The territory was named in 1894.In 1903, French...
(the modern Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
). Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
was selected as the federal capital. Economic development during the first 50 years of colonial rule in Congo centered on natural resource extraction. The methods were often brutal: establishment of the Congo–Ocean Railroad following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
has been estimated to have cost at least 14,000 lives.
During the Nazi occupation of France during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Brazzaville functioned as the symbolic capital of Free France between 1940–1943. The Conference of 1944 heralded a period of major reform in French colonial policy. Congo benefited from the postwar expansion of colonial administrative and infrastructure spending as a result of its central geographic location within AEF and the federal capital at Brazzaville. It also received a local legislature after the adoption of the 1946 constitution that established the Fourth Republic
Fourth Republic
Fourth Republic may refer to:* French Fourth Republic * Fourth Republic of the Philippines * Fourth Republic of South Korea * The Fourth Republic of Niger...
.
Following the revision of the French constitution that established the Fifth Republic
Fifth Republic
There have been several Fifth Republics in the course of history, including:* French Fifth Republic * Fifth Republic of the Philippines * Fifth Republic of South Korea...
in 1958, the AEF was dissolved and its constituent parts reformed into autonomous colonies within the French Community
French Community
The French Community was an association of states known in French simply as La Communauté. In 1958 it replaced the French Union, which had itself succeeded the French colonial empire in 1946....
. During these reforms, Middle Congo became known as the Republic of the Congo in 1958 and published its first constitution in 1959. Antagonism between the pro-Opangault
Jacques Opangault
Jacques Opangault was a Congolese politician. The founder of the Mouvement Socialiste Africain , he competed with Félix Tchicaya's Parti Progressiste Congolais during two-party rule in Congo during the 1950s. He served as the first colonial prime minister of the Republic of the Congo...
Mbochi
Mbochi
The Mbochi are a central African ethnic group whose population is concentrated in the northern region of the Republic of the Congo. The current Congolese president, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, as well as many senior government officials, belong to this group....
s and the pro-Youlou
Fulbert Youlou
Abbé Fulbert Youlou was a Brazzaville-Congolese Roman Catholic priest, nationalist leader and politician.-Early life:...
Balalis resulted in a series of riots in Brazzaville in February 1959, which had to be subdued by the French army.
The Republic of the Congo was granted full independence from France on August 15, 1960. Fulbert Youlou
Fulbert Youlou
Abbé Fulbert Youlou was a Brazzaville-Congolese Roman Catholic priest, nationalist leader and politician.-Early life:...
ruled as the country's first president until labour elements and rival political parties instigated a three-day uprising that ousted him. The Congolese military took charge of the country briefly and installed a civilian provisional government headed by Alphonse Massamba-Débat. Under the 1963 constitution, Massamba-Débat was elected President for a five-year term. The regime adopted "scientific socialism
Scientific Socialism
Scientific socialism is the term used by Friedrich Engels to describe the social-political-economic theory first pioneered by Karl Marx. The purported reason why this socialism is "scientific socialism" is because its theories are held to an empirical standard, observations are essential to its...
" as the country's constitutional ideology.
In 1965, Congo established relations with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
. Massamba-Débat was unable to reconcile various institutional and ideological factions and his regime ended abruptly with an August 1968 coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. Marien Ngouabi
Marien Ngouabi
Marien Ngouabi was the military President of the Republic of the Congo from January 1, 1969 to March 18, 1977.-Origins:...
, who had participated in the coup, assumed the presidency on December 31, 1968. One year later, President Ngouabi proclaimed Congo to be Africa's first "people's republic" and announced the decision of the National Revolutionary Movement to change its name to the Congolese Labour Party
Congolese Party of Labour
The Congolese Party of Labour , founded in 1969 by Marien Ngouabi, is the ruling political party of the Republic of the Congo...
(PCT). On March 16, 1977, President Ngouabi was assassinated. An 11-member Military Committee of the Party (CMP) was named to head an interim government with Joachim Yhombi-Opango
Joachim Yhombi-Opango
Jacques Joachim Yhombi Opango is a Congolese politician. He was an army officer who became Congo-Brazzaville's first general and served as Head of State of Congo-Brazzaville from 1977 to 1979. He is currently the President of the Rally for Democracy and Development , a political party, and served...
to serve as President of the Republic. Two years later, Yhombi-Opango was forced from power and Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso is a Congolese politician who has been the President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as President, he headed the single-party regime of the Congolese Labour Party for 12 years...
become the new president.
Sassou Nguesso aligned the country with the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
and signed a twenty-year friendship pact with the Soviet Union. Over the years, Sassou had to rely more on political repression
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
and less on patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
to maintain his dictatorship.
Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo from August 31, 1992 to October 15, 1997. He was overthrown by the current President Denis Sassou Nguesso in the 1997 civil war....
, another socialist who followed Sassou as president, did not bring much change. He delayed economic reforms.
Congo's democratic progress was derailed in 1997 when Lissouba and Sassou started to fight over power. As presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, tensions between the Lissouba and Sassou camps mounted. On June 5, President Lissouba's government forces surrounded Sassou's compound in Brazzaville and Sassou ordered members of his private militia (known as "Cobras") to resist. Thus began a four-month conflict that destroyed or damaged much of Brazzaville and caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths. In early October, the Angolan socialist regime began an invasion of Congo to install Sassou to power. In mid-October, the Lissouba government fell. Soon thereafter, Sassou declared himself President.
In the controversial elections in 2002
Republic of the Congo presidential election, 2002
A presidential election was held in the Republic of the Congo on 10 March 2002. This followed a civil war in 1997, which returned Denis Sassou Nguesso to power, and a subsequent transitional period, in which a new constitution was written and approved by referendum in January 2002.The election...
, Sassou won with almost 90% of the vote cast. His two main rivals Lissouba and Bernard Kolelas were prevented from competing and the only remaining credible rival, Andre Milongo
André Milongo
André Ntsatouabantou Milongo was a Congolese politician who served as Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo from June 1991 to August 1992. He was chosen by the 1991 National Conference to lead the country during its transition to multiparty elections, which were held in 1992...
, advised his supporters to boycott the elections and then withdrew from the race. A new constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, agreed upon by referendum in January 2002
Republic of the Congo constitutional referendum, 2002
A constitutional referendum was held in the Republic of the Congo on 20 January 2002, with results showed over 87% voted in favour with a voter turnout of 77.5%.-Background:...
, granted the president new powers, extended his term to seven years, and introduced a new bicameral assembly. International observers took issue with the organization of the presidential election and the constitutional referendum, both of which were reminiscent in their organization of Congo's era of the single-party state. Following the presidential elections, fighting restarted in the Pool region between government forces and rebels led by Pastor Ntumi; a peace treaty to end the conflict was signed in April 2003.
The regime held the presidential election in July 2009
Republic of the Congo presidential election, 2009
A presidential election was held in the Republic of the Congo on 12 July 2009. Long-time President Denis Sassou Nguesso won another seven-year term with a large majority of the vote, but the election was marked by accusations of irregularities and fraud from the opposition; six opposition...
. According to the Congolese Observatory of Human Rights, a non-governmental organization, the election was marked by "very low" turnout and "fraud and irregularities." The regime announced Sassou as the winner.
Government and politics
Congo-Brazzaville has had a multi-party political system since the early 1990s, although the system is heavily dominated by President Denis Sassou NguessoDenis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso is a Congolese politician who has been the President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as President, he headed the single-party regime of the Congolese Labour Party for 12 years...
; he has lacked serious competition in the presidential elections held under his rule. Sassou Nguesso is backed by his own Congolese Labour Party (PCT) as well as a range of smaller parties.
Internationally, Sassou's regime has been hit by corruption revelations despite attempts to censor them. One French investigation found over 110 bank accounts and dozens of lavish properties in France; Sassou denounced embezzlement investigations as "racist" and "colonial".
Human rights
As of 2008, the main media are owned by the government but many more privately-run forms of media are being created. There is one government-owned television station and around 10 small private television channels.Many Pygmies in Congo live in precarious conditions, to which UNICEF and human-rights activists have voiced their concerns On the 30th December 2010, the Congolese parliament
Parliament of the Republic of the Congo
The Parliament of the Republic of Congo consists of two chambers:*The Senate *The National Assembly...
adopted a law for the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples. This law is the first of its kind in Africa, and its adoption is a historic development for indigenous peoples on the continent.
Administrative divisions
The Republic of the Congo is divided into 12 départements (departments). Departments are divided into communes and/or districts.These are:
Geography and climate
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
, along the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
, lying between latitudes 4°N
4th parallel north
The 4th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 4 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
and 5°S
5th parallel south
The 5th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 5 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
, and longitudes 11°
11th meridian east
The meridian 11° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and 19°E
19th meridian east
The meridian 19° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
. To the south and east of it is the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is also bounded by Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
to the west, Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
and the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
to the north, and Cabinda
Cabinda (province)
Cabinda is an exclave and province of Angola, a status that has been disputed by many political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda. The province is divided into four municipalities - Belize, Buco Zau, Cabinda and Cacongo.Modern Cabinda is the result of a fusion...
(Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
) to the southwest. It has a short Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast.
The capital, Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
, is located on the Congo River, in the south of the country, immediately across from Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The southwest of the country is a coastal plain for which the primary drainage is the Kouilou-Niari River
Kouilou-Niari River
The Kouilou-Niari River — also spelled Kwilu, Kwila, or Kwil — is the main drainage path for the coastal basin of the Republic of the Congo. The river is called the Kouilou River along most of its length, but its center section, in the Niari region of The Congo, is called the Niari River...
; the interior of the country consists of a central plateau between two basins to the south and north. Forests are under increasing exploitation pressure.
Since the country is located on the Equator, the climate is consistent year-round, with the average day temperature being a humid 24 °C (75.2 °F) and nights generally between 16 °C (60.8 °F) and 21 °C (69.8 °F). The average yearly rainfall ranges from 1100 millimetres (43.3 in) in south in the Niari
Kouilou-Niari River
The Kouilou-Niari River — also spelled Kwilu, Kwila, or Kwil — is the main drainage path for the coastal basin of the Republic of the Congo. The river is called the Kouilou River along most of its length, but its center section, in the Niari region of The Congo, is called the Niari River...
valley to over 2000 millimetres (78.7 in) in central parts of the country. The dry season is from June to August while in the majority of the country the wet season has two rainfall maxima: one in March–May and another in September–November.
In 2006–07, researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...
studied gorillas in heavily forested regions centered on the Ouesso district of the Sangha Region
Sangha Region
Sangha is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the northern part of the country. It borders the departments of Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, and Likouala, and internationally, Cameroon, Gabon and the Central African Republic. The regional capital is Ouésso...
. They suggest a population on the order of 125,000 Western Lowland Gorilla
Western Lowland Gorilla
The western lowland gorilla is a subspecies of the western gorilla that lives in montane, primary, and secondary forests and lowland swamps in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. It is the gorilla usually found in zoos...
s, whose isolation from humans has been largely preserved by inhospitable swamps.
Economy
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Petroleum extraction has supplanted forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
as the mainstay of the economy. In 2008, oil sector accounted for 65% of the GDP, 85% of government revenue, and 92% of exports.
In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its petroleum earnings, contributing to a shortage of revenues. The January 12, 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone
CFA franc
The CFA franc is the name of two currencies used in Africa which are guaranteed by the French treasury. The two CFA franc currencies are the West African CFA franc and the Central African CFA franc...
currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 46% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since.
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. When Sassou Nguesso returned to power at the end of the war in October 1997, he publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit.
The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic problems of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty, despite record-high oil prices since 2003. Natural gas and diamonds are also recent major Congolese exports, although Congo was excluded from the Kimberley Process
Kimberley Process
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is the process designed to certify the origin of rough diamonds from sources which are free of conflict funded by diamond production....
in 2004 amid allegations that most of its diamond exports were in fact being smuggled out of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo; it was re-admitted to the group in 2007.
The Republic of the Congo also has base metal, gold, iron and phosphate deposits. The country is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). The Congolese government has signed an agreement to lease 200,000 hectares of land to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n farmers to reduce its dependence on imports.
Demographics
The Republic of the Congo's sparse population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country, leaving the vast areas of tropical jungleJungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
in the north virtually uninhabited. Thus, Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, with 70% of its total population living in a few urban areas, namely in Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
, Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department since 2004. Before this date it was the capital of the Kouilou region . It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean...
, or one of the small cities or villages lining the 534 kilometres (331.8 mi) railway which connects the two cities. In rural areas, industrial and commercial activity has declined rapidly in recent years, leaving rural economies dependent on the government for support and subsistence.
Ethnically and linguistically the population of the Republic of the Congo is diverse—Ethnologue
Ethnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
recognises 62 spoken languages in the country—but can be grouped into three categories. The Kongo
Kongo people
The Bakongo or the Kongo people , also sometimes referred to as Kongolese or Congolese, is a Bantu ethnic group which lives along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire to Luanda, Angola...
are the largest ethnic group and form roughly half of the population. The most significant subgroups of the Kongo are Laari
Lari (ethnic group)
The Lari is an ethnic group of the Republic of the Congo and the name of the language they speak. A subgroup of the Kongo people, the Laris live in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire and the Pool Region, where they constitute almost the entire population. There an estimated 1.2 million Laris living in Congo...
in Brazzaville and Pool regions and Vili around Pointe-Noire and along the Atlantic coast. The second largest group are the Teke
Bateke
The Bateke are a Central African ethnic group that speak the Teke languages. Its population is situated mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and with a minority in Gabon...
who live to the north of Brazzaville with 17% of the population. Boulangui
Mbochi
The Mbochi are a central African ethnic group whose population is concentrated in the northern region of the Republic of the Congo. The current Congolese president, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, as well as many senior government officials, belong to this group....
(M’Boshi) live in northwest and in Brazzaville and form 12% of the population.
Before the 1997 war, about 9,000 Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans and other non-Africans lived in Congo, most of whom were French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; only a fraction of this number remains. Around 300 American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
expatriates reside in the Congo. Nearly 2,000 white South African farmers have expressed interest in going to Congo. Pygmies make up 2% of Congo's population.
The people of Republic of the Congo are largely a mix of Catholics and Protestants, who account for 50.5% and 40.2% of the population respectively. The majority of Christians in the country are Catholic, while the remaining comprises various other Christian denominations. Followers of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
make up 1.3% of the population, and this is primarily due to an influx of foreign workers into the urban centres.
Health
Public expenditure on health was at 1.2% of the GDP in 2004, whereas private expenditure was at 1.3%.HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
prevalence is at several percent among 15–49 year olds. Health expenditure was at US$ 30 per capita in 2004 A large proportion of the population is undernourished.
There were 20 physicians per 100,000 persons in the early 2000s.
Education
Public expenditure of the GDP was less in 2002–05 than in 1991. Public education is theoretically free and compulsory for under-16-year olds, but in practice, expenses exist. Net primary enrollment rate was 44% in 2005, much less than the 79% in 1991. The country has universities.Education between ages six and sixteen is compulsory. Students who complete six years of primary school and seven years of secondary school obtain a baccalaureate. At the university, students can obtain a bachelor's degree in three years and a master's after four. Marien Ngouabi University—which offers courses in medicine, law, and several other fields—is the country's only public university. Instruction at all levels is in French, and the educational system as a whole models the French system. The educational infrastructure has been seriously degraded as a result of political and economic crises. There are no seats in most classrooms, forcing children to sit on the floor. Enterprising individuals have set up private schools, but they often lack the technical knowledge and familiarity with the national curriculum to teach effectively. Families frequently enroll their children in private schools only to find they cannot make the payments.
See also
- French CongoFrench CongoThe French Congo was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and the Central African Republic...
- French Equatorial AfricaFrench Equatorial AfricaFrench Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...
- List of Congolese
- List of writers from the Republic of the Congo
- Music of the Republic of the CongoMusic of the Republic of the CongoThe Republic of the Congo is an African nation with close musical ties to its neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
- Public holidays in the Republic of the CongoPublic holidays in the Republic of the Congo-Movable holidays:The following holidays are public holidays but the date on which each occurs varies, according to its corresponding calendar, and thus has no set date. In order in which they occur:-Notes:...
External links
GovernmentGeneral
- Country Profile from BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
- Republic of the Congo from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Crisis briefing on the Republic of Congo's struggle for peace from Reuters AlertNet
- Review of Congo by the United Nations Human Rights CouncilUnited Nations Human Rights CouncilThe United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
's Universal Periodic Review, May 6, 2009. - Humanitarian news and analysis from IRIN – Congo
Tourism