Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A two-year civil war that ended in 1999 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso, who had ruled from 1979 to 1992, and sparked a short period of ethnic and political unrest that was resolved by a peace agreement in late 1999. A new constitution adopted three years later provided for a multi-party system and a seven-year presidential term, and elections arranged shortly thereafter retained SASSOU-Nguesso. Following a year of renewed fighting, President SASSOU-Nguesso and southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. SASSOU-Nguesso was reelected in 2009 and, after passing a referendum allowing him to run for additional terms, was reelected again in 2016 and 2021. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa’s largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term.
land: 341,500 sq km
water: 500 sq km
border countries (5): Angola 231 km; Cameroon 494 km; Central African Republic 487 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,775 km; Gabon 2,567 km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
mean elevation: 430 m
arable land: 1.6% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 29.3% (2018 est.)
forest: 65.6% (2018 est.)
other: 3.3% (2018 est.)
5,677,493 (2023 est.)
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo
Kongo (Bakongo) 40.5%, Teke 16.9%, Mbochi 13.1%, foreigner 8.2%, Sangha 5.6%, Mbere/Mbeti/Kele 4.4%, Punu 4.3%, Pygmy 1.6%, Oubanguiens 1.6%, Duma 1.5%, Makaa 1.3%, other and unspecified 1% (2014-15 est.)
French (official), French Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)
major-language sample(s):
Buku oyo ya bosembo ya Mokili Mobimba Ezali na Makanisi ya Liboso Mpenza. (Lingala)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Roman Catholic 33.1%, Awakening Churches/Christian Revival 22.3%, Protestant 19.9%, Salutiste 2.2%, Muslim 1.6%, Kimbanguiste 1.5%, other 8.1%, none 11.3% (2007 est.)
The Republic of the Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, with nearly 70% of Congolese living in urban areas. The population is concentrated in the southwest of the country, mainly in the capital Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and along the railway line that connects the two. The tropical jungles in the north of the country are sparsely populated. Most Congolese are Bantu, and most belong to one of four main ethnic groups, the Kongo, Teke, Mbochi, and Sangha, which consist of over 70 subgroups.The Republic of Congo is in the early stages of a demographic transition, whereby a population shifts from high fertility and mortality rates to low fertility and mortality rates associated with industrialized societies. Its total fertility rate (TFR), the average number of children born per woman, remains high at 4.4 as of 2022. While its TFR has steadily decreased, the progress slowed beginning in about 1995. The slowdown in fertility reduction has delayed the demographic transition and Congo’s potential to reap a demographic dividend, the economic boost that can occur when the share of the working-age population is larger than the dependent age groups.The TFR differs significantly between urban and rural areas – 3.7 in urban areas versus 6.5 in rural areas. The TFR also varies among regions. The urban regions of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire have much lower TFRs than other regions, which are predominantly or completely rural. The gap between desired fertility and actual fertility is also greatest in rural areas. Rural families may have more children to contribute to agricultural production and/or due to a lack of information about and access to contraception. Urban families may prefer to have fewer children because raising them is more expensive and balancing work and childcare may be more difficult. The number of births among teenage girls, the frequency of giving birth before the age of fifteen, and a lack of education are the most likely reasons for higher TFRs in rural areas. Although 90% of school-age children are enrolled in primary school, repetition and dropout rates are high and the quality of education is poor. Congolese women with no or little education start having children earlier and have more children in total than those with at least some secondary education.
0-14 years: 40.44% (male 1,159,264/female 1,136,501)
15-64 years: 56.15% (male 1,598,111/female 1,590,032)
65 years and over: 3.41% (2023 est.) (male 88,323/female 105,262)
total dependency ratio: 78.8
youth dependency ratio: 74
elderly dependency ratio: 4.8
potential support ratio: 20.9 (2021 est.)
total: 20.5 years (2023 est.)
male: 20.3 years
female: 20.7 years
2.4% (2023 est.)
29.1 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
the population is primarily located in the south, in and around the capital of Brazzaville as shown in this
urban population: 69.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 3.19% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
2.638 million BRAZZAVILLE (capital), 1.336 million Pointe-Noire (2023)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
19.6 years (2011/12 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49
282 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 31.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 34.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 28.4 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 72.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 70.8 years
female: 73.6 years
3.86 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.9 (2023 est.)
30.1% (2014/15)
improved: urban: 97.5% of population
rural: 56.4% of population
total: 84.2% of population
unimproved: urban: 2.5% of population
rural: 43.6% of population
total: 15.8% of population (2020 est.)
4.5% of GDP (2020)
0.1 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: 73.4% of population
rural: 15.1% of population
total: 54.7% of population
unimproved: urban: 26.6% of population
rural: 84.9% of population
total: 45.3% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: very high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
note: on 31 August 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; the Republic of the Congo is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine
9.6% (2016)
total: 5.74 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 5.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.52 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 14.5% (2020 est.)
male: 26.8% (2020 est.)
female: 2.1% (2020 est.)
12.3% (2014/15)
51.8% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 8.4%
women married by age 18: 29.1%
men married by age 18: 5.6% (2018 est.)
4.5% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 80.6%
male: 85.9%
female: 75.4% (2021)
total: 11 years
male: 11 years
female: 11 years (2012)
air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation; wildlife protection
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator
agricultural land: 31.1% (2018 est.)
arable land: 1.6% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 29.3% (2018 est.)
forest: 65.6% (2018 est.)
other: 3.3% (2018 est.)
urban population: 69.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 3.19% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
severe localized food insecurity: due to floods - above average rainfall amounts since November 2022 triggered flooding in December 2022 and January 2023 in central and northern parts of the country, displacing people; according to damage assessment reports, about 165,000 people have been affected in 23 districts in the departments of Cuvette, Likouala, Plateaux and Sangha (2023)
3.17% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 29.48 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 3.28 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 2.24 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 451,200 tons (1993 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 118,214 tons (2005 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 26.2% (2005 est.)
Oubangui (Ubangi) (shared with Central African Republic [s] and Democratic Republic of Congo [m]) - 2,270 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Congo (3,730,881 sq km)
Congo Basin
municipal: 60 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 4 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
832 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
primarily an oil- and natural resources-based economy; recovery from mid-2010s oil devaluation has been slow and curtailed by COVID-19; extreme poverty increasing, particularly in southern rural regions; attempting to implement recommended CEMAC reforms; increasing likelihood of debt default
$18.875 billion (2021 est.)
$19.3 billion (2020 est.)
$20.584 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
-2.2% (2021 est.)
-6.24% (2020 est.)
-0.09% (2019 est.)
$3,200 (2021 est.)
$3,400 (2020 est.)
$3,700 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$8.718 billion (2017 est.)
1.72% (2021 est.)
1.8% (2020 est.)
2.21% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: CCC (2019)
Moody’s rating: Caa2 (2018)
Standard & Poors rating: CCC+ (2020)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 9.3% (2017 est.)
industry: 51% (2017 est.)
services: 39.7% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 47.6% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 9.6% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 42.5% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.1% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 62.9% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -62.7% (2017 est.)
cassava, sugar cane, oil palm fruit, cassava leaves, bananas, plantains, roots/tubers, game meat, vegetables, mangoes/guavas
petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes
-7.91% (2021 est.)
2.268 million (2021 est.)
23.01% (2021 est.)
22.84% (2020 est.)
20.62% (2019 est.)
total: 42.3% (2021 est.)
male: 42.2%
female: 42.5%
40.9% (2011 est.)
48.9 (2011 est.)
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37.1% (2005)
revenues: $3.399 billion (2018 est.)
expenditures: $2.628 billion (2018 est.)
-7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
130.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
128.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
8.95% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
$1.441 billion (2020 est.)
$1.632 billion (2019 est.)
-$3.596 billion (2016 est.)
$4.67 billion (2020 est.)
$7.855 billion (2019 est.)
note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
China 49%, United Arab Emirates 15%, India 6%, Italy 5% (2019)
copper, crude petroleum, refined petroleum, lumber, tin (2021)
$3.279 billion (2020 est.)
$4.945 billion (2019 est.)
China 15%, France 12%, Belgium 6%, Angola 5% (2019)
ships, chicken products, refined petroleum, processed fish, packaged medicines (2019)
$988.316 million (31 December 2019 est.)
$423.617 million (31 December 2018 est.)
$379.984 million (31 December 2017 est.)
$4.605 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$4.721 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
554.531 (2021 est.)
575.586 (2020 est.)
585.911 (2019 est.)
555.446 (2018 est.)
580.657 (2017 est.)
population without electricity: 3 million (2020)
electrification - total population: 49.6% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 66.9% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 12.3% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 629,000 kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 2,065,580,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 44 million kWh (2019 est.)
imports: 23 million kWh (2019 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 1.623 billion kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 70.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 29.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 270,900 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 12,600 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 331,700 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 2.882 billion barrels (2021 est.)
15,760 bbl/day (2015 est.)
5,766 bbl/day (2015 est.)
7,162 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 1.4 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)
consumption: 1.4 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 283.989 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
4.523 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 1.777 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 2.747 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
16.156 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 3 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 12
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 333,899 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 4.6 million (2018) mt-km
TN
27 (2021)
8
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
19
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
232 km gas, 4 km liquid petroleum gas, 982 km oil (2013)
total: 510 km (2014)
narrow gauge: 510 km (2014) 1.067-m gauge
total: 23,324 km (2017)
paved: 3,111 km (2017)
unpaved: 20,213 km (2017)
note: road network in Congo is composed of 23,324 km of which 17,000 km are classified as national, departmental, and routes of local interest: 6,324 km are non-classified routes
1,120 km (2011) (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubangui Rivers above Brazzaville; there are many ferries across the river to Kinshasa; the Congo south of Brazzaville-Kinshasa to the coast is not navigable because of rapids, necessitating a rail connection to Pointe-Noire; other rivers are used for local traffic only)
total: 11 (2022)
by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 1, other 9
major seaport(s): Pointe-Noire
oil terminal(s): Djeno
river port(s): Brazzaville (Congo)
Impfondo (Oubangui) Ouesso (Sangha) Oyo (Alima)
manyapis