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| Official
Name : |
RÉPUBLIQUE
POPULAIRE DU CONGO (Peoples Republic of Congo) |
| Land
Area: |
342,000
square kilometres / 132,012 square miles. |
| Population: |
3,040,000
(est 2005). Density 8.8 persons per square kilometre. |
| Languages: |
French
(official), Monokutuba, Lingala, others |
| Religions: |
Christian 50%, Muslim 45%, Traditional 5%. |
| Capital: |
Brazzaville.
Population 938,000 |
| Currency: |
CFA,
divided into 100 centimes. |
| Political: |
Upon
independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic
of the Congo, and Fulbert Youlou, a former Catholic priest, became the first President.
A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a
democratically elected government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997
restored former Marxist boss Sassou-Nguesso, but ushered in a period of ethnically
based unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March
2003. The Chief of State is strongman Denis Sassou-Nguesso. He has held that position
since 1997 following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal
Lissouba. |
| Geography: |
Principal
tributaries in the north are the Alima and Sangha, joining the Oubangi and Congo
Rivers as the form the country's eastern and southern frontiers. Over 60% of the
Congo is covered in a dense tropical rainforest. The alluvial fertility of the
Niari valley is subject to erosion by wind and rain but is still the republic's
most important agricultural area. |
