The Republic of the Congo, also known as Middle Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, and Congo (but not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, which was also at one time known as the Republic of the Congo), is a former French colony of west-central Africa. Its borders are Gabon, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Gulf of Guinea. 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 installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis Sassou-Nguesso. The capital is Brazzaville. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a nation in central Africa and the third largest country on the continent. ... This article refers to a colony in politics and history. ... The Gabonese Republic, or Gabon, is a nation of west central Africa. ... The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central Africa. ... The Central African Republic is a land-locked country in central Africa. ... The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a nation in central Africa and the third largest country on the continent. ... The gigantic Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic southwest of Africa. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century German philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Denis Sassou-Nguesso (born 1943) is a soldier and the president of the Republic of the Congo from 1979 to 1992 and from 1997 to date. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Capitals in Africa | Cities in the Republic of the Congo ...

(In detail) (Full size)
National motto: Unite, Travail, Progres (French: Unity, Work, Progress)
Official language	French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users)
Capital	Brazzaville
Capital's coordinates	4°14′ S 15°14′ E (http://kvaleberg.com/extensions/mapsources/index.php?params=4_14_S_15_14_E_)
President	Denis Sassou-Nguesso
Prime Minister	Isidore Mvouba
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 62nd 342,000 km² 3.3%
Population  - Total (2003)  - Density	Ranked 131st 2,954,258 8.6/km²
Independence  - Declared  - Recognised General info: Large flag of Republic of the Congo Dimensions: 453x302 pixels Source: Image originally derived from the public domain flags of the CIA World Factbook License: Originally public domain, modifications under GFDL Most of the flags have had their colours improved and many have been resized to the proper... This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... Flag ratio: 2:3 The flag of the Republic of the Congo was originally adopted on August 18, 1958. ... Republic of Congo has a shield with a red lion on it. ... Here is a list of state mottos for countries and their subdivisions around the world. ... French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... An official language is something that is given a unique status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... Lingala is one of the Bantu languages spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) and a large part of the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), as well as to some degree in Angola and the Central African Republic. ... In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Capitals in Africa | Cities in the Republic of the Congo ... See Cartesian coordinate system or Coordinates (elementary mathematics) for a more elementary introduction to this topic. ... List of Heads of State of the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) (Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office) Affiliations:- See also:- Congo Republic of the Congo Heads of Government of the Republic of the Congo Lists of Incumbents Categories: Lists of office-holders ... Denis Sassou-Nguesso (born 1943) is a soldier and the president of the Republic of the Congo from 1979 to 1992 and from 1997 to date. ... Isidore Mvouba (Born: 1954) is the current Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo since January 7, 2005. ... This article explains the meaning of area as a physical quantity. ... Here is a list of the countries of the world sorted by area. ... To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here surface areas between 100,000 km² and 1,000,000 km². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ... In the most common sense of the word, a population is the collection of people—or organisms of a particular species—living in a given geographic area. ... Population density can be used as a measurement of any tangible item. ... This is a list of sovereign states and other territories by population. ... Independence is autonomous self-government of a country by its residents and indigenous population. ...	(from France) 15 August 1960   August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ...
Currency	CFA franc (XAF)
Time zone	UTC +1 (no DST)
National anthem	La Congolaise
Internet TLD	.cg
Calling Code	+242
edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Republic_of_the_Congo_infobox&action=edit)

The countries using the CFA franc The CFA franc (in French: franc CFA, or just franc in everyday conversation if no ambiguity is possible) is a currency used in 12 formerly French-ruled African countries, as well as in Guinea-Bissau (former Portuguese colony) and in Equatorial Guinea (former Spanish... -1... UTC also stands for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Coordinated Universal Time or UTC, also sometimes referred to as Zulu time, is an atomic realization of Universal Time or Greenwich mean time, the astronomical basis for civil time. ... Daylight saving time (also called DST, or Summer Time) is the portion of the year in which a regions local time is advanced by (usually) one hour from its standard official time. ... The National Anthem is the name of a song by the band Radiohead. ... La Congolaise (The Congolese) is the national anthem of the Republic of the Congo. ... A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of which Internet domain names consist of. ... .cg is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Republic of the Congo. ...

History

Main article: History of the Republic of the Congo First settled by Mbuti, Congo was later settled by Bantu groups 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 states. ...

First settled by Mbuti, Congo was later settled by Bantu groups 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 states. Several Bantu kingdoms -- notably those of the Kongo, the Loango, and the Teke -- built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. The first European contacts came in the late 15th century, and commercial relationships were quickly established with the kingdoms--trading for slaves captured in the interior. The coastal area was a major source for the transatlantic slave trade, and when that commerce ended in the early 19th century, the power of the Bantu kingdoms eroded.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the Republic of the Congo Government Before the 1997 war, the Congolese system of government was similar to that of the French. ...

The most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP [Denis Sassou-Nguesso, president], an alliance consisting of:

• Convention for Alternative Democracy
• Congolese Labor Party or PCT
• Liberal Republican Party
• National Union for Democracy and Progress
• Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction
• Union for the National Renewal

Other important parties include: The Congolese Labour Party (Parti congolais du Travail), founded in 1969 by Marien Ngouabi, is the ruling political party of the Republic of the Congo. ...

• Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel Mampouya]
• Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin Mberi]
• Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere Tchicaya, president]
• Rally for Democracy and the Republic or RDR [Raymond Damasge Ngollo]
• Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR [leader NA]
• Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian Ebao]

Pan-African Union for Social Development is a political party of Republic of the Congo. ...

Regions

Main article: Regions of the Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo is divided into ten regions (regions, singular region) (capitals in parentheses): Bouenza (Madingou) Cuvette (Owando) Cuvette-Ouest (Ewo) Kouilou (Pointe-Noire) Lékoumou (Sibiti) Likouala (Impfondo) Niari (Loubomo) Plateaux (Djambala) Pool (Kinkala) Sangha (Ouésso) Additionally, Brazzaville, the national capital, is a commune within a...

10 regions (regions, singular region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lékoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha. A region can be any area that has some unifying feature. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Republic of the Congo ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Capitals in Africa | Cities in the Republic of the Congo ... Cuvette is a region of the Republic of the Congo in the central part of the country. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Republic of the Congo ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Republic of the Congo ... Lékoumou is a region of the Republic of the Congo in the southern part of the country. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Republic of the Congo ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Republic of the Congo ... This article is about Plateaux, Congo. ... Pool is a region of the Republic of the Congo in the southeastern part of the country. ... Sangha is a region of the Republic of the Congo in the northern part of the country. ...

Geography

Main article: Geography of the Republic of the Congo Image of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, taken by NASA Location: Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S, 15 00 E Map references: Africa Area: total: 342,000 km² land: 341,500 km² water: 500 km² Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Montana Land...

Congo is located in the central-western part of sub-Saharan Africa, straddling the Equator. To the south and east it is bounded by the Congo River and its tributary the Ubangi River, across which is the larger Democratic Republic of the 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. Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa south of the Sahara Desert, is the term used to describe those countries of Africa that are not part of North Africa. ... In geography, the equator is an imaginary line drawn around a planet, halfway between the poles, where the surface of the roughly spherical planet is parallel to the axis of rotation. ... Image of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, taken by NASA; the Congo River is visible in the center of the photograph Length 4,380 km Elevation of the source m Average discharge 41,800 m /s Area watershed 3,680,000 km Origin Mouth Atlantic Ocean Basin countries Dem. ... The Ubangi River (also Oubangi) is a major tributary of the Congo River in central Africa. ... The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a nation in central Africa and the third largest country on the continent. ... The Gabonese Republic, or Gabon, is a nation of west central Africa. ... The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central Africa. ... The Central African Republic is a land-locked country in central Africa. ... Angolan province and Republic of the Congo, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. ... Angola is a country in southwestern Africa bordering Namibia, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zambia, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean. ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ...

Its capital, Brazzaville, is located on the Congo River,in the south of the country, immediately across from Kinshasa, the capital of the DR Congo. Categories: Africa geography stubs | Capitals in Africa | Cities in the Republic of the Congo ... Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) is the capital and largest city 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. Below is a map of the Republic of the Congo. The Kouilou-Niari River—also spelled Kwilu, Kwila, or Kwil—is the main drainage path for the coastal basin of the Republic of Congo. ...

from [1] File links The following pages link to this file: Geography of the Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Categories: CIA World Factbook images ...

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Republic of the Congo Overview The economy of the Republic of the Congo is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on petroleum extraction, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. ...

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, providing a major share of government revenues and 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 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. When Sassou-Nguesso returned to power at the war ended 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. Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petrus – rock and oleum – oil), mineral oil, or crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earths... Forestry (formally known as silviculture) is the art, science, and practice of studying and managing forests and related natural resources. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means of financing states. ... The flag of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing global financial system‘s current trade account balances of member states. ...

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Republic of the Congo Congos sparse population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country, leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle in the north virtually uninhabited. ...

Culture

Main article: Culture of the Republic of the Congo 50% of congolese people resort back to traditional beliefs or ethnic groups, there are 15 principle Bantu groups and more than 70 subgroups. ...

See also:

• Music of the Republic of the Congo
• List of writers from the Republic of the Congo
• Public holidays in the Republic of the Congo

The Republic of the Congo (or Congo-Brazzaville) is an African nation with close musical ties to its neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, or Congo-Kinshasa). ... African Writers (by country): This is a list of literary figures from the African continent, listed by country, including poets, novelists, childrens writers, essayists, and scholars, listed by country. ... Holidays in the Republic of Congo: Note: New Years Day, Easter Sunday, Labor Day, Independence Day, All Saints Day and Christmas Day are widely recognized (and celebrated) holidays. ...

Miscellaneous Topics

• Communications in the Republic of the Congo
• Transportation in the Republic of the Congo
• Military of the Republic of the Congo
• Foreign relations of the Republic of the Congo
• List of cities in the Republic of the Congo

Telephones - main lines in use: 21,000 (1995) Telephones - mobile cellular: NA Telephone system: services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out-of-order domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: satellite earth station... Railways: total: 795 km (includes 285 km private track) narrow gauge: 795 km 1. ... Military branches: Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 668,163 (2000 est. ... For the two decades preceding Congos 1991 National Conference, the country was firmly in the socialist camp, allied principally with the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc nations. ... This is a list of cities in the Republic of the Congo. ...

External links

• CIA World Factbook - Congo, Republic of the (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cf.html)
• AllAfrica.com - Congo-Brazzaville (http://allafrica.com/congo_brazzaville/) news headline links