Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo ( , ), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa. The country is bordered to the west by Gabon, to its northwest by Cameroon and its northeast by the Central African Republic, to the southeast by the DR Congo, to its south by the Angolan exclave of Cabinda and to its southwest by the Atlantic Ocean. French is the official language of the Republic of the Congo. The region was dominated by Bantu-speaking tribes  at least 3,000 years ago, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. Congo was formerly part of the French colony of Equatorial Africa. The Republic of the Congo was established on 28 November 1958 and gained independence from France in 1960. It was a Marxist–Leninist state from 1969 to 1992, under the name People's Republic of the Congo. The sovereign state has had multi-party elections since 1992, although a democratically elected government was ousted in the 1997 Republic of the Congo Civil War, and President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who first came to power in  1979, has now ruled for over four decades. The Republic of the Congo is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, La Francophonie, the Economic Community of Central African States, and the Non-Aligned Movement. It has become the fourth-largest oil producer in the Gulf of Guinea, providing the country with a degree of prosperity despite political and economic instability in some areas and unequal distribution of oil revenue nationwide. Congo's economy is heavily dependent on the oil sector, and economic growth has slowed considerably since the post-2015 drop in oil prices. With a population of  5.2 million, 88.5% of the country practices Christianity. Etymology. The Republic of the Congo is named after the Congo River, whose name is derived from Kongo, a Bantu kingdom which occupied its mouth around the time of its discovery by the Portuguese in 1483 or 1484. The kingdom's name derived from its people, the Bakongo, an endonym said to mean "hunters" (, "nkongo"). During the period when it was colonized by France, it was known as the "French Congo" or "Middle Congo". To distinguish it from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is sometimes referred to as "Congo  (Brazzaville)" or "Congo-Brazzaville". Brazzaville derives from the colony's founder, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazzà, an Italian nobleman whose title referred to the town of Brazzacco, in the comune of Moruzzo, whose name derived from the Latin "Brattius" or "Braccius", both meaning "arm". History. Pre-colonial. Bantu-speaking peoples who founded tribes during the Bantu expansions largely displaced and absorbed the earliest inhabitants of the region, the Pygmy people, about 1500BC. The Bakongo, a Bantu ethnic group that also occupied parts of present-day Angola, Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formed 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 Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão reached the mouth of the Congo in 1484. Commercial relationships quickly grew between the inland Bantu kingdoms and European merchants who traded in various commodities, manufactured goods, and also people captured and enslaved in the hinterlands. After centuries as a central hub for transatlantic trade, direct European colonization of the Congo river delta began in the late 19th century, subsequently eroding the power of the Bantu societies in the  region. French colonial era. The area north of the Congo River came under French sovereignty in 1880 as a result of Pierre de Brazza's treaty with King Makoko of the Bateke. After the death of Makoko, his widow Queen Ngalifourou upheld the terms of the treaty and became an important ally to the colonizers. This Congo Colony became known first as French Congo, then as Middle Congo in 1903. In 1908, France organized French Equatorial Africa (AEF), comprising the Middle Congo, Gabon, Chad, and Oubangui-Chari (the modern Central African Republic). The French designated Brazzaville 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: construction of the Congo-Ocean Railway 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 and 1943. The Brazzaville 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 had 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 dissolved into its constituent parts, each of which became an autonomous colony 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 Mbochis (who favored Jacques Opangault) and the Laris and Kongos (who favored Fulbert Youlou, the first black  mayor elected in French Equatorial Africa) resulted in a series of riots in Brazzaville in February 1959, which the French Army subdued. New elections took place in April 1959. By the time the Congo became independent in August 1960, Opangault, the former opponent of Youlou, agreed to serve under him. Youlou became the first President of the Republic of the Congo. Since the political tension was so high in Pointe-Noire, Youlou moved the capital to Brazzaville. Post-independence era. The Republic of the Congo became fully independent from France on 15 August 1960. Youlou ruled as the country's  first president until labor elements and rival political parties instigated a three-day uprising that ousted him. The Congolese military briefly took over the country 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. During Massamba-Débat's term in office, 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. On the night of February 14 to 15, 1965, three prominent public  officials of the Republic of the Congo were kidnapped: (prosecutor of the Republic), (President of the Supreme Court), and (director of the Congolese Information Agency). The bodies of two of these men were later found, mutilated, by the Congo River. Massamba-Débat's regime also invited several hundred Cuban army troops into the country to train his party's militia units. These troops helped his government survive a "coup d'état" in 1966 led by paratroopers loyal to future President Marien Ngouabi. Nevertheless, Massamba-Débat was unable to reconcile various institutional, tribal, and ideological factions within the country, and his regime  ended abruptly with a bloodless "coup" in September 1968. Marien Ngouabi, who had participated in the coup, assumed the presidency on 31 December 1968. One year later, Ngouabi proclaimed the Congo Africa's first "people's republic", the People's Republic of the Congo, and announced the decision of the National Revolutionary Movement to change its name to the Congolese Labour Party (PCT). He survived an attempted "coup" in 1972 but was assassinated on 16 March1977. An 11-member Military Committee of the Party (CMP) was then named to head an interim government, with Joachim Yhombi-Opango serving as president . Two years later, Yhombi-Opango was forced from power, and Denis Sassou Nguesso becomes 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. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 resulted in the ending of Soviet aid to prop up the regime, and it abdicated power. Pascal Lissouba, who became Congo's first elected president (1992–1997) during the period of multi-party democracy, attempted to implement  economic reforms with IMF backing to liberalize the economy. In June 1996, the IMF approved a three-year SDR69.5m (US$100m) enhanced structural adjustment facility (ESAF) and was on the verge of announcing a renewed annual agreement when civil war broke out in Congo in mid-1997. Congo's democratic progress was derailed in 1997 when Lissouba and Sassou started to fight for power in the civil war. As presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, tensions between the Lissouba and Sassou camps mounted. On 5 June, 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 government began an invasion of Congo to install Sassou in power. In mid-October, the Lissouba government fell. Soon after that, 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. The only remaining credible rival, André 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 one-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 . Sassou also won the following 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". In March 2015, Sassou announced that he wanted to run for yet another term in office and a constitutional referendum in October resulted in a changed constitution that allowed him to run during the 2016 presidential election. He won the election believed by many to be fraudulent. After violent protests in the capital, Sassou attacked the Pool region, where the Ninja rebels of the civil war  used to be based, in what was believed to be a distraction. This led to a revival of the Ninja rebels who launched attacks against the army in April 2016, leading 80,000 people to flee their homes. A ceasefire deal was signed in December 2017. Government. The government of the Republic is a semi-presidential system with an elected president who appoints the Council of Ministers, or Cabinet. The council, including the Prime Minister, is selected from the elected representatives in Parliament. The country has had a multi-party political system since the early 1990s; although the system is heavily  dominated by President Denis Sassou Nguesso, he has lacked serious competition in the presidential elections held under his rule. Sassou Nguesso is backed by his own Congolese Labour Party () as well as a range of smaller parties. Sassou's regime has seen many 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". Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso, son of Denis Sassou Nguesso, has been named in association with the Panama Papers. On 27 March 2015, Sassou Nguesso announced that his  government would hold a referendum on changing the country's 2002 constitution to allow him to run for a third consecutive term in office. On 25 October, the government held a referendum on allowing Sassou Nguesso to run in the next election. The government claimed that the proposal was approved by 92% of voters, with 72% of eligible voters participating. The opposition, who boycotted the referendum, said that the government's statistics were false and the vote was a fake one. The election raised questions and was accompanied by civil unrest and police shootings of protesters; at least 18 people  were killed by security forces during opposition rallies leading up to the referendum held in October. Administrative divisions. The Republic of the Congo is divided into 12 "départements" (departments). Departments are divided into communes and districts. These are: Military. The Armed Forces of the Republic of the Congo (), also less formally denoted as the "Forces armées congolaises" or its acronym FAC, are the military forces of the Republic of the Congo. They consist of the Congolese Army, the Congolese Air Force, the Congolese Marine (Navy), and the Congolese National Gendarmerie. Human rights. Many Pygmies belong from birth to Bantus in  a relationship many refer to as slavery. The Congolese Human Rights Observatory says that the Pygmies are treated as property in the same way as pets. On 30 December 2010, the Congolese parliament adopted a law to promote and protect 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. Media. In 2008, the primary media were owned by the government, but privately run forms of media were being created. There are one government-owned television station and around 10 small private  television channels. Geography. The Republic of the Congo has a wide variety of natural landscapes, ranging from the savanna plains in the North Niari flooded forests, to the vast Congo River, to the rugged mountains and forests of Mayombe, and 170 km of beaches along the Atlantic coast. 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 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 coast on the Atlantic Ocean. 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. Congo  had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.89/10, ranking it 12th globally out of 172 countries. Congo lies within four terrestrial ecoregions: Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests, Northwestern Congolian lowland forests, Western Congolian swamp forests, and Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic. Since the country is located on the Equator, the climate is consistent year-round, with the average day temperature a humid and nights generally between and . The average yearly rainfall ranges from in the Niari Valley in the south to over 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 gorillas, whose isolation from humans has been largely preserved by inhospitable swamps. Economy. The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based mainly 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, the oil sector accounted for 65% of the GDP, 85% of government revenue, and 92% of exports. The country also has large untapped mineral wealth. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects. GDP grew an average of 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. On 12 January 1994, the devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in an 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 the Congo; it was re-admitted to the group in 2007. The Republic of the Congo also has large untapped 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 signed an agreement in 2009 to lease 200,000 hectares of land to South African farmers to reduce its dependence on imports. The GDP of the Republic of the Congo grew by 6% in 2014 and is expected to have grown by 7.5% in 2015. In 2018, the Republic of the Congo joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Transportation. Transport in the Republic of the Congo includes land, air, and water transportation. The country's rail system was built by forced laborers during the 1930s  and largely remains in operation. There are also over 1000 km of paved roads, and two major international airports (Maya-Maya Airport and Pointe-Noire Airport) which have flights to destinations in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The country also has a large port on the Atlantic Ocean at Pointe-Noire and others along the Congo River at Brazzaville and Impfondo. Demographics. The Republic of the Congo's sparse population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country, leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle 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 , 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 recognizes 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 the Vili, around Pointe-Noire and along the Atlantic coast. The second largest group is the Teke, who live to the north of Brazzaville, with 16.9% of the population. Mbochi live in the north, east and in Brazzaville and form 13.1% of the population. Pygmies make up 2% of Congo's population. Before the 1997 war, about 9,000 Europeans 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. According to CIA World Factbook, the people of the Republic of the Congo are largely a mix of Catholics (33.1%), Awakening Lutherans (22.3%), and other Protestants (19.9%). Followers of Islam make up 1.6%; this is primarily due to an influx of foreign workers into the urban centers. According to a 2011–12 survey, the total fertility rate was 5.1 children born per woman, with 4.5 in urban areas and 6.5 in rural areas. Health. Public expenditure health was at 8.9% of the GDP in 2004, whereas private expenditure was at 1.3%. , the HIV/AIDS prevalence was at 2.8 % among 15- to 49-year-olds. Health expenditure was at US$30 per capita in 2004. A large proportion of the population is undernourished, and malnutrition a problem in Congo-Brazzaville. There were 20 physicians per 100,000 persons in the early 2000s (decade). , the maternal mortality rate was 560 deaths/100,000 live births, and the infant mortality rate was 59.34 deaths/1,000 live births. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is rare in the country, being confined to limited geographic areas of the country. Culture. The numerous ethnic groups, forms of art, and political structures express a rich cultural diversity. Among the best known  are Vili nail fetishes, Beembe statuettes that are full of expression; the masks of the Punu and Kwele, Kota reliquaries, Teke fetishes, and cemeteries with monumental tombs are examples of this variety. The Lari people also have unique artifacts. The Republic of the Congo also has considerable colonial architectural heritage, which it is preserving. Restoration of architectural works is underway in Brazzaville, for example, at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne du Congo, which was completed in 2011. Because of problems with the communications network, the country is not ready to build on heritage tourism. It is working to improve the  network that supports its hotels and related tourism facilities in Pointe Noire and Brazzaville. Many sites are difficult to reach in overland visits. Some of the South's most populous and developed locations are often the least accessible. For example, the massive Chaillu Mountains are almost impossible to visit. Arts. The Franco-Congolese rapper Passi has released several hit albums, such as "Temptations", with the famous song "I zap and I mate." His work is broadcast internationally. Other notable musicians include , singer of the former group , rappers Calbo of Ärsenik, of , Mystic, RCFA, the group Bisso Na Bisso and . Several  writers from the Republic of Congo have become recognized elsewhere in Africa and the French-speaking world, including Alain Mabanckou, Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, Jeannette Balou Tchichelle, Henri Lopes, Lassy Mbouity, and Tchicaya U Tam'si. Artists have struggled to build a film industry. After a promising start in the 1970s, the troubled political situation closed cinemas and made film production difficult. Instead of making feature films for distribution to theaters, filmmakers generally directly stream their video productions on the internet. Congolese culture, art, and media have suffered from a lack of investment due to the unstable political conditions and warfare . Education. Public expenditure of the GDP was less in 2002–05 than in 1991. Public education is theoretically free and mandatory for under-16-year-olds, but, in practice, expenses exist. In 2005 net primary enrollment rate was 44%, a significant drop from 79% in 1991. Education between ages nine and sixteen is compulsory. Pupils who complete six years of primary school and seven years of secondary school obtain a baccalaureate. The country has universities where students can obtain a bachelor's degree in three years and a master's in five. Marien Ngouabi University—which offers courses in medicine, law, and  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. Literature. Congolese writer Alain Mabanckou published a novel called "Memoirs of a Porcupine" in 2006 that takes place in a Congolese village. External links. Government General Tourism