Astride the Equator in west central Africa, Congo has a small population that is concentrated in the country’s southwest, with a virtually uninhabited jungle in the north. Most people live between Brazzaville, the capital, and Pointe-Noire, Congo’s port city and focus for the oil industry. Since it achieved independence in 1960, political turmoil has hampered the country. After almost three decades of Marxist rule, Congo adopted a multiparty, democratic system in 1992. Conflict in the late 1990s derailed democracy, but a new constitution in 2002 brings the promise of stability.
Fast Facts
Population: 3,999,000
Capital: Brazzaville; 1,080,000
Area: 342,000 square kilometers (132,047 square miles)
Language: French, Lingala, Monokutuba
Religion: Christian, animist, Muslim
Currency: CFA franc
Life Expectancy: 50
GDP per Capita: U.S. $900
Literacy Percent: 84
ECONOMY
Industry: Petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap
Agriculture: Cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn; forest products
Exports: Petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cacao
Source: The National Geographic
CIA- The World Factbook
