Republic of the Congo

This article is about the smaller country. For the larger country, see Democratic Republic of the Congo. For entities with similar names, see Republic of the Congo (disambiguation).

Republic of the Congo
Motto: "Unité, Travail, Progrès" (French)
(English: "Unity, Work, Progress")
Anthem: "La Congolaise" (French)
Besi Kôngo (Kongo)
(English: "The Congolese")
Capital
and largest city
Brazzaville
4°16′S 15°17′E / 4.267°S 15.283°E / -4.267; 15.283
Official languagesFrench[1]
Recognised national languages
Religion
(2020)[2]
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic under a dominant-party authoritarian state[4][5][6][7]
• President
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Anatole Collinet Makosso
LegislatureParliament
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
National Assembly
Independence
• Republic established
28 November 1958
• from France
15 August 1960
Area
• Total
342,000 km2 (132,000 sq mi) (64th)
• Water (%)
3.3
Population
• 2023 estimate
6,228,784[8] (116th)
• 2023 census
6,142,180[9]
• Density
17.96/km2 (46.5/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $27.994 billion[10] (150th)
• Per capita
Increase $5,552[10] (149th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $14.407 billion[10] (142nd)
• Per capita
Increase $2,857[10] (138th)
Gini (2011)40.2[11]
medium inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.593[12]
medium (149th)
CurrencyCentral African CFA franc (XAF)
Time zoneUTC+1 (WAT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Drives onright
Calling code+242
ISO 3166 codeCG
Internet TLD.cg

Congo, officially the Republic of the Congo or Congo Republic,[a] also known as Congo-Brazzaville, is a country located on the western coast of Central Africa to the west of the Congo River. It is bordered to the west by Gabon, to the northwest by Cameroon, to the northeast by the Central African Republic, to the southeast by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south by the Angolan exclave of Cabinda, and to the southwest by the Atlantic Ocean.

The region was dominated by Bantu-speaking tribes at least 3,000 years ago, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. From the 13th century the present day territory was dominated by a confederation led by Vungu which included Kakongo and Ngoyo. Loango emerged in the 16th century. In the late 19th century France colonised the region and incorporated it into French Equatorial Africa.[3] 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 (PRC). The country has had multi-party elections since 1992, but a democratically elected government was ousted in the 1997 Republic of the Congo Civil War. President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who first came to power in 1979, ruled until 1992 and then again since after his reinstatement.

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 4th-largest oil producer in the Gulf of Guinea, providing the country with a degree of prosperity, with political and economic instability in some areas, and unequal distribution of oil revenue nationwide. Its economy is dependent on the oil sector[13] and economic growth has slowed since the post-2015 drop in oil prices.

Christianity is the most widely professed faith in the country. According to the 2024 rendition of the World Happiness Report, the Republic of the Congo is ranked 89th among 140 nations.[14]

  1. ^ "Constitution de 2015". Digithèque matériaux juridiques et politiques, Jean-Pierre Maury, Université de Perpignan (in French). Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Religions in Republic of the Congo | PEW-GRF". Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Congo, Republic of the". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  4. ^ Tampa, Vava (10 April 2021). "Sassou rules like an emperor while Congolese die from extreme poverty". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Elections in Congo-Brazzaville". DW. 18 March 2016. Archived from the original on 4 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Congo Brazzaville's Sassou Nguesso re-elected with more than 88% of vote, early results show". France 24. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  7. ^ Clark, John Frank (2008). The failure of democracy in the Republic of Congo. Boulder (Colo.): L. Rienner. ISBN 978-1-58826-555-5.
  8. ^ "Congo Population (2024) - Worldometer". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  9. ^ BOKOLO, Guilesse (8 January 2024). "RESULTATS PRELIMINAIRES". INS-CONGO BRAZZAVILLE (in French). Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Congo)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  11. ^ "GINI index". World Bank. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  12. ^ "HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2023-24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. pp. 274–277. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  13. ^ Nzaou-Kongo, Aubin (2018). Exploitation des hydrocarbures et protection de l'environnement en République du Congo : essai sur la complexité de leurs rapports à la lumière du droit international. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  14. ^ "World Happiness Report 2024: Most comprehensive picture yet of happiness across generations". worldhappiness.report. 20 March 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.


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