Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo République du Congo (in French) | |
---|---|
Motto: Unité, Travail, Progrès (in French) "Unity, Work, Progress" | |
Anthem: La Congolaise (in French) "The Congolese" | |
Capital and largest city | Brazzaville |
Official languages | French |
Recognised national languages | Lingala Kikongo |
Demonym(s) | Congolese |
Government | Single-party State
|
Denis Sassou Nguesso | |
Independence | |
• from France | August 15, 1960 |
Area | |
• Total | 342,000 km2 (132,000 sq mi) (64th) |
• Water (%) | 3.3 |
Population | |
• 2009 estimate | 3,686,000[1] (128th) |
• Density | 10.8/km2 (28.0/sq mi) (204th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate |
• Total | $17.108 billion[2] |
• Per capita | $4,426[2] |
GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate |
• Total | $11.530 billion[2] |
• Per capita | $2,983[2] |
HDI (2011) | 0.533 low · 126th |
Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +242 |
ISO 3166 code | CG |
Internet TLD | .cg |
The Republic of the Congo is a country in Africa. Its capital city is Brazzaville. The country was a former colony of France; it became independent on 15 August 1960. The north of the country has very large areas of rainforest, but in the south are many farms which grow cashcrops like bananas, peanuts.
Geography
[change | change source]Congo is in the central-western part of sub-Saharan Africa. It is along the Equator. To the south and east of it is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also bordered 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.
The capital, Brazzaville, is on the Congo River, directly across from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Departments
[change | change source]The Republic of the Congo is divided into 12 Departments. Departments are divided into communes and/or districts.
The districts are:
Related pages
[change | change source]Books about the Republic of the Congo
[change | change source]- Maria Petringa, Brazza, A Life for Africa (2006) ISBN 978-1-4259-1198-0
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (2009). "World Population Prospects, Table A.1" (PDF). 2008 revision. United Nations. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
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(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Republic of the Congo". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2011-04-21.