Republic of Congo
Type of Government: Republic
Independence: 1960 from France
Head of State: President Denis Sassou-Nguesso (since October 25,1997)
2007/2008 UN Development Index ranking (out of 177 countries): 139
2007 TI Corruption Perception Index (out of 179): 150
Political Development: A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, and ushered in a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003, but the calm is tenuous and refugees continue to present a humanitarian crisis. The Republic of Congo was once one of Africa’s largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need to hope for new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term.
Adult HIV Rate: 4.9%
Life Expectancy: 53.29
GDP: $5.098 billion
Inflation: 5.5%
Poverty: N/A
Petroleum: 267,100 bpd
Leading Export Partner: US (35.9%)
Economic Note: The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. 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 challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty.
