TheRepublic of the Congo,[a] also known asCongo-Brazzaville, theCongo Republic or simply theCongo (its name from 1971 to 1997; the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouringDemocratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast ofCentral Africa to the west of theCongo River. It is bordered to the west byGabon, to the northwest byCameroon, to the northeast by theCentral African Republic, to the southeast by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south by theAngolanexclave ofCabinda, and to the southwest by the Atlantic Ocean.
The region was dominated byBantu-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 byVungu which includedKakongo andNgoyo.Loango emerged in the 16th century. In the late 19th century France colonised the region and incorporated it intoFrench Equatorial Africa.[3] The Republic of the Congo was established on 28 November 1958 and gained independence from France in 1960. It was aMarxist–Leninist state from 1969 to 1992, under the namePeople's Republic of the Congo (PRC). The country has had multi-party elections since 1992, but a democratically elected government was ousted in the 1997Republic of the Congo Civil War. PresidentDenis Sassou Nguesso, who first came to power in 1979, ruled until 1992 and then again since after his reinstatement.
Christianity is the most widely professed faith in the country. According to the 2024 rendition of theWorld Happiness Report, the Republic of the Congo is ranked 89th among 140 nations.[15]
It is named after theCongo River whose name is derived fromKongo, aBantu kingdom that occupied its mouth around the time thePortuguese first arrived in 1483[16] or 1484.[17] The kingdom's name derived from its people, theBakongo, anendonym said to mean "hunters" (Kongo:mukongo,nkongo).[18][19]
Bantu-speaking peoples, who founded tribes during theBantu expansions, mostly displaced and absorbed the earlier inhabitants of the region, thePygmy people, about 1500BC. TheBakongo, a Bantu ethnic group that occupied parts of what later became Angola, Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formed the basis for ethnic affinities and rivalries among those countries.[citation needed]
By the 13th century, there were three main confederations of states in the western Congo Basin. In the east were theSeven Kingdoms of Kongo dia Nlaza, considered to be the oldest and most powerful, which likely includedNsundi,Mbata,Mpangu, and possiblyKundi andOkanga. South of these wasMpemba which stretched from modern-dayAngola to theCongo River. It included various kingdoms such asMpemba Kasi andVunda. To its west across the Congo River was a confederation of three small states;Vungu (its leader),Kakongo, andNgoyo.[22]: 24–25 Some Bantu kingdoms—including those of theKongo, theLoango, and theTeke—built trade links leading into theCongo Basin.[23]
ThePortuguese explorerDiogo Cão reached the mouth of the Congo in 1484.[24] Commercial relationships grew between the inland Bantu kingdoms and European merchants who traded in commodities, manufactured goods, and people captured and enslaved in thehinterlands. After centuries as a central hub for transatlantic trade, direct European colonization of the Congo River delta began in the 19th century, subsequently eroding the power of the Bantu societies in the region.[25]
The area north of the Congo River came under French sovereignty in 1880 as a result ofPierre de Brazza's treaty with King Makoko[26] of theBateke.[24] After the death of Makoko, his widow QueenNgalifourou upheld the terms of the treaty and became an ally to the colonizers.[27] This Congo Colony became known first asFrench Congo, then as Middle Congo in 1903.
During theNazi occupation of France duringWorld War II, Brazzaville functioned as the symbolic capital ofFree France between 1940 and 1943.[28] TheBrazzaville Conference of 1944 heralded a period of 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.[23] It had a local legislature after the adoption of the 1946 constitution that established theFourth Republic.
Following the revision of theFrench constitution that established theFifth Republic in 1958, AEF dissolved into its constituent parts, each of which became an autonomous colony within theFrench Community. During these reforms, Middle Congo became known as the Republic of the Congo in 1958[23] and published its first constitution in 1959.[29] Antagonism between theMbochis (who favoredJacques Opangault) and theLaris andKongos (who favoredFulbert Youlou, the first black mayor elected in French Equatorial Africa) resulted in a series of riots in Brazzaville in February 1959, which theFrench Army subdued.[30]
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, an avid anti-communist, became the first President of the Republic of the Congo.[31] Since the political tension was so high inPointe-Noire, Youlou moved the capital to Brazzaville.[citation needed]
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 a3-day uprising that ousted him.[32] The Congolese military took over the country and installed a civilian provisional government headed byAlphonse Massamba-Débat.
Under the 1963 constitution, Massamba-Débat was elected president for a five-year term.[23] DuringMassamba-Débat's term in office, the regime adopted "scientific socialism" as the country's constitutional ideology.[33] In 1964, Congo sent an official team with a single athlete at theOlympic Games for the first time in its history. In 1965, Congo established relations with theSoviet Union, thePeople's Republic of China,North Korea, andNorth Vietnam.[33] Under his presidency, the Congo began toindustrialize. Some large production units with large workforces were built: the textile factory of Kinsoundi, the palm groves of Etoumbi, the match factory ofBétou, the shipyards of Yoro, etc. Health centers were created as well as school groups (colleges and elementary school). The country's school enrollment rate became the highest in Black Africa.[34]
On the night of 14 to 15 February 1965, 3 public officials of the Republic of the Congo were kidnapped:Lazare Matsocota [fr] (prosecutor of the Republic),Joseph Pouabou [fr] (President of the Supreme Court), andAnselme Massouémé [fr] (director of the Congolese Information Agency). The bodies of 2 of these men were later found, mutilated, by the Congo River.[35][36] Massamba-Débat's regime invited some hundredCuban army troops into the country to train his party's militia units. These troops helped his government survive acoup d'état in 1966 led by paratroopers loyal to future PresidentMarien Ngouabi. Massamba-Débat's regime ended with a bloodlesscoup in September 1968.[33]
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", thePeople's Republic of the Congo, and announced the decision of the National Revolutionary Movement to change its name to theCongolese Labour Party (PCT). He survived anattemptedcoup in 1972 and was assassinated on 18 March1977.[37] An 11-member Military Committee of the Party (CMP) was then named to head an interim government, withJoachim Yhombi-Opango serving as president. Two years later, Yhombi-Opango was forced from power, andDenis Sassou Nguesso became the new president.[23]
Sassou Nguesso aligned the country with theEastern Bloc and signed a 20-year friendship pact with the Soviet Union. Over the years, Sassou had to rely more onpolitical repression and less onpatronage to maintain his dictatorship.[38] 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 the years 1993 and 1994 thefirst Congo Civil War in Congo occurred. In June 1996, IMF approved a 3-yearSDR69.5m (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 1997.[39]
Congo's democratic progress was derailed in 1997 when Lissouba and Sassou started to fight for power in thecivil 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 4-month conflict that destroyed or damaged some of Brazzaville and caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths. In October, the Angolan government began an invasion of Congo to install Sassou in power and the Lissouba government fell. After that, Sassou declared himself president.[23]
A pro-constitutional reform rally in Brazzaville during October 2015. The constitution's reforms were subsequently approved in a disputed election that saw demonstrations and violence.
In theelections in 2002, Sassou won with almost 90% of the vote cast. His two main rivals, Lissouba and Bernard Kolelas, were prevented from competing. A remaining rival,André Milongo advised his supporters to boycott the elections and then withdrew from the race.[40] Aconstitution, agreed upon byreferendum 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 1-party state.[41] Following the presidential elections, fighting restarted in thePool region between government forces and rebels led byPastor Ntumi; a peace treaty to end the conflict was signed in April 2003.[42]
Sassou won the followingpresidential election in July 2009.[43] According to the Congolese Observatory of Human Rights, a non-governmental organization, the election was marked by "very low" turnout and "fraud and irregularities".[44] In March 2015, Sassou announced that he wanted to run for yet another term in office and aconstitutional referendum in October resulted in achanged constitution that allowed him to run during the2016 presidential election. He won the election believed by some to be fraudulent. After violent protests in the capital, Sassou attacked the Pool region where theNinja 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.[45]
Natural landscapes range from thesavanna plains in the North Niari flooded forests, to the Congo River, to the rugged mountains and forests ofMayombe, and 170 km of beaches along the Atlantic coast.[47]
The southwest is a coastal plain for which the primary drainage is theKouilou-Niari River; the interior of the country consists of a central plateau between 2 basins to the south and north. Forests are under increasing exploitation pressure.[48] Congo had a 2018Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.89/10, ranking it 12th globally out of 172 countries.[49]
Congo lies within four terrestrial ecoregions:Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests,Northwestern Congolian lowland forests,Western Congolian swamp forests, andWestern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic.[50] Since the country is located on the Equator, the climate is more consistent year-round, with the average day temperature a humid 24 °C (75 °F) and nights generally between 16 °C (61 °F) and 21 °C (70 °F). The average yearly rainfall ranges from 1,100 millimetres (43 in) in theNiari Valley in the south to over 2,000 millimetres (79 in) in central parts. The dry season is from June to August, while in the majority of the country, the wet season has 2 rainfall maxima: 1 in March–May and another in September–November.[51]
Sassou's regime has seencorruption revelations, with attempts to censor them. One French investigation found over 110 bank accounts and dozens of "lavish properties" in France.[53] Sassou denounced embezzlement investigations as "racist" and "colonial".[54][55][56] Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso, son of Denis Sassou Nguesso, has been named in association with thePanama Papers.[57]
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.[58] 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.[59] The election raised questions and was accompanied by civil unrest and police shootings of protesters;[60] at least 18 people were killed by security forces during opposition rallies leading up to the referendum held in October.
The republic has been divided into 15departments since the adoption of the corresponding laws in October 2024.[61][62] Departments are divided into communes and districts.[63]These are as follows:
SomePygmies belong from birth toBantus in a relationship some refer to as slavery.[64][65] The Congolese Human Rights Observatory says that the Pygmies are treated as property in the same way as pets.[64] On 30 December 2010, theCongolese parliament adopted a law to promote and protect the rights of indigenous peoples.[clarification needed] This law is "the first" of its kind in Africa.[66][needs update]
The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based mainly onpetroleum,[14][67] support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and "overstaffing". Petroleum extraction has supplantedforestry as the mainstay of the economy. In 2008, the oil sector accounted for 65% of theGDP, 85% of government revenue, and 92% of exports.[68] The country has untappedmineral wealth.[14]
In the 1980s, rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance larger-scale development projects. GDP grew an average of 5% annually. The government has mortgaged a portion of its petroleum earnings, contributing to a "shortage of revenues". On 12 January 1994, the devaluation ofFranc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in an inflation of 46% in 1994, and inflation has subsided since.[69]
Between 1994 and 1996, the economy underwent a difficult transition. The Congo took a number of measures to liberalize its economy, including reforming the tax, investment, labor, timber, and hydrocarbon codes. In 2002–03, Congo privatized banks, telecommunications, and transportation monopolies, to help improve and unreliable infrastructure. By the end of 1996 Congo had made progress in various areas targeted for reform. It made great strides toward macroeconomic stabilization through improving public finances and restructuring external debt. This change was accompanied by improvements in the structure of expenditures, with a reduction in personnel expenditures. Before June 1997, Congo and the United States ratified a bilateral investment treaty designed to facilitate and protect foreign investment. The country also adopted a new investment code intended to attract foreign capital. Despite these success, Congo's investment climate has challenges, offering few meaningful incentives for new investors.[70]
Women learning to sew, Brazzaville
Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, including theWorld Bank and theInternational Monetary Fund. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. When Sassou Nguesso returned to power in October 1997, he publicly expressed interest in moving forward oneconomic reforms andprivatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. 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.[citation needed]
The administration presides over an "uneasy internal peace" and faces "difficult" economic problems of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty, with record-high oil prices since 2003. Natural gas and diamonds are other exports, while Congo was excluded from theKimberley Process in 2004 amid allegations that most of its diamond exports were, in fact, being smuggled out of the neighboringDemocratic Republic of the Congo; it was re-admitted to the group in 2007.[71][72]
The Republic of the Congo has untapped base metal, gold, iron, and phosphate deposits.[73] It is a member of theOrganization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).[74] The Congolese government signed an agreement in 2009 to lease 200,000 hectares of land toSouth African farmers to reduce its dependence on imports.[75][76] The GDP of the Republic of the Congo grew by 6% in 2014 and is expected to have grown by 7.5% in 2015.[77]
Congo–Ocean Railway wasbuilt by forced laborers during the 1930s. Some colonial architectural heritage is preserved. Restoration of architectural works is underway in Brazzaville, for example, at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne du Congo, which was completed in 2011.[79]
Its population is concentrated in the southwestern portion, leaving the areas of tropicaljungle in the north virtually uninhabited. 70% of its total population lives in urban areas, namely inBrazzaville,Pointe-Noire, or one of the cities or villages lining the 534-kilometre (332 mi), railway which connects the two cities. In rural areas, industrial and commercial activity has declined in some years, leaving rural economies dependent on the government for support and subsistence.[23]
Before the 1997 war, about 9,000 Europeans and other non-Africans lived in Congo, most of whom wereFrench; a fraction of this number remains.[23] Around 300American immigrants reside in the Congo.[23]
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.[82]
French is the official language of the Republic of the Congo. In addition,Ethnologue recognizes 62 spoken languages in the country.[84] TheKongo are the largest ethnic group and form roughly half of the population. The most significant subgroups of the Kongo areLaari, in Brazzaville and Pool regions, and theVili, around Pointe-Noire and along the Atlantic coast. The second largest group is theTeke, 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.[85][86]Pygmies make up 2% of Congo's population.[87]
According to CIA World Factbook, the people of the Republic of the Congo are largely a mix ofCatholics (33.1%), adherents of Awakening Churches andChristian Revivalism (22.3%), and otherProtestants (19.9%) as of 2007. Followers ofIslam make up 1.6%; this is primarily due to an influx of foreign workers into the urban centers.[3]
School children in the classroom, Republic of the Congo
Public expenditure of theGDP was less in 2002–05 than in 1991.[89] Public education is theoretically free and mandatory for under-16-year-olds[90] but in practice educational expenses must be borne by parents.[90] In 2005 the net primary enrollment rate was 44%, a drop from 79% in 1991.[89] The investment in education has significantly dropped in recent years, leading to a dip in quality. In 2018, the school completion rate was 66% for girls and 64% for boys.[91] Although the government has made attempts to provideVocational training andtertiary education, they remain poor and inaccessible to most young adults in the country.[92]
Public expenditure health was at 8.9% of the GDP in 2004 whereas private expenditure was at 1.3%.[89]As of 2012[update], theHIV/AIDS prevalence was at 2.8% among 15- to 49-year-olds.[3] Health expenditure was at US$30 per capita in 2004.[89] A proportion of the population is undernourished,[89] andmalnutrition is a problem in Congo.[93] There were 20 physicians per 100,000 persons in the 2000s (decade).[89]
^"Constitution de 2015".Digithèque matériaux juridiques et politiques, Jean-Pierre Maury, Université de Perpignan (in French).Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved2 January 2021.
^BOKOLO, Guilesse (8 January 2024)."RESULTATS PRELIMINAIRES".INS-CONGO BRAZZAVILLE (in French).Archived from the original on 24 July 2024. Retrieved16 June 2024.
^United States State Department. Office of the Historian.A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776. "Republic of the CongoArchived 12 May 2017 at theWayback Machine". Accessed 9 October 2010.
A list of subprefects (higher representatives of State in a district) nominated in December 2008 lists 86 districts. Search"zenga-mambu.com". Archived fromthe original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved6 August 2009.
Finally, the good figures seem to come fromthis siteArchived 18 May 2009 at theWayback Machine: 12 departments, 7 communes, and 86 districts
^Thomas, Katie (4 March 2007)."Slaves of the Congo". International Reporting Project.Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved13 July 2014.
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