The Republic of the Congo is a state in Central Africa, a former
colonial possession of France, from 1970 to 1991 - the People's
Republic of the Congo.
The country is bordered to the west by
Gabon, to the northwest by Cameroon and 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. French is the
official language of the Republic of the Congo.
The capital
is the city of Brazzaville.
3,000 years ago, the region was
dominated by Bantu-speaking tribes who built trade links leading to
the Congo Basin. The Congo was formerly part of the French colony of
Equatorial Africa. The Republic of the Congo was formed on November
28, 1958 and gained independence from France in 1960. It was a
Marxist-Leninist state from 1969 to 1992 called the People's
Republic of the Congo. The sovereign state has held multi-party
elections since 1992, although the democratically elected government
was overthrown in the civil war in the Republic of the Congo in
1997, and President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who first came to power in
1979, has been in power for more than 4 decades.
The Republic
of the Congo is a member of the African Union, the United Nations,
the Francophone Community, the Economic Community of Central African
States and the Non-Aligned Movement. It has become the fourth
largest oil producer in the Gulf of Guinea, providing the country
with a certain degree of prosperity, despite political and economic
instability in some areas and the unequal distribution of oil
revenues throughout the country. Congo's economy is heavily
dependent on the oil sector, and economic growth has slowed
significantly since the fall in oil prices after 2015. With a
population of 5.2 million, 88.5% of the country is Christian.
The Republic of Congo consists of several regions divided into
departments. Here are the regions (roughly equivalent to provinces) of
the Republic of Congo:
Brazzaville: This is the capital region
and is located in the southwest of the country. It is the economic and
political center of the country.
Cuvette: Located in the north of
the country, this region is known for its lakes and rivers, including
the Congo River.
Cuvette-Ouest: This is a neighboring region of
Cuvette and is also in the north of the country.
Sangha: Located
in the northwest, this region is known for its abundance of forests and
wildlife.
Plateaux: The Plateaux region is located in the central
part of the country and is characterized by hills and plateaus.
Pool: Located south of Brazzaville, Pool was formerly a contested area
during the civil war in the 1990s.
Bouenza: Located southwest of
Brazzaville, this region is known for its agricultural production.
Lékoumou: Lékoumou is located in the southeast of the country and is
also of agricultural importance.
Niari: This region is located in
the southwest and is rich in mineral resources such as petroleum and
timber.
Likouala: Located in the northeast, this region is known
for its waterways and lakes.
Kouilou: Kouilou is located in the
southwest and also plays a significant role in the petroleum industry.
Pointe-Noire: Although Pointe-Noire is a city, it is often
considered a separate region. It is the second largest city in the
country and an important port for the export of petroleum.
1 Brazzaville. As the country's capital, Brazzaville is the most
important economic and cultural hub. Here you will find museums, markets
and historical attractions such as Brazzaville Cathedral and the
Poto-Poto district.
2 Pointe Noire. This port city is the second
largest city in the country and an important economic hub.
Pointe-Noire's beaches are popular with locals and tourists alike.
3
Dolisie. Dolisie is a town in the southwest of the country and a good
starting point for trips to the Lésio Louna Gorilla National Park, where
you have the opportunity to observe gorillas and other wildlife in their
natural habitat.
4 Ouesso. This city is located in the northeast of
the country and is a good starting point for tours to the Odzala-Kokoua
National Park, known for its diverse wildlife and lush vegetation.
1 Dimonika Biosphere Reserve. (Reserve de la biosphere de Dimonika).
The Dimonika Biosphere Reserve in the Republic of Congo is an important
protected area in the northwest of the country. It covers an area of
approximately 4,400 square kilometers and offers a rich variety of
animal and plant species, including lowland gorillas, forest elephants
and impressive birdlife. The reserve is a UNESCO biosphere reserve and
an important contribution to the protection of endangered species and
ecosystems in Central Africa.
Diosso and its Canon, about 25km north
of Pointe-Noire. The Kingdom of Loango had its center here.
2
Odzala-Kokoua National Park (parc national d'Odzala) . This national
park is one of the most impressive wildlife sanctuaries in Central
Africa and boasts a wealth of wildlife including gorillas, forest
elephants, hippos and numerous bird species. The park consists of
jungle, rivers and lagoons and offers opportunities for trekking and
wildlife viewing. Safari camps open December to the end of April.
3
Lesio-Louna Nature Reserve (Réserve de Lésio-Louna) . This reserve is
located northeast of Brazzaville and is a protected area for lowland
gorillas. Visitors have the opportunity to observe gorillas in their
natural environment and learn more about their way of life.
4 Sangha
River (Trinational de la Sangha) . This river crosses the northwest of
the country and offers opportunities for canoeing and boat trips. The
area is surrounded by lush rainforest rich in wildlife.
5 Lefini
Reserve (réserve de la Léfini) . This reserve is located south of
Brazzaville and is known for its population of lowland gorillas and
chimpanzees. It offers opportunities for trekking and wildlife watching.
6 Congo-Océan Railway (chemin de fer Congo-Océan) . The old railway line
between Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire offers a scenic journey through the
Congo countryside. It leads through jungles, rivers and small villages
and offers insights into rural life in the country.
getting there
Entry requirements
A visa is required to enter
the Republic of Congo. The passport must be valid for another 6 months
upon entry. In any case, a yellow fever vaccination certificate must be
presented when submitting the application. Hotel bookings are required
from tourists. Anyone who wants to stay longer than 60 days also needs a
police clearance certificate.
The introduction of an eVisa has
been planned since 2019. Some consular departments, such as those in
Paris, have already introduced the procedure.
Embassy of the
Republic of Congo in Germany, Wallstrasse 69, 10179 Berlin (Mitte).
Tel.: +49 30 49400753, Email: contact@republic-congo.com . The embassy
in Berlin is also accredited for Austria. Business travel visas are only
valid for 30 days. The honorary consulate in Vienna does not issue
visas. Open: Mon-Fri 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Price: 2021: €80 for 15
days, €155 for 3 months, multiple entry; Express surcharge €5.
Embassy of the Republic of Congo in Switzerland, Rue Chabrey 8, 1202
Geneva. Tel.: +41 22 7318821, email: consulatcongo@bluewin.ch. Price: 80
sfr for 15 days; Business visa 15 days 130 sfr; Express surcharge double
price.
Since May 2019, company representatives have been required
to present a confirmation from the local social insurance company CNSS
that the mandatory contributions have been paid when leaving the country
(“certificat de non-redevance”).
Airplane
The only airport
accessible from Europe is in Brazzaville. Only Air France flies here
from Paris-Charles de Gaulle.
African companies serve the
Agostinho-Neto International Airport in Pointe-Noire regionally.
Train
No cross-border passenger services.
bus
No
cross-border passenger services.
Car/motorcycle/bicycle
The
possibility of entering the country by land from Gabon or Cameroon only
exists on paper, as the roads are muddy and impassable, especially in
the rainy season. Interruptions in the supply of gasoline lasting
several days occasionally occur, even in the capital.
The
international driving license is required and is only valid in
conjunction with the national German driving license.
Ship
There are regular ferry connections from Kinshasa (DR Congo).
At
least during the rainy season, June to December, there are rides on the
Congo/Ubangi to Bangui (1120 km). Here you should first familiarize
yourself with the security situation.
For shorter river trips you can arrange a ride on so-called
Baleinières, which are 10-20 meter long wooden boats. Freighters always
carry passengers, but you don't expect service or comfort.
The
900km between Brazza and Ouesso take 9 days, or longer if the water is
low. It takes just as long to cover the 850km between immunization and
the capital. Large ships can only sail here from May to January.
Road traffic
Rental cars are almost non-existent in the Republic of
Congo, so you largely rely on bush taxis. The road network is only paved
around Brazzaville.
National roads
Brazzaville – Pointe Noire
550km
Brazzaville – Ouésso 815km
Dolisie – Moussogo – border with
Gabon 230km
Pointe-Noire – Nzassi – border to Angola 40km
Pointe-Noire – Madingo-Kayes 130km
Doungou – Niali 160km
National
road No. 1 from Brazzaville towards Kinkala and further via Mindouli to
Pointe-Noiree is subject to tolls.
Air traffic
See the List of
airports in the Republic of the Congo
Rail transport
The
renovation of the railway lines in Kapsur, financed by the World Bank
since 2010, is having some effect. Since Brazzaville station reopened in
2019, there has been irregular passenger traffic to Pointe-Noire and
from there to Mbinda, but usually only once a week due to a lack of
carriages.
The official language is French. Knowledge of French is mandatory as
German and English are hardly spoken.
Bantu languages and the
Creole Kituba, a simplification of Kikongo, are common. Lingala, which
is widespread in the north, has become more important in recent decades.
The currency in the Republic of Congo is the CFA franc BEAC (XAF).
Due to strong overvaluation, shopping is not a bargain. The rate is set
at 655.96 per euro.
Plastic money is almost not accepted at all,
and at the same time there is almost always a chronic shortage of small
change. You should therefore take enough cash with you from home and
exchange it in the local banks.
The food differs little from that in Gabon or western Congo-Kinshasa.
State holidays are New Year's Day, Labor Day on May 1st, Atonement
Day on June 10th and national holidays on August 15th and November 28th.
In addition, there are the Catholic-Christian holidays taken over
from the French colonial rulers: Ascension Day May 9, 2024, Pentecost
May 19, 2024, All Saints' Day on November 1st and Christmas.
Open crime against travelers is comparatively rare, but opportunistic
thefts occur, as in probably every area frequented by tourists.
You should no longer spend time outdoors at night, especially in the
poorer districts of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.
“Military
operations in the southern Department Pool have ended. The rebels have
been disarmed. Only travel to the Department Pool during daylight hours
and by land.”
Medical care on land is completely inadequate, which is why it is
definitely advisable to take out international travel health insurance
with return transport to Germany. At most, there are halfway equipped
clinics in the two large cities, but they remain far below European
standards.
As in many African countries, tap water is
undrinkable, so you should use pre-packaged bottles from the
supermarket.
You have to prevent malaria tropica all year round.
Since 2019, chikungunya fever has been reported in several provinces.
There were Ebola cases in May 2020.
There is a general ban on taking photos in sensitive areas, i.e.
airports, military personnel, etc. This can also be enforced on palm oil
plantations and clearing areas in the rainforest.
As in most
countries in sub-Saharan Africa, homosexual acts are viewed very
negatively.
Since the 10th century, Batéké and other Bantu tribes who migrated
from Nigeria settled in the lower Congo Basin. Various kingdoms arose
there in the 13th century, but most of them were destroyed by the slave
trade at the mouth of the Congo in the 17th and 18th centuries. The
French mission began in 1766, and Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza began
exploring the country in 1875. Around 1880, the Teke Empire of the
Batéké became a French protectorate through a so-called protection
treaty. A military post was soon founded on the Congo, from which the
city of Brazzaville emerged. The founding of Pointe Noire began in 1883.
Around 1891 the empire became the French colony of Congo (called "Middle
Congo" - "Moyen Congo" from 1903). In 1910 it was declared, together
with Gabon, the General Government of French Equatorial Africa.
Brazzaville had around 6,000 inhabitants at the time, but grew rapidly
due to the influx of migrant workers who came from as far away as Chad
and Dahomey. This created a colorful mix of peoples and languages in
Brazzaville. In 1911 the northern part of the colony went to Cameroon,
and after the First World War the area was reincorporated.
In
1946 the Congo became a French overseas territory. According to the Loi
Lamine Guèye law of May 7, 1946, all citizens of the Overseas
Territories had the same citizenship as people in the mother country and
thus the right to vote in elections to the French Parliament and in
local elections; The passive right to vote is not explicitly mentioned,
but neither is it excluded. But it was elected in two classes, which
gave the population of French origin an advantage. This two-class voting
right was only abolished on June 23, 1956 by the loi-cadre Defferre and
confirmed upon independence.
Law number 47-162 on territorial
assemblies of August 29, 1947 established the right to vote for these
assemblies. Initially, universal suffrage at the national level was
limited to Europeans and Africans who could read and write. In 1951 the
right was extended to everyone with a valid identification document.
This electoral system was renewed in 1952 and replaced in 1957 when the
loi-cadre Defferre of 1956 came into force.
In 1958, the Congo
became an autonomous republic in the Union Française and finally in 1960
the independent Congolese Republic (Congo-Brazzaville) (in contrast to
the then Republic of the Congo (Congo-Leopoldville), today's Democratic
Republic of the Congo on the left bank of the river). The capital had
around 100,000 inhabitants at that time and around 400,000 around 1980.
Article 4 of the Constitution of March 2, 1961 recognized pre-existing
rights. Some sources cite December 8, 1963 as the date when women were
granted passive suffrage. Since women were elected to parliament for the
first time in December 1963, it is possible that this information is
based on the first exercise of the right to vote, not the granting of
it.
In August 1963, the pro-French regime of priest Fulbert
Youlou was overthrown and a policy of moderate socialism was proclaimed.
On December 31, 1969, Marien Ngouabi proclaimed the People's Republic of
the Congo, which was dominated by the Parti Congolais du Travail.
Ngouabi was assassinated in 1977. In 1979, Denis Sassou-Nguesso
restored the People's Republic. In 1982, projects began for the
socialist restructuring of the economy and agriculture, as well as for
the development of the poorly developed north of the country and the
intensification of oil production.
In 1990, after the loss of
support from the socialist states, the move away from socialism began
and in 1991 the “Republic of the Congo” was finally proclaimed. Only
from 1992 were there real democratic elections, in which Sassou-Nguesso
was defeated by Pascal Lissouba. From 1997 to 1999, however, a
paralyzing civil war raged in the country, which ended with the victory
of the so-called Cobra militias of Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who had
returned from exile in France, over the militias of the incumbent
President Pascal Lissouba and the former presidential candidate Bernard
Kolelas, who was defeated in 1992. Since then, Sassou-Nguesso has been
in power as the country's president without interruption.
The Republic of the Congo is located in the extreme
north-west of the Congo Basin and is bordered to the east and south-east
by the Congo River and its tributary, the Ubangi. The capital,
Brazzaville, sits on the Pool Malebo, a sealike expanse of the Congo.
Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is on the
opposite bank.
The Republic of the Congo stretches on both sides
of the equator and therefore has a tropical climate. The two rainy
seasons occur from January to May and October to mid-December. The
annual precipitation is 1400 mm to 1900 mm, less on the coast. After the
narrow coastal plain with mangrove vegetation and wet savannah, the
country rises to a high plateau that rises to a height of 1040 m at the
border with Gabon. At 57.2 percent, the largest part of the country is
covered by tropical rainforest. In the northeast, on the lower Ubangi
and Sangha, are extensive wetlands. The Congo is only navigable above
Pool Malebo.
Republic of the Congo had 5.5 million inhabitants in 2020. Annual population growth was +2.5%. A surplus of births (birth rate: 32.0 per 1000 inhabitants vs. death rate: 6.5 per 1000 inhabitants) contributed to population growth. The number of births per woman was statistically 4.3 in 2020. The median age of the population in 2020 was 19.2 years.
98 percent
of Congolese see themselves as Bantus. Half of the population are
the eponymous Congo, of which more than 40 percent Bakongo as well
as Vili or Bavili (on the Atlantic). A quarter are Batéké with six
percent and Bavili. Of the remaining quarter, the Mboschi make up
the largest share with twelve percent and the Kuyu with eleven
percent. Only one percent are pygmies - mainly in the forest and
swamp areas of the northeast, and there are few Europeans.
In
2017, 7.6% of the population was foreign-born. The largest group
came from neighboring DR Congo with 170,000 people. Foreigners are
either refugees or are attracted by the comparatively high income
level.
French is – as a legacy of the colonial era – the official language. In addition, the lingua franca Lingala and Kituba are recognized as “national lingua francas” in the constitution of the Republic of the Congo. Lingala is most widespread in the north, which is spoken by half of the total population. Kituba, on the other hand, also known as Kongo ya Leta, is spoken primarily by the Bakongo in the south of the country, but also serves as a lingua franca. The most important languages of the individual ethnic groups are the conventional Kikongo as well as Mbosi, Koyo and Teke.
The majority of the total population of the Republic of Congo is Christian (about 33.1 percent Catholic, 22.3 percent Revivalist/Christian Revival, 19.9 percent Protestant, 2.2 percent Salvationist, about 1.5 percent Kimbanguist, and New Apostolic Christians). Another large part of the population adheres to traditional religions and around 1.6 percent now belong to smaller Muslim communities. 11.3 percent of the population are non-denominational.
In 1950, the first magazine for politics and culture (Liaison) was
founded in Brazzaville. also published evidence of oral culture. Today
in the Republic of Congo there is a relatively developed literary and
theater scene, especially in Brazzaville but also in Pointe Noire, which
is shaped by the French realists and by the Nouveau Roman as well as by
folk traditions, fairy tales, surrealism and magic. In his novels Demain
j'aurais vingt ans and Les cigognes sont immortelles, the author Alain
Mabanckou tells of a youth in Pointe Noire against the background of the
country's recent history. Above all, the theater builds on village
storytelling traditions. Mention should be made, inter alia, the
collaborator of the liaison and playwright Sylvain Bemba, the chemist
and novelist Emmanuel Dongala (b. 1941), who now lives in the USA (group
photo on the riverbank) and the former Prime Minister and novelist Henri
Lopès, a critic of Négritude (Tribaliques, 1971 ).
In the
multicultural Poto-Poto district of Brazzaville, populated by migrant
workers from the north at the beginning of the 20th century, a painting
tradition of its own developed (Marcel Gotène, Eugène Malonga, Jacques
Zigoma). Brazzaville had a fine artistic pottery tradition, but it has
largely been forgotten. The State Art National Museum has been closed
for years, but has an extensive inventory of valuable anthropological
objects and contemporary paintings. Traditional themes dominate in music
and dance. Gestures and facial expressions make it easier to understand
language in a multicultural environment.
Despite extensive resources of oil, tropical rainforest and
agricultural land as well as the low population density, the economy is
still characterized by mass unemployment and poor conditions of
government, administration and transport structures as well as a high
demand for food imports. A major cause here is corruption. In addition,
the three civil wars of the 1990s caused material damage estimated at
two to three billion euros.
The state used to be the largest
employer in the country with 80,000 employees. The World Bank and other
international financial institutions forced the Republic of Congo to
introduce reforms in this area in order to reduce the bureaucracy, the
maintenance of which consumed more than a fifth of the gross domestic
product in 1993.
The end of the civil war was also the
prerequisite for positive economic development. It was boosted by the
government's €780 million post-war reconstruction program, which was
largely self-financed but also supported by the World Bank.
Nevertheless, the population was denied participation in the country's
wealth of resources due to the unprofessional handling of state finances
and widespread corruption. 54 percent lived in absolute poverty in 2014.
The unemployment rate in the same year was reported to be 36%.
Efforts to increase diversification have not been very successful so
far. One focus was on expanding sustainable forestry, which is already
being practiced on a large scale. It is the country's second most
important economic sector, but in 2014 timber exports only accounted for
around 2% of total exports. Other industries include the textile, cement
and chemical industries.
Gross domestic product (GDP) for 2017 is estimated at $26.4 billion. In purchasing power parity terms, GDP is $28.9 billion, or $6,600 per capita. This makes the Republic of Congo one of the richer countries in Africa and has a GDP per capita almost ten times higher than in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. However, wealth is distributed extremely unevenly and the real standard of living is hardly higher than in neighboring countries. Due to falling raw material prices, economic output fell by 4.6% in 2017 and national debt is now around 120% of GDP.
Although agriculture employs 40 percent of the working population, it
only contributes eight percent to the overall economy and is far from
covering domestic food needs. In order to meet the population's food
needs, around 70 percent of food had to be imported in 2014, especially
wheat, rice and corn.
For self-sufficiency, cassava, corn,
peanuts, yams and plantains are grown, and small amounts of coffee,
cocoa and sugar cane are grown for export. Livestock farming hardly
takes place, mainly because of the tsetse fly.
Since the 1980s, the state's most important source of income has been
the extraction, processing and export of crude oil. Over 90 percent of
export revenue, 80 percent of state revenue and 65 percent of gross
domestic product come from this business. This sector of the economy was
largely spared from the civil war. The growth since around 2006 has been
based solely on the oil industry, so the country's dependence on oil has
not decreased in the last 10 years. In 2014, the Republic of Congo was
the fourth largest sub-Saharan oil producer. The oil is produced by
TotalEnergies and ENI, and increasingly also by Chinese companies. On
June 22, 2018, the country became a member of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The deposits of potash
salts, iron and copper ores, gold, diamonds, phosphate, bauxite and
other mineral resources have so far been little exploited. In 2004, a
project to mine and process 60,000 tons of magnesium per year was
planned, which has not yet been implemented in 2014.
The largest foreign trade partners are the United States, South Korea
and the People's Republic of China. After record growth in previous
years, the export surplus fell again in 2003, but the balance remains
positive, as it has been for years, at the equivalent of 1.5 billion
euros. In 2010, the country had its debts completely canceled by
international creditors.
The country is a member of the Economic
Community of Central African States and the Central African Economic and
Monetary Community. The national currency, the CFA franc, is linked to
the euro via the French vault at a fixed exchange rate of 1 to 656. The
Republic of Congo is also a member of the Organization for the
Approximation of Trade Law in Africa (OHADA).
In 2016, the state budget included expenditures of the equivalent of $4.233 billion, compared to revenues of the equivalent of $3.562 billion. This results in a budget deficit of 8.4 percent of GDP. National debt was 83.0% of economic output in 2016.