Republic of the Congo Country Info - Africa

Description and Basic Information

Republic of the Congo with its capital Brazzaville is located in Africa (Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean). It covers some 342,001 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Montana) with 3,039,126 citizens. French, Kongo and Lingala are the official languages spoken in Republic of the Congo (consider regional differences). Central African Republic, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and Angola are bordering countries.

The Republic of the Congo is in Central Africa. The country is also known as Congo-Brazzaville to distinguish it from its giant eastern neighbour, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa). Visas are not available on arrival, and showing up without one can cause many things you will want to avoid at all costs (fines, passport confiscation, etc.). It's safe to drive in the Republic of the Congo. Beyond Oyo, the roads get very bumpy and are totally impassable in the rain. It is also very hard to get a rental car you drive yourself. The Central African CFA Franc is the official local currency. The U.S. dollar is not widely accepted. Currently, the exchange rate is 530 CFA to the U.S. dollar, but fluctuates daily. All business is conducted in cash. Small change is very scarce and hard to come by. Do not accept torn or taped banknotes. In Brazzaville, petty street crime targeting foreigners is rare. However, muggings and pick pocketing do happen frequently near the ports in Pointe Noire and Brazzaville. The likelihood of getting malaria is very high if effective preventative medication is not taken. White travelers should take care while travelling in the Republic. Racial tension and discrimination is not uncommon here, so be safe and keep to yourself.

Pictures from Capital (Brazzaville)

Photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners.

About Republic of the Congo

The topography features coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin. The average density of population is about 8 per km². The climate in Republic of the Congo can be described as tropical with rainy season (March to June), dry season (June to October), persistent high temperatures and humidity, particularly enervating climate astride the Equator. Potential natural disasters are seasonal flooding.

To reach someone in Republic of the Congo dial +242 prior to a number. There are 24,300 installed telephones. And there are 2,171,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks operate on frequencies of 900, 1800 Mhz. Websites typically end with the top level domain ".cg". If you want to bring electric appliances (e.g. battery charger), keep in mind the local 230V - 50Hz. The following list are the 12 regions/states in Republic of the Congo we know off.

Demographic Statistics

In the year 2010, the total Congolese population grew at a rate of 2.81% (or by 115,773 citizens). With 48,480 deaths and 169,204 babies born, the natural increase rate lies at 2.93%. -4,951 persons more in total emmigrated from the country than immigrated.

An overview of age distribution in Republic of the Congo: Each pair of bars represents a single age group (male/female). Each group is spanning 5 years. E.g. 0 to 5 years, 5 to 10 etc. and group "0 to 5" being at the left end and "100 +" at the right end of the chart.

Based on content from wikitravel.org. The original article can be found here based on the work of these users.
Geographic information is based on the data provided by geonames.org, CIA factsbook and Unesco.