Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo.

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.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 3,800,610 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.3% (male 885,039/female 873,753) 15-64 years: 50.8% (male 958,992/female 973,445) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 44,994/female 64,387) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 16.7 years male: 16.4 years female: 17 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 2.639% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 42.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.985 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.699 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 83.26 deaths/1,000 live births male: 88.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 77.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 53.29 years male: 52.1 years female: 54.52 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 5.99 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 4.9% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 90,000 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 9,700 (2003 est.)

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Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2007)

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Nationality: noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo

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Ethnic groups: Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3%

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Religions: Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%

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Languages: French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 est.)

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. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings through oil-backed loans that have contributed to a growing debt burden and chronic revenue shortfalls. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. However, the reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization 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. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. Recovery of oil prices has boosted the economy's GDP and near-term prospects. In March 2006, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) treatment for Congo.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $5.033 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $5.098 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 6.1% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,400 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6.2% industry: 55.3% services: 38.5% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: NA

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Unemployment rate: NA%

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Population below poverty line: NA%

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.6% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 27.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $2.985 billion expenditures: $1.664 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products

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Industries: petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes

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Industrial production growth rate: 0% (2002 est.)

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Electricity - production: 6.847 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 5.127 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 1.25 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 9 million kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 267,100 bbl/day (2005 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 6,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 1.506 billion bbl (1 January 2005)

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 90.61 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

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Current account balance: $1.215 billion (2006 est.)

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Exports: $5.996 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds

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Exports - partners: US 38%, China 33.2%, South Korea 6.2% (2006)

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Imports: $1.964 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs

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Imports - partners: France 23.5%, China 13.1%, US 7.5%, India 6.9%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.1% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $547 million (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $5 billion (2000 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $159.1 million (1995)

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Currency (code): Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States

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Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) Fiscal year: calendar year