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Republic of the Congo

The Republic of the Congo[a] is a country located on the western coast of Central Africa to the west of the Congo River. It is bordered to the west by Gabon, to the northwest by Cameroon, 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.

Not to be confused with the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, which used the same name from 1960 to 1964.

Republic of the Congo

28 November 1958

15 August 1960

342,000 km2 (132,000 sq mi) (64th)

3.3

5,677,493[7] (116th)

17/km2 (44.0/sq mi)

2023 estimate

Increase $27.994 billion[8] (150th)

Increase $5,552[8] (149th)

2023 estimate

Increase $14.407 billion[8] (142nd)

Increase $2,857[8] (138th)

40.2[9]
medium

Decrease 0.571[10]
medium (154th)

UTC+1 (WAT)

dd/mm/yyyy

right

The region was dominated by Bantu-speaking tribes at least 3,000 years ago, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. Congo was formerly part of the French colony of Equatorial Africa.[13] The Republic of the Congo was established on 28 November 1958 and gained independence from France in 1960. It was a Marxist–Leninist state from 1969 to 1992, under the name People's Republic of the Congo. The country has had multi-party elections since 1992, but a democratically elected government was ousted in the 1997 Republic of the Congo Civil War. President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who first came to power in 1979, ruled until 1992 and then again since after his reinstatement.


The Republic of the Congo is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, La Francophonie, the Economic Community of Central African States, and the Non-Aligned Movement. It has become the 4th-largest oil producer in the Gulf of Guinea, providing the country with a degree of prosperity, with political and economic instability in some areas, and unequal distribution of oil revenue nationwide. Its economy is dependent on the oil sector,[14] and economic growth has slowed since the post-2015 drop in oil prices. Christianity is the most widely professed faith in the country.

Outline of the Republic of the Congo

Index of Republic of the Congo–related articles

Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine (in French)

Presidency of the Republic

Archived 10 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine

Chief of State and Cabinet Members