Congo Republic

The Congo Republic, officially the Republic of the Congo (French: République du Congo; Kongo: Repubilika ya Kongo; Lingala: Republiki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, Little Congo, or simply the Congo, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire), the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.

The region was dominated by Bantu tribes, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. The republic is a former French colony. Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo.

The population is 3.6 million.

The capital is Brazzaville.

The Republic of the Congo is divided into 12 départements (départements). Departments are divided into communes and/or districts.

The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on petroleum, support services, and a government (not the only one in th world) characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Petroleum extraction has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy. In 2008, the oil sector accounted for 65% of the GDP, 85% of government revenue, and 92% of exports.

The sparse population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country, leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle in the north virtually uninhabited. Thus, Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, with 70% of its total population living in a few urban areas, namely in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or one of the small cities or villages lining the 332-mile (534 km) railway which connects the two cities. In rural areas, industrial and commercial activity has declined rapidly in recent years, leaving rural economies dependent on the government for support and subsistence.

Ethnically and linguistically the population is diverse - said to be 62 spoken languages in the country - but can be grouped into three categories. The Kongo are the largest ethnic group and form roughly half of the population. The most significant subgroups of the Kongo are Laari in Brazzaville and Pool regions and Vili around Pointe-Noire and along the Atlantic coast. The second largest group are the Teke who live to the north of Brazzaville with 17% of the population. Boulangui (M’Boshi) live in northwest and in Brazzaville and form 12% of the population.

As regards religion, people are largely a mix of Christians and Animists, accounting for 50% and 48% of the population, respectively. The majority of Christians in the country are Catholic, amounting to 90%, while the remaining 10% comprises various other Christian denominations. Two percent follow Islam and this is primarily due to an influx of foreign workers into the urban centres.

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