A Brief Introduction to the Economy of Congo
Congo is located in
Western Africa between
Angola and
Gabon. Denis Sassou-Nguesso is the President of
Congo. Its capital and largest city is
Brazzaville. Its currency is
CFA Franc. It's estimated population is 3,800,610 (annual growth rate of 2.6%). Its
GDP is$ 5.099 billion(7.5%).
Congo has a rank of 140 in
HDR (
Human Development Report) with a
HDI (
Human Development Index) of 0.520.
Sectoral Overview of Congo
Primary Sector:
Rural areas of
Congo have village
agriculture and handicrafts as the dominating occupations and primary source of food supply. The contribution of agriculture to
GDP is 6.2%. The major crops include
coffee, sugar, rice, cassava, beans, peanuts etc.
Cattle rearing and pigs are kept in every province
Secondary Sector:
The
industrial sector of
Congo is largely based on oil. Industry has a share of 55.3% in
Congo's
GDP.
Petroleum products, industrial diamonds, cobalt, tin, copper etc. are the main
industrial products of
Congo.
Tertiary Sector:
Congo spends 3.2% of
GDP on
education and 1.3% on
health. Almost 10% of
Congo residents are cellular subscribers but less than 1% of people use Internet services.
Market Performance of Congo
The
civil war in 1997 had a negative effect on economic reforms. Then the economy was badly hit by oil price slump and resumption of the armed conflict in 1998. Despite a hike in oil prices,
Congo Republic faces huge budget deficit and uneasy international peace.
Export- Import Scenario Of Congo:
In 1996
Congo exported goods and service worth $5.996 billion and imports had a monetary value of $1.964 billion. Its major export items are coffee, diamonds, petroleum, sugar and plywood whereas it imported mainly construction materials, capital equipments and foodstuffs. Its major trading partners are North Korea, China, Taiwan, U.S., Germany, Netherlands and South Korea.
Balance Of Payments scenario of Congo:
Congo has an overall Balance of Payments deficit of 36,7 billion
CFA Francs with a
Current Account balance of 35,8 billion CFA francs and a
Capital Account balance of 16,9 billion CFA, francs(2007 projection).
International Relations: Diplomatic Representation of Congo
Congo has
diplomatic representation in the US and Chief of the mission is Ambassador Serge Momobuli. It is also a member of
United Nations, IMF, IFC, Interpol etc.
For further information one may view sites like
infoplease.com,
hdr.undp.org,
cia.gov,
nationsencyclopedia.com