ve:

slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries:

total: 5,504 km
border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African
Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon
1,903 km

Coastline:

169 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate:

tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to
October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly
enervating climate astride the Equator

Terrain:

coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m

Natural resources:

petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates,
gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower

Land use:

arable land: 1.45%
permanent crops: 0.15%
other: 98.4% (2005)

Irrigated land:

20 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

832 cu km (1987)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 0.03 cu km/yr (59%/29%/12%)
per capita: 8 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

seasonal flooding

Environment - current issues:

air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the
dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:

about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or
along the railroad between them

People
Congo, Republic of the

Population:

3,903,318
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, higher death rates, lower
population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 46.1% (male 906,345/female 894,568)
15-64 years: 51% (male 989,126/female 1,002,682)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 45,560/female 65,037) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 16.7 years
male: 16.5 years
female: 17 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.696% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

41.76 births/1,0