er - availability:
males age 15-49: 12,706,971 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 6,480,645 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$115.5 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.4% (2003)

Transnational Issues Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Disputes - international:
Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war,
tribal conflict, and rebel gang fighting that has drawn in
neighboring states of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda; in the Great Lakes
region and Sudan, heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledge to
end conflict, but unchecked localized violence continues unabated;
the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the
Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool
Malebo/Stanley Pool area

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 45,060 (Sudan), 123,714 (Angola),
19,552 (Burundi), 6,626 (Republic of Congo), 19,743 (Rwanda), 18,953
(Uganda)
IDPs: 2.33 million (fighting between government forces and rebels
since mid-1990s; most IDPs are in eastern provinces) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption;
while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the
banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a
well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a
money-laundering center

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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@Congo, Republic of the

Introduction Congo, Republic of the

Background:
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 installed in 1992. A brief civil
war in 1997 restored former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO, but
ushered in a period of ethnic unrest. Southern-based rebel groups
agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. The Republic of Congo
is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers with significant
potential for offshore development.

Geography Congo, Republic of the

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola
and Gabon

Geographic coordinates:
1 00 S, 15 00 E

Map references:
A