Congo Brazza

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Congo Brazza, also known as the Republic of the Congo, is located in Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon. The capital is Brazzaville. Population was estimated at 2.9 million in 2003, and is growing at a rate of 1.53 percent. Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS. French is the official language of Congo Brazza.

The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. The country's reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic problems of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty.