Population: 4,366,266 (est.)
- The Central African CFA franc is the official currency of the Republic of the Congo.
- Christianity is the majority religion in the Republic of the Congo, followed by about 91% of the population. Denominations include Roman Catholic 50.5%, Protestant 40.2%, Muslim 1.3%, Animism 2.2%, Baha’i 0.4% and other 2.2%.
- The Republic of Congo became independent in 1960 from France.
- After a 25 year Marxist regime a president was democratically elected in 1992 but the Marxist regime was restored following the 1997 civil war based on ethnic conflicts.
- The Republic of Congo is one of Africa‘s first petroleum producers with significant resources offshore.
- Pygmy people were the first of the Republic of the Congo’s ethnic groups to inhabit the area.
- During the Second World War, Brazzaville was the centre of the French resistance in Africa.
The Republic of the Congo, also referred to as Congo-Brazzaville, is a country located in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Angolan exclave of Cabinda.
The region was dominated by Bantu-speaking tribes, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. Congo-Brazzaville was formerly part of the French colony of Equatorial Africa. Upon independence in 1960, the former colony of French Congo became the Republic of the Congo. The People’s Republic of the Congo was a Marxist-Leninist single-party state from 1970 to 1991. Multiparty elections have been held since 1992, although a democratically elected government was ousted in the 1997 Republic of the Congo Civil War.