Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo, 1992 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, is a country on the western coast of Central Africa, to the west of the Congo River. The Republic of the Congo was established on 28 November 1958 and gained independence from France in 1960. After the introduction of multi-party elections in 1992, the democratically elected government was overthrown during the civil war, after which Denis Sassou Nguesso, who had previously served as president from 1979 to 1992, returned to office in 1997. It is the fourth-largest oil producer in the Gulf of Guinea.
Seat of power: Brazzaville
Rulers
Pascal Lissouba
President of the Republic of the Congo, 1992–1997
He was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo and served from 31 August 1992 until 25 October 1997. He was overthrown by his predecessor, Denis Sassou Nguesso, in the 1997 civil war. In the run-off with Bernard Kolelas he got 61% of the vote.
Portrait of Pascal Lissouba: Thierry Dauwe, European Commission, CC BY 4.0, file
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Denis Sassou-Nguesso
President of the Republic of the Congo, 1997 to today
He has served as president of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. He previously served as president of the People's Republic of the Congo from 1979 to 1992. He introduced multiparty politics in 1990.
Portrait of Denis Sassou-Nguesso: Presidential Executive Office, CC BY 4.0, file
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Culture
- French is the official language of the Republic of the Congo, and Kituba and Lingala are recognized as national languages.
- The Kongo are the largest ethnic group and form roughly half of the population.
- In 2023 the Forest Massif of Odzala-Kokoua was listed as a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- According to the official 2023 census, the population of the Congo numbers 6,142,180 people.
Picture
The Nabemba Tower is a skyscraper in Brazzaville, and at 106 metres and 30 floors it is the tallest building in the Republic of the Congo.
Image: Unsonique, PD, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.