Republic of the Congo

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 took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, and ushered in a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003, but the calm is tenuous and refugees continue to present a humanitarian crisis. The Republic of Congo was once one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term.

Economical characteristics

 * Currency: Central African CFA franc (ISO code: XAF)
 * Central bank discount rate: 4.75% (31 December 2008)
 * Commercial banks lending rate: NA% (31 December 2008)
 * Stock of money (M1): $1.811 billion (31 December 2008)
 * Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $268.4 million (31 December 2008)

Notable events:

 * Banking crisis: 1992-?

Links

 * Republic of the Congo on Wikipedia
 * Central bank of the Republic of the Congo
 * Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
 * BBC country profile