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Sub Saharan Africa

Congo

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Map of Congo Last reviewed: 17 December 2007

Country information

TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Trade and Investment with the UK

Increasing numbers of British nationals are working in the offshore oil fields. UK exports to Republic of Congo were worth £26.89 million in 2006. Congo's exports to the UK in 2006 were worth £9.74 million in the same year. There is no UK bilateral aid programme.

Burren Energy is the largest British investor in Congo, undertaking oil exploration operations in the coastal region of the country.

Development

Congo is one of the most urbanised countries in Africa, with over 66% living in towns. Approximately 70% of the population live in poverty. The Republic of Congo was ranked 139 out of 177 countries in the 2007 UNDP Human Development Index. Life expectancy is 52.8 and 49% of the population do not have access to an improved water source. Infant mortality rates are estimated at 93.86 deaths/1,000 live births. In 2003 the adult HIV infection rate was estimated at 4.9%, with 100,000 deaths from the disease in the same year. Congo used to have one of the most developed education systems in Africa, reflecting its historic role as the capital of French Equatorial Africa. But, primary education attendance dropped from 90% in 1990 to 40% in 2000, though 83.8% of the population were estimated to be literate. The civil war caused huge social disruption, when an estimated 35% of the population were displaced. Social services suffered accordingly.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
World Bank

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Travel Advice

Travel Advice: Democratic Republic of Congo

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Contacts

Congo

Address:

37 bis Rue Paul Valéry
75116 Paris
France


Telephone:

(00) 33 1 45 00 6057

Fax:

(00) 33 1 40 67 1733

Office hours:

 

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