|RNature and climate:|N A highland plateau in the east the Zaire and Ubangi rivers form the border to Zaire. Forests along the rivers otherwise mainly grass savannahs.
Tropical climate with an average temperature of 25°C.
Percipitation between 1200 and 2000 mm.
|RPeople:|N There are about 75 different ethnic groups most of them Bantus. Biggest groups are Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, Teke 17% and M'Bochi 12%. There are some small groups of Pygmies.
|REconomy:|N 75% of the labour force is occupied in agriculture and 25% in commerce, industry and government.
Manioc is the most important crop and is the staple food. Much has been done to increase the crops, but Congo still have to import food.
Other food crops are root crops, rice, corn and bananas. For export sugarcanes, coffee, coca beans and palmkernals are grown.
62% of the area is forested and forestry is well developed. timber and plywood is exported.
Congo have many minerals. Oil is the most important accounting for more than 70% of the export revenues. Other minerals are potash, lead, zinc, tin, copper, gold, diamonds, iron ore and natural gas.
Industry is aimed at processing the products from agriculture and forestry. There are also cementfactories and manufacturing of textiles and building materials, shipyards and oilrefineries.
|RHistory:|N At about 500 AD there were several well organized kingdoms in the area around the Congo River.
North of the river the Loango, Teke and Bobangi kingdoms dominated.
The Portuguese started to trade in the area 1484 and there was a considerable cooperation between the Portuguese and the natives.
When the Portuguese power weakened the French took control from 1879. The Teke kingdom became a French protectorate in 1883 with the name Middle Congo. the treaty with the Teke king was signed by Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, and from him the new capital, Brazzaville, was named. The town was founded in 1880.
In 1910 the French Equatorial Africa was created when the protectorates Gabon, Middle Congo, Ubangi-Shari and Chad were united.
During World War II this territory became an important base for Free French activities.
The confederation was dissolved in 1959 and Congo became an independent country in 1960.
There has been several military coups since independence. In 1969 Congo was made a people's republic and got help from the Soviet Union and China, but Congo also kept close ties to France.
In the late 1980:ies the calling for liberalization increased and in 1990 Marxism was renounced and in 1991 opposition parties were legalized and a new constitution was approved.
