Language

Official language
French 30%. French is widely spoken in the European community and among African elites. However, the African elites rarely speak French in their homes. The majority of the French speakers in Congo (88%) live in the urban area of Brazzaville. French is used as the medium of instruction in schools and other educational facilities throughout the country. It is also taught as a subject as part of the school curriculum. French is also used as the language of communication by the government, as the government is patterned by the French system. While French remains highly prestigious, it appears that ethnic and trade languages of the country have a wider use than French.

T-index
0.0037%

T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales.

Other languages
Kituba, the largest ethnic language in the Republic of the Congo is Kituba. Kituba is mainly spoken as a primary language in the southern half of the country, in regions such as Kouilou, Niari, Pool, and Brazzaville. It is also a national language and is spoken by over 50% of the Congolese population. Cameroon is home to nearly 250 languages. These include 55 Afro-Asiatic languages, two Nilo-Saharan languages, four Ubangian languages, and 169 Niger-Congo languages.

Lingala. Lingala is mainly spoken in the northern and eastern regions of the Congo. It was especially used as a means of communication between the European settlers and the African community living in the country. It is widely used in trade, administration, and educational training.

There are about 60 other distinct minor languages spoken in Congo. Some of the notable minor languages in the country include the Kiteke language, spoken mainly by the Bateke people. The Batekes accounts for about 18% of the Congo’s population, and mostly inhabit the Plateau Department. 

Economy

GDP: 12.52 billion USD (2021)
GDP per capita: 2,213.9 USD ‎(2021) ‎
Exports: $7.77 billion (2020)

Statistics

Internet users: 25.4% penetration, 1.45 million
Unemployment rate: 16.39% (2020)
Literacy: 86.08% (2018)

Conventions

Numbering system
Arabic numbering system and comma as decimal separator

Date format: dd-mm-yyyy
Time: 24h time system
Country code: 00242

Demography

Capital: Brazzaville
Currency: Central African CFA franc
Population: 5,66 m
Population density: 16.16 /km²

Economy

Imports
$ 2.76 billion (2020). Passenger and Cargo Ships ($121M), Poultry Meat ($110M), Special Purpose Ships ($83.5M), Palm Oil ($70.3M), and Cars ($69.4M), importing mostly from China ($594M), France ($306M), United States ($145M), India ($107M), and Italy ($101M).

Ease of doing business
Below average, it is not easy to conduct business (rated 39.5 out of 100). Ranked 42nd out of 48 African countries Ranked 180th worldwide out of 190 countries (2020, World Bank)

Exports
$7.77 billion (2020). Crude Petroleum ($3.57B), Refined Copper ($2.22B), Special Purpose Ships ($505M), Refined Petroleum ($303M), and Rough Wood ($248M), exporting mostly to China ($3B), United Arab Emirates ($1.53B), Spain ($568M), Vietnam ($341M), and Italy ($264M).

Economic freedom
‘Mostly not free’ (rated 48.5 out of 100) Ranked 37th out of 47 African countries, ranked 155th worldwide out of 186 countries (2022, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal)

Media

Media language French, Swahili, Lingala, Tshiluba and Kikongo

Information channels
There are scores of privately-owned radio and TV stations, but they are under pressure to self-censor and many of them are owned by government supporters, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
The government “routinely pressures, threatens and incarcerates” journalists, says Freedom House.

Broadcasting outlets from across the Congo River in Kinshasa, DR Congo, can be seen and heard in Brazzaville.

Rebroadcasts of Radio France Internationale and the Voice of America are available on FM. The country hosts Africanews, a pan-African news network and subsidiary of France-based Euronews.

Facebook is the leading social network.

During the 2016 presidential election, internet access was blocked to stop journalists and activists from challenging the results, says RSF.

Radio

Radio Congo – operated by state-run
Radiodiffusion Nationale Congolaise
Radio Liberte – private

The press

Le Choc – Brazzaville
L’Observateur – Brazzaville
L’Humanitaire – Brazzaville
Le Tam Tam – Brazzaville
Les Echos du Congo – Brazzaville
La Semaine Africaine – run by the Catholic church

Television

TV Congo – operated by state-run Radiodiffusion Television Congolaise

Internet Data

Internet users
25.4% penetration, 1.45 million (2022)

Share of web traffic by device
53.23% mobile phones, 45.74% computers (laptops and desktops), 1.01% tablet devices, others 0.02%

Median speed of fixed Internet connection
13.61 Mbps

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 105.6%

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 48%

Most popular web search engines
Google (92.93%), Bing (6.02%), Yahoo (0.67%), DuckduckGo (0.12%), Baidu (0.09%)

Most used social media
Facebook (73.44%),Twitter (7.22%), Pinterest (6.06%), YouTube (5.53%), Instagram (6.19%), Reddit (0.73%), Tumblr (0.28%)

Social statistics

Life expectancy
65.21 yrs (2020)

Cultural Curiosities
There are many customs and traditions practiced by the Congolese. For example, the Moziki. This refers to a community getting economic and material resources together to help a member in a moment of need. 

Median age of the population
19.2 years