Congo Republic of The Environment - 2024

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation; wildlife protection

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator

Land use

agricultural land: 31.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 1.6% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 29.3% (2018 est.)

forest: 65.6% (2018 est.)

other: 3.3% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 69.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 3.19% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Food insecurity

severe localized food insecurity:due to floods - above average rainfall amounts since November 2022 triggered flooding in December 2022 and January 2023 in central and northern parts of the country, displacing people; according to damage assessment reports, about 165,000 people have been affected in 23 districts in the departments of Cuvette, Likouala, Plateaux and Sangha (2023)

Revenue from forest resources

3.17% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 29.48 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 3.28 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 2.24 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 451,200 tons (1993 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 118,214 tons (2005 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 26.2% (2005 est.)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Oubangui (Ubangi) (shared with Central African Republic [s] and Democratic Republic of Congo [m]) - 2,270 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Congo (3,730,881 sq km)

Major aquifers

Congo Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 60 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 4 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

832 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Congo Republic of The on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Congo Republic of The 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Congo Republic of The 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.