Congo Republic of The Environment - 2024

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.)