The first thing you need to know is that the Republic of the Congo is not its larger neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It seems obvious, but the similarities of the names makes it hard to do research. I thought I had found a book about the Republic of the Congo, but it turned out to be about the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and I sort of gave up and turned to the BBC and the CIA World Factbook.
The two countries are separated by the Congo River. The plain old Republic of the Congo is a former French colony, while the Democratic version is a former Belgian colony.
The Republic of the Congo has about five million people, tremendous oil resources, and a lot of income inequality. Per-capita GDP is $4,800 and the unemployment rate stands at 53%. The nation is also a diamond producer, but it was kicked out of the Kimberley Process designed to prevent trade in diamonds used to finance military conflicts. Meanwhile, the petroleum is running out, so the nation needs to find more reserves offshore or find a new industry.
The country has had a few major internal conflicts since its 1960 independence, but it has had a tenuous peace since 2003.
This is a nation with some issues, although aren’t they all? It’s probably not the friendliest place for investors right now, except for those in the energy business.
