Formerly a part of French Equatorial Africa (AEF), Congo became independent on 15 August 1960. Three years later a Marxist inspired government came to power with the PCT (Congolese Labour Party) at the helm. The PCT later came under the control of the armed forces until a multi-party constitution was introduced in 1992. In 1997, after a long civil war and with the support of Angolan troops, General Sassou-Nguesso (a former president between 1979 and 1992) came to power and dissolved parliament. On the basis of the Constitution approved in 2002 and amended in 2015, the President of the Republic, who appoints the Prime Minister, is elected by direct suffrage for a term of five years. The two-chamber parliament is made up of the National Assembly (151 members, elected for five-year terms) and the Senate (72 members, elected for six-year terms).

The country is heavily dependent on the price of oil, its main source of income. Congo also has very strong ties with China, especially in the raw materials sector.

After cassava, the main products are plantation crops such as peanuts, pineapple, sugar cane and bananas. The forests supply both valuable wood and timber for construction, as well as nuts, palm oil and rubber.

Oil fields (the source of the country’s main export) lie offshore, on the ocean bed close to the coast. A plant for the production of LPG is also in operation on the N’Kossa platform. In addition to petroleum, natural gas is partially used to produce electricity. The production is controlled by Western and Chinese companies. Diamond, gold and iron deposits (near Zanaga) are exploited. Other industries are limited but there are chemicals and petrochemicals (at Pointe-Noire), foodstuffs, textiles and shoemaking as well as tobacco production and cement works (at Dolisie, Hinda, Loutété, Madingou, Mindouli). 2010 saw a hydroelectricity plant coming online at Imboulou, financed by the Chinese. The CFA franc is pegged to the Euro at a fixed exchange rate.