Republic of the Congo

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Republic of the Congo fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. 🇨🇩 Congo Free State1880 to 1887

   Brazza and Henry Morton Stanley, working for King Leopold II, race to claim the lands around Malebo Pool in 1880 to 1882. Agreements in 1885 and 1887 split the region along the Congo and Ubangi rivers.

2. 🇫🇷 France1880 to 1960

   France takes the land by treaty from 1880, then hands much of it to concession companies that force people to collect rubber. Building the Congo Ocean railway from 1921 to 1934 costs the lives of many thousands of forced labourers.

3. 🇩🇪 German Empire1911 to 1916

   After the Agadir crisis, France cedes large areas of the north to German Kamerun in 1911, so that Germany can reach the Congo and Ubangi rivers. French troops retake them during the First World War.

4. 🇫🇷 Vichy France1940

   In August 1940 Brazzaville rejects the Vichy regime and joins de Gaulle. Free French forces based in the region take Gabon from Vichy loyalists in November 1940, and Brazzaville serves as the capital of Free France in Africa.

5. Ninja militias of the Pool1993 to 2017

   Militias loyal to Bernard Kolélas, the Ninjas, fight in Brazzaville in the 1990s. Later led by Pastor Ntumi, they hold out in the Pool region until 2003, rise again in 2016, and accept a ceasefire in December 2017.

Today

Republic of the Congo now

Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. From 1968 to 1992, the country was named the People s Republic of the Congo. A quarter-century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990, and a democratically elected government took office in 1992, at which time the country reverted to "the Republic of the Congo" name. A two-year civil war that ended in 1999 restored to power former President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso, who had ruled from 1979 to 1992.

Capital

Brazzaville

Government

presidential republic

Head of government

Anatole Collinet Makosso

Head of state

Denis Sassou-Nguesso

Languages

French

Through time

Then and now

• Population6.2 million2023 · 835,300 in 1950
• Life expectancy65.8 years2023 · 39.6 years in 1950
• GDP per person$4,1872022 · $1,693 in 1950
• Living in cities64%2025 · 31% in 1950
• Literacy76%2005
• Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
• Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
• Military spending1.3% of GDP2025
• War deaths4.6 per 100,0002025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.