The Republic of the Congo lies west of
Zaire, east of Gabon and south of Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
One of its principal ports is Pointe-Noire. The Congo, or Zaire, and Ubangi
rivers form Congo's east boundary. Congo became an independent republic in
1960.
The population of the republic is
small. The main ethnic groups are the Bakongo, the Ubangi, the Teke, and the
Sanga. There are several small bands of Binga Pygmies, as well as people from
Portugal, China and refugees from Zaire. Kongo and Teke are major traditional
languages but French is the official language.
