Living in Congo guide for expats

The climate of the Republic of the Congo is tropical, and it remains warm and humid throughout the year, with little variation. The temperatures can vary between a low of 19°C and a high of around 30°C. The coldest month is July, and the rainy season is between March and June, with high chances of floods.

Congo, at the time known as French Congo, gained independence from France in 1960. From 1970 until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of the Congo was a Marxist-Leninist state governed by one party. In 1992, the country held multi-party elections, however, the two-year long civil war between 1997 and 1999 brought back to power the former president, who is still in power.

The Republic of the Congo is home to the second largest rainforest in the world (after the Amazon in Brazil), and five of the rainforest's national parks are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Over 11,000 species of vegetation exist in this ecosystem, and animals such as bonobos, elephants, okapi, and black colobus live there under the threat of commercial logging and farming activities.

The Republic of the Congo's economy is heavily dependent on hydrocarbon production, however, since the drop in oil prices in 2015, the country's economic growth is restricted. The IMF and the World Bank work with Congo to help reduce poverty and develop the economy.