Distillers Congo
A one-page guide to Congo for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Brazzaville
- Official languages
- French (Kituba and Lingala recognised national languages)
- Currency
- Central African CFA franc (XAF)
- Time zone
- UTC+1 (WAT)
- Area
- 342,000 km²
People
- Population
- 6.5 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 2.4% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 64.1%
- Aged under 15
- 39.9%
- Aged 65 and over
- 3.1%
- Life expectancy
- 66.0 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$16.3 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$2,515 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 3.08292728120063% (2025)
- Inflation
- 2.40069559361747% (2025)
Climate
Equatorial with steady temperatures: days about 24 C and humid, nights 16-21 C. Rainfall about 1,100 mm in the south's Niari Valley to over 2,000 mm in central areas; dry season June to August.
Alcohol
- Legal drinking age
- Purchase age 18
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 3.9 litres of pure alcohol (2022)
- What people drink
- Beer 91%, wine 1%, spirits 8% (2022)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Wikipedia: Congo (basics, climate, ports); Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; World Bank Open Data (population, GDP, growth, inflation, area); WHO Global Health Observatory: total alcohol per capita; UN Comtrade (HS 2208 trade); Sagaci Research: Spirits market in Congo. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.