Life stages in Congo Republic

A child is legally under 18 in Congo Republic. The child has rights to life and development, parental contact, maintenance, housing, water, health care, education, social security, leisure, participation and protection from violence, trafficking and exploitation. Parents and caregivers carry the primary responsibility for maintenance and development, while the state provides protection and services. The administrative meaning of adolescence and youth is not uniform, and there is no single national age threshold for older people. Birth registration creates the identity document needed for identification, school enrolment and voting. The Family Code requires a birth to be reported within one month at the commune, sous-préfecture or village level. Registration and the original birth act are formally free, although late registration can lead to sanctions and practical access may be difficult where offices are distant or records remain paper-based. National registration was estimated at about 96%, but around half of Indigenous children were reported to lack a birth act, creating a serious identity and service-access barrier. Public primary and secondary education is formally free. Primary enrolment begins at age six and is compulsory, but distance, capacity and indirect costs still restrict access. Organised early-learning participation was about 29% in 2018, learning poverty was about 70% in 2019, and primary completion was about 65% in 2018. Children with disabilities are entitled to special or inclusive education, while orphans, abandoned children, street-connected children, displaced children, refugees, Indigenous children, children with albinism and hospitalised children may need additional protection or support. Youth support focuses strongly on the transition from school to skills and work. Literacy among people aged 15 to 24 was about 82% in 2021, while youth unemployment was about 41% in 2023. PDCE supports formal skills development, and PSIPJ and Lisungi can support productive inclusion, apprenticeships, independence or enterprise activity, particularly for vulnerable young people aged 18 to 35. These programmes are targeted by group, location or project and do not create a general entitlement. Employment below age 16 is prohibited in family work and in the formal and informal sectors. An apprenticeship contract must be written. Marriage and parenthood can affect schooling, identity documents, inheritance and access to benefits. The legal marriage age is 21 for men and 18 for women, subject to an exception for serious reasons. A child has the right to refuse pre-marriage or marriage arrangements. UNICEF reported that 27% of women aged 20 to 24 had married or entered a union before age 18. Formal CNSS maternity and family benefits apply mainly to insured workers and can require pregnancy notification, medical evidence and civil-status documents; they are not verified as universal benefits. Retirement and income in older age depend on the applicable employment regime and contribution history. Under the labour regime, retirement ages are 60 for manual workers and equivalent categories, 63 for supervisory staff, 65 for executives and 70 for executives outside the standard categories. Civil servants follow a separate CPAE/RPAE regime, with normal retirement ages of 57, 60 or 65 depending on category. Early retirement can depend on service or contribution requirements. CNSS and CPAE provide contributory pensions, but no universal non-contributory old-age pension was identified. Lisungi and other social safety-net programmes may support older people or poor households when registry, project and location conditions are met. Congo Republic has no nationwide dedicated long-term-care system or universal care benefit identified in the available national sources. Households, extended families and communities therefore provide most care, with fragmented formal alternatives and targeted social services for vulnerable households. Poverty, disability, age, distance and weak service availability can shift much of the cost and responsibility to families. Protection procedures apply when a child faces violence, trafficking, exploitation, displacement, homelessness, disability or conflict with the law. Reports can go to the procureur, juge des enfants or social services; police, gendarmerie and the chef de village or chef de quartier may serve as local escalation points. Responses can include placement with an extended family or suitable institution, accommodation, education, training, reintegration, medical care and psychosocial support. Detention of a child is allowed only from age 15 and each period may last no more than 24 hours unless extended by a judicial or prosecutorial decision; social assistance and legal representation are required.