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The Democratic Republic of the Congo, called Zaïre between 1971 and 1997, is a nation in central Africa. It is sometimes called Congo-Kinshasa, after its capital, to distinguish it from the Republic of Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville. It borders on Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Angola and the Gulf of Guinea.
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| National motto: None | |||||
| Official language | French | ||||
| Capital | Kinshasa | ||||
| President | Joseph Kabila | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 12th 2,345,410 km² 3.3% | ||||
| Population
- Density | Ranked 23rd
24/km² | ||||
| Independence
| From Belgium | ||||
| Currency | Congolese franc | ||||
| Time zone | UTC +1 to UTC +2 | ||||
| National anthem | Debout Kongolaise | ||||
| Internet TLD | .CD | ||||
| Calling Code | 243 | ||||
Main article: History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago, and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries by Bantus from present-day Nigeria.
European exploration and administration took place from the 1870s until the 1920s. The area was first discovered and mapped by the British explorer Stanley. He prepared the region for European colonisation. Congo was given to King Leopold II of Belgium in the Conference of Berlin in 1885. He made the land his private property and called it 'Congo Free State'. In this Free State, the local population was brutalised in exchange for rubber, a growing market with the developement of rubber tires. The selling of the rubber made a fortune for Leopold, who built several buildings in Brussels with that money to honour himself. During the period between 1885 and 1908, over 10 million Congolese were killed by the Belgians. However there were international protests especially following British Diplomat Roger Casement?s 1904 report on the Congo and also by such famous writers as Mark Twain. In 1908, the international pressure was so great that Leopold was forced to give his property to the Belgian state as a colony. From then on, it became the Belgian Congo. The native polulation was well-treated compared to the natives in other colonies.
During World War II the small Congolese army had several victories against the Italians in north Africa. These successes discredited the idea that the white population was superior and initiated the decolonisation process.
Congo became independent on June 30th, 1960 under a populist Prime Minister, Patrice-Emery Lumumba (1925-61). A member of the Batatele tribe, he was educated in mission schools and later worked as a postal clerk. He became a member of the permanent committee of the All-African Peoples Conference (founded in Accra, 1958) and president of the Congolese National Movement, an influential political party. After a January 1959 uprising, he fled the country to escape arrest but soon returned. Late in 1959, accused of instigating public violence, he was jailed by the Belgians but was released (1960) to participate in the Brussels Congo conference, where he emerged as a leading negotiator. When the Republic of the Congo came into existence (June, 1960) Lumumba was its first premier and minister of defense. Shortly after independence, the army mutinied, the Belgian government flew in troops to protect Belgian citizens, and Katanga province declared its independence. Lumumba appealed for aid to the United Nations, which sent troops to reestablish order. In September, President Kasavubu, his rival for power, dismissed him as prime minister and he, in turn, dismissed Kasavubu as president. Shortly afterward, Lumumba was put under house arrest by Colonel Joseph Mobutu. Lumumba escaped but was recaptured and then flown (January, 1961), on orders from Mobutu and Kasavubu, to Katanga (now Shaba), where in February, it was announced that he had been killed. Riots of protest took place in many parts of the world. See his Congo: My Country (1962) and Lumumba Speaks (ed. by Jean van Lierde, tr. 1972); study by T. R. Kanza (1972). Mobutu became president of Congo.
Mobutu robbed the country of recources and collected an enormous fortune. He and his favorites lived in luxury while the general population lived in misery. In an effort to spread African national awareness, he renamed the country and river Zaire, renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko, and promoted the old African values and traditions.
Since 1994, DR Congo has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. The government of Mobutu Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila in May, 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. See Foreign relations of Congo.
A cease-fire was signed on July 10 1999; nevertheless, fighting continues apace especially in the eastern part of the country, financed by revenues from the illegal extraction of minerals such as coltan. Kabila was assassinated in January 2001 and his son Joseph Kabila was named head of state. The new president quickly began overtures to end the war. Fighting continued, even after an accord signed in South Africa in 2002. But by late 2003, a fragile peace prevailed. Kabila appointed four vice-presidents, two who had been fighting to oust him until July, 2003. The documentary The Rise and Violent Fall of Patrice Lumumba by Raul Peck give an insightful thought on what really went wrong.
see also: Congo Civil War
Main article: Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The government of former president Mobutu Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent Kabila in May 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999 by the DROC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued. Kabila was assassinated on 16 January 2001 and his son Joseph Kabila was named head of state ten days later. In October 2002, the new president was successful in getting occupying Rwandan forces to withdraw from eastern Congo; two months later, an agreement was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and set up a government of national unity.
Main article: Political divisions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Congo is divided into 10 provinces, and 1 independent city (Kinshasa):
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Main article: Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Congo is located in the west-central part of sub-Saharan Africa. It straddles the Equator, with one-third to the north and two-thirds to the south. Clockwise from the west, it is bounded by Angola, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania across Lake Tanganyika, and Zambia.
The capital, Kinshasa, is located in the country's western salient, immediately across the Congo River from Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo.
The Congo includes the greater part of the Congo River Basin, which covers an area of almost a million square kilometers. The country's only outlet to the Atlantic Ocean is a narrow strip of land on the north bank of the Congo River.
The vast, low-lying central area is a basin-shaped plateau sloping toward the west and covered by tropical rainforest. This area is surrounded by mountainous terraces in the west, plateaux merging into savannas in the south and southwest, and dense grasslands extending beyond the Congo River in the north.
Main article: Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began in August 1998, has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, has increased external debt, and has resulted in the deaths from war, famine, and disease of perhaps 3.5 million people. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President Kabila has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data.
Main article: Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The population was estimated at 56.6 million in 2003, growing quicky from 46.7 million in 1997. As many as 250 ethnic groups have been distinguished and named. The most numerous people are the Kongo, Luba, and Mongo. Although 700 local languages and dialects are spoken, the linguistic variety is bridged both by the use of French and the intermediary languages Kikongo, Tshiluba, Swahili, and Lingala.
About 80% of the Congolese population are Christian, predominantly Roman Catholic. Most of the non-Christians adhere to either traditional religions or syncretic sects. Traditional religions embody such concepts as monotheism, animism, vitalism, spirit and ancestor worship, witchcraft, and sorcery and vary widely among ethnic groups; none is formalized. The syncretic sects often merge Christianity with traditional beliefs and rituals. The most popular of these sects, Kimbanguism, was seen as a threat to the colonial regime and was banned by the Belgians. Kimbanguism, officially "the church of Christ on Earth by the prophet Simon Kimbangu," now has about 3 million members, primarily among the Bakongo of Bas-Congo and Kinshasa.
Main article: Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo contain great biodiversity, including many rare and endemic species, including the bonobo, mountain gorilla, okapi and white rhino. Five of the country's national parks are listed as World Heritage Sites: the Garumba, Kahuzi-Biega, Salonga and Virunga National Parks, and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. The civil war and resultant poor economic conditions have endangered much of this biodiversity. Many park wardens were either killed or could not afford to continue their work. All five sites are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage In Danger.
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