Established as a Belgian colony in
1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its
early years were marred by political and social instability. Col.
Joseph MOBUTU seized power and declared himself president in a November
1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to MOBUTU Sese Seko - as
well as that of the country - to Zaire. MOBUTU retained his position for
32 years through several sham elections, as well as through brutal
force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of
refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to
the toppling of the MOBUTU regime by a rebellion backed by Rwanda and
Uganda and fronted by Laurent KABILA. He renamed the country the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but in August 1998 his regime
was itself challenged by a second insurrection again backed by Rwanda
and Uganda. Troops from Angola, Chad, Namibia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe
intervened to support KABILA's regime. A cease-fire was signed in July
1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda,
Uganda, and Zimbabwe but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent KABILA was
assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph KABILA, was named head
of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in
negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo;
two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining
warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of
national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003.
Joseph KABILA as president and four vice presidents represented the
former government, former rebel groups, the political opposition, and
civil society. The transitional government held a successful
constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the
presidency, National Assembly, and provincial legislatures in 2006. The
National Assembly was installed in September 2006 and KABILA was
inaugurated president in December 2006. Provincial assemblies were
constituted in early 2007, and elected governors and national senators
in January 2007.
Geography ::Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Location:
Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Geographic coordinates:
0 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 2,344,858 sq km
2
land:
2,267,048 sq km
water:
77,810 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 10,730 km
border countries:
Angola
2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous
Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km,
Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania
459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km
Coastline:
37 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone:
boundaries with neighbors
Climate:
Current Weather
tropical; hot and humid
in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands;
cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season
(April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator -
wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October)
Terrain:
vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Environment - current issues:
poaching threatens
wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees
responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife
poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating
capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification
Geography - note:
straddles equator; has
narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only
outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central
river basin and eastern highlands
People ::Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Population:
70,916,439
8
note:estimates
for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess
mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher
infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and
changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would
otherwise be expected (July 2010 est.)
65 years and over:
2.5% (male 726,066/female 1,058,016) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 16.5 years
male:
16.3 years
female:
16.7 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.165% (2010 est.)
0
Birth rate:
42.26 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Death rate:
11.39 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
Net migration rate:
0.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55
Urbanization:
urban population: 34% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
5.1% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.69 male(s)/female
total population:
0.99 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 79.36 deaths/1,000 live births
6
male:
87.13 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
71.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 54.73 years
99
male:
52.93 years
female:
56.59 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.11 children born/woman (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
4.2% (2003 est.)
6
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1.1 million (2003 est.)
0
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
100,000 (2003 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases:
malaria, plague, and African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)
water contact disease:
schistosomiasis
animal contact disease:
rabies (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Congolese or Congo
Ethnic groups:
over 200 African ethnic
groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo,
Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up
about 45% of the population
Religions:
Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%
Languages:
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population:
67.2%
male:
80.9%
female:
54.1% (2001 est.)
Education expenditures:
NA
Government ::Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo
conventional short form:
DRC
local long form:
Republique Democratique du Congo
local short form:
RDC
former:
Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire
abbreviation:
DRC
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Kinshasa
geographic coordinates:
4 19 S, 15 18 E
time difference:
UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note:according
to the Constitution adopted in December 2005, the current
administrative divisions will be subdivided into 26 new provinces by
2009
Independence:
30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 30 June (1960)
Constitution:
18 February 2006
Legal system:
civil law based on Belgian law with Napoleonic Civil Code influence; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 17 January 2001);
head of government:
Prime Minister Adolphe MUZITO (since 10 October 2008)
cabinet:
Ministers of State appointed by the president
elections:
under
the new constitution the president elected by popular vote for a
five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held on 30
July 2006 and on 29 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2011);
prime minister appointed by the president
election results:
Joseph KABILA elected president; percent of vote (second round) - Joseph KABILA 58%, Jean-Pierre BEMBA Gombo 42%
note:Joseph
KABILA succeeded his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, following the
latter's assassination in January 2001; negotiations with rebel leaders
led to the establishment of a transitional government in July 2003 with
free elections held on 30 July 2006 and a run-off on 29 October 2006
confirming Joseph KABILA as president
Legislative branch:
bicameral legislature
consists of a Senate (108 seats; members elected by provincial
assemblies to serve five-year terms) and a National Assembly (500 seats;
61 members elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies,
439 members elected by open list proportional-representation in
multi-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections:
Senate
- last held on 19 January 2007 (next to be held by 2012); National
Assembly - last held on 30 July 2006 (next to be held in July 2011)
election results:
Senate
- percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 22, MLC 14, FR
7, RCD 7, PDC 6, CDC 3, MSR 3, PALU 2, independents 26, others 18
(political parties that won a single seat); National Assembly - percent
of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 111, MLC 64, PALU 34, MSR
27, FR 26, RCD 15, independents 63, others 160 (includes 63 political
parties that won 10 or fewer seats)
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court;
Appeals Court or Cour de Cassation; Council of State; High Military
Court; plus civil and military courts and tribunals
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democrat Party
or PDC [Jose ENDUNDO]; Congolese Rally for Democracy or RCD [Azarias
RUBERWA]; Convention of Christian Democrats or CDC; Forces of Renewal or
FR [Mbusa NYAMWISI]; Movement for the Liberation of the Congo or MLC
[Jean-Pierre BEMBA]; People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy or
PPRD [Joseph KABILA]; Social Movement for Renewal or MSR [Pierre LUMBI];
Unified Lumumbist Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy
and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI]; Union of Mobutuist
Democrats or UDEMO [MOBUTU Nzanga]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
MONUC - UN organization
working with the government; FARDC (Forces Arm?es de la R?publique
D?mocratique du Congo) - Army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
which commits atrocities on citizens; FDL (Forces Democratiques de
Liberation du Rwanda) - Rwandan militia group
chancery:
Suite 601, 1726 M Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036
telephone:
[1] (202) 234-7690 through 7691
FAX:
[1] (202) 234-2609
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William GARVELINK
embassy:
310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa
mailing address:
Unit 31550, APO AE 09828
telephone:
[243] (81) 225-5872
FAX:
[243] (81) 301-0561
Flag description:
sky blue field divided
diagonally from the lower hoist corner to upper fly corner by a red
stripe bordered by two narrow yellow stripes; a yellow, five-pointed
star appears in the upper hoist corner; blue represents peace and hope,
red the blood of the country's martyrs, and yellow the country's wealth
and prosperity; the star symbolizes unity and the brilliant future for
the country
Economy ::Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Economy - overview:
The economy of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - is
slowly recovering from two decades of decline. Conflict that began in
May 1997 has dramatically reduced national output and government
revenue, increased external debt, and resulted in the deaths of more
than 5 million people from violence, famine, and disease. Foreign
businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of
the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating
environment. Conditions began to improve in late 2002 with the
withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. The
transitional government reopened relations with international financial
institutions and international donors, and President KABILA began
implementing reforms, although progress has been slow and the
International Monetary Fund curtailed their program for the DRC at the
end of March 2006 because of fiscal overruns. Much economic activity
still occurs in the informal sector, and is not reflected in GDP data.
Renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most export income,
boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth from 2006-2008,
however, the government's review of mining contracts that began in 2006,
combined with a fall in world market prices for the DRC's key mineral
exports inflicted major damage on the sector. An uncertain legal
framework, corruption, a lack of transparency in government policy are
long-term problems for the mining sector and the economy as a whole. The
global recession cut economic growth in 2009 to less than half its 2008
level, but donor assistance and diligence on the part of the central
bank have brought foreign exchange reserves to their highest levels in
25 years after the financial crisis caused reserves to fall to less than
one day's worth of imports in early 2009. The DRC signed a new Poverty
Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF this year.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$21.33 billion (2009 est.)
19
$20.77 billion (2008 est.)
$19.56 billion (2007 est.)
note:data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$11.23 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
2.7% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
6.2% (2008 est.)
6.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$300 (2009 est.)
27
$300 (2008 est.)
$300 (2007 est.)
note:data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 55%
industry:
11%
services:
34% (2000 est.)
Labor force:
23.53 million (2007 est.)
6
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: NA%
industry:
NA%
services:
NA%
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
China 47.3%, Belgium 15.4%, Finland 9.6%, US 8.1%, Zambia 4.4% (2008)
Imports:
$5.2 billion (2007)
09
$2.263 billion (2006)
Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Imports - partners:
South Africa 28.4%, Belgium 9.9%, Zambia 7.1%, Zimbabwe 6%, China 5.9%, Kenya 5%, France 4.6% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$890 million (September 2009)
30
$32.8 million (February 2009)
Debt - external:
$10 billion (2007 est.)
$10 billion (2006 est.)
Exchange rates:
Congolese francs (CDF) per US dollar - NA (2007), 464.69 (2006), 437.86 (2005), 401.04 (2004), 405.34 (2003)
Communications ::Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Telephones - main lines in use:
37,300 (2008)
4
Telephones - mobile cellular:
9.263 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 64
Telephone system:
general assessment: barely
adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban
areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations; inadequate
fixed line infrastructure
domestic:
state-owned
operator providing less than 1 fixed-line connection per 1000 persons;
given the backdrop of a wholly inadequate fixed-line infrastructure, the
use of mobile-cellular services has surged and subscribership in 2008
approached 9.3 million - roughly 15 per 100 persons
international:
country code - 243; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
4 (2001)
Internet country code:
.cd
Internet hosts:
3,015 (2009)
43
Internet users:
290,000 (2008)
29
Transportation ::Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Airports:
194 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 31
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 26
over 3,047 m:
4
2,438 to 3,047 m:
2
1,524 to 2,437 m:
17
914 to 1,523 m:
2
under 914 m:
1 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 168
1,524 to 2,437 m:
19
914 to 1,523 m:
90
under 914 m:
59 (2009)
Pipelines:
gas 37 km; oil 39 km; refined products 756 km (2009)
Railways:
total: 4,007 km
country comparison to the world: 42
narrow gauge:
3,882 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 153,497 km
country comparison to the world: 34
paved:
2,794 km
unpaved:
150,703 km (2004)
Waterways:
15,000 km (2008)
Merchant marine:
total: 1
59
by type:
petroleum tanker 1
foreign-owned:
1 (Congo, Republic of the 1) (2008)
Armed Forces of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (Forces d'Armees de la Republique Democratique du
Congo, FARDC): Army, National Navy (La Marine Nationale), Congolese Air
Force (Force Aerienne Congolaise, FAC) (2010)
Military service age and obligation:
18-45 years of age for voluntary military service (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 15,192,858 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 9,301,818
females age 16-49:
9,440,111 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 842,020
female:
839,044 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
2.5% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 59
Transnational Issues ::Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Disputes - international:
heads of the Great Lakes states and
UN pledged in 2004 to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the
region, including northeast Congo, where the UN Organization Mission in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), organized in 1999,
maintains over 16,500 uniformed peacekeepers; members of Uganda's Lords
Resistance Army forces continue to seek refuge in Congo's Garamba
National Park as peace talks with the Uganda government evolve; the
location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of
the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area;
Uganda and DROC dispute Rukwanzi island in Lake Albert and other areas
on the Semliki River with hydrocarbon potential; boundary commission
continues discussions over Congolese-administered triangle of land on
the right bank of the Lunkinda river claimed by Zambia near the DROC
village of Pweto
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 132,295 (Angola); 37,313 (Rwanda); 17,777 (Burundi); 13,904 (Uganda); 6,181 (Sudan); 5,243 (Republic of Congo)
IDPs:
1.4 million (fighting between government forces and rebels since mid-1990s; most IDPs are in eastern provinces) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Democratic
Republic of the Congo is a source and destination country for men,
women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and
sexual exploitation; much of this trafficking occurs within the
country's unstable eastern provinces and is perpetrated by armed groups
outside government control
tier rating:
Tier
2 Watch List - Democratic Republic of the Congo is on the Tier 2 Watch
List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat
trafficking in persons in 2007; while some significant initial advances
were noted, the government's capacity to apprehend, convict, or
imprison traffickers remained weak; the government lacks sufficient
financial, technical, and human resources to effectively address not
only trafficking crimes, but also to provide basic levels of security in
some parts of the country (2008)
Illicit drugs:
one of Africa's biggest
producers of cannabis, but mostly for domestic consumption; traffickers
exploit lax shipping controls to transit pseudoephedrine through the
capital; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the
banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a
well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a
money-laundering center (2008)
