Background: Mobutu Sese Seko came to power in a coup in 1965, only 5 years after the Democratic Republic of the Congo had become independent from Belgium. He renamed the country Zaire in 1971.

Land boundaries: 10,271 km total; Angola 2,511 km, Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km

Coastline: 37 km

Maritime claims: Territorial sea:12 nm

Climate: 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

Natural resources: cobalt, copper, cadmium, crude oil, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower potential

Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 78% forest and woodland; 15% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Geography
Note: straddles Equator; very narrow strip of land is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean

Population: 36,589,468 (July 1990), growth rate 3.3% (1990)

Nationality: noun--Zairian(s); adjective--Zairian

Ethnic groups: over 200 African ethnic groups, the majority are Bantu; four largest tribes--Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population

Languages: French (official), Lingala, Swahili, Kingwana, Kikongo, Tshiluba

Religions: 50% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, 10% Kimbanguist, 10% Muslim, 10% other syncretic sects and traditional beliefs

Birth rate: 46 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 13 deaths/1000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1000 population (1990)

Environment
Current issues: dense tropical rainforest in central river basin and eastern highlands; periodic droughts in south

Infant mortality rate: 103 deaths/1000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 55 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (1990)

Literacy: 55% males, 37% females

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Government type: republic with a strong presidential system

Capital: Kinshasa

Administrative divisions: 8 regions (regions, singular--region) and 1 town* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equateur, Haut-Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Kinshasa*, Kivu, Shaba; note--there may now be 10 regions with the elimination of Kivu and addition of Maniema, Nord-Kivu, and Sud-Kivu

Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium; formerly Belgian Congo, then Congo/Leopoldville, then Congo/Kinshasa)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Regime (Second Republic), 24 November (1965)

Constitution: 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978

Legal system: based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Executive branch: Chief of State--President Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga (since 24 November 1965); Head of Government--Prime Minister LUNDA Bululu (since 25 April 1988)

Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Logistics Corps, Special Presidential Division

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, APC, CCC, CIPEC, EAMA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador (vacant), Charge d'Affaires MUKENDI Tambo a Kabila; Chancery at 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,009; telephone (202) 234-7,690 or 7,691; US--Ambassador William C. HARROP; Embassy at 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa (mailing address is APO New York 9,662); telephone 243o (12) 25,881 through 25,886; there is a US Consulate General in Lubumbashi

Flag description: light green with a yellow disk in the center bearing a black arm holding a red flaming torch; the flames of the torch are blowing away from the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Economy overview: In 1988, in spite of large mineral resources and one of the most developed and diversified economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo had a GDP per capita of $195, one of the lowest on the continent. Agriculture, a key sector of the economy, employs 75% of the population but generates under 30% of GDP. The main impetus for economic development has been the extractive industries. Mining and mineral processing account for about one-third of GDP and two-thirds of total export earnings. During the period 1983-88 the economy experienced slow growth, high inflation, a rising foreign debt, and a drop in foreign exchange earnings. Recent increases in foreign prices for copper--a key export earner--and other minerals offer some hope of reversing the economic decline. Democratic Republic of the Congo is the world's largest producer of diamonds.

Agriculture products: cash crops--coffee, palm oil, rubber, quinine; food crops--cassava, bananas, root crops, corn

Industries: mining, mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, and cigarettes), processed foods and beverages, cement, diamonds

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $856 million; expenditures $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $655 million (1988)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988)
Commodities: copper 37%, coffee 24%, diamonds 12%, cobalt, crude oil
Partners: US, Belgium, France, FRG, Italy, UK, Japan

Imports: $1.9 billion (f.o.b., 1988)
Commodities: consumer goods, foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Partners: US, Belgium, France, FRG, Italy, Japan, UK

Debt external: $8.6 billion (December 1989 est.)

Exchange rates: zaire (Z) per US$1--465.000 (January 1989), 381.445 (1989), 187.070 (1988), 112.403 (1987), 59.625 (1986), 49.873 (1985)

Electricity
Capacity: 2,574,000 kW capacity; 5,550 million kWh produced, 160 kWh per capita (1989)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: $67 million (1988)

Airports: 312 total, 258 usable; 25 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 71 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Pipelines: refined products 390 km

Waterways: 15,000 km including the Congo, its tributaries, and unconnected lakes

Merchant marine: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 41,802 GRT/60,496 DWT; includes 1 passenger cargo, 3 cargo

Disputes international: Tanzania-Democratic Republic of the Congo-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it is reported that the indefinite section of the Democratic Republic of the Congo-Zambia boundary has been settled; long section with Congo along the Congo River is indefinite (no division of the river or its islands has been made)

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption