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.

Area
Total: total: 2,345,410 km²; land: 2,267,600 km²

Land boundaries: total 10,271 km, 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; exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm; 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, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower potential

Land use: arable land: 3%; permanent crops: 0%; meadows and pastures: 4%; forest and woodland: 78%; other: 15%

Irrigated land: 100 km² (1989 est.)

Population: 41,345,738 (July 1993 est.)

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, Lingala, Swahili, Kingwana, Kikongo, Tshiluba

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

Birth rate: 48.43 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 16.91 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.52 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Environment
Current issues: dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands; periodic droughts in south; Note: straddles Equator; very narrow strip of land that controls the lower; Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean

Infant mortality rate: 113.2 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 47.26 years; male: 45.45 years; female: 49.12 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.7 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990); total population: 72%; male: 84%; female: 61%

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Zaire; conventional short form: Zaire; local long form: Republique du Zaire; local short form: Zaire

Government type: republic with a strong presidential system

Capital: Kinshasa

Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 town* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Zaire, Equateur, Haut-Zaire, Kasai-Occidental,; Kasai-Oriental, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Shaba, Sud-Kivu

Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)

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

Constitution: 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978; amended April 1990; new constitution to be put to referendum in 1993

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Executive Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament; anti-Mobutu opposition claims National Parliament replaced by High Council

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77,; GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,

Diplomatic representation
In the us: chief of mission: Ambassador TATANENE Manata; chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,009; telephone: (202) 234-7,690 or 7,691
From the us: chief of mission: Deputy Chief of Mission John YATES; embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa; mailing address: APO AE 9,828; telephone: 243 (12) 21,532, 21,628; fax: 243 (12) 21,232; consulate general: Lubumbashi (closed and evacuated in October 1991 because of the poor security situation)

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 1992, Zaire's formal economy continued to disintegrate. While meaningful economic figures are difficult to come by, Zaire's hyperinflation, the largest government deficit ever, and plunging mineral production have made the country one of the world's poorest. Most formal transactions are conducted in hard currency as indigenous banknotes have lost almost all value, and a barter economy now flourishes in all but the largest cities. Most individuals and families hang on grimly through subsistence farming and petty trade. The government has not been able to meet its financial obligations to the; International Momentary Fund or put in place the financial measures advocated by the IMF. Although short-term prospects for improvement are dim, improved political stability would boost Zaire's long-term potential to effectively exploit its vast wealth of mineral and agricultural resources.

Real gdp growth rate: -6% (1992 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $235 (1992, at 1990 exchange rate)

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: growth grate NA%

Labor force: 15 million (13% of the labor force is wage earners; 51% of the population is of working age); by occupation: agriculture 75%, industry 13%, services 12% (1985)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $N/A, expenditures $N/A, including capital expenditures of $N/A

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
Partners: US, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, UK, Japan, South Africa

Imports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
Commodoties: consumer goods, foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Partners: South Africa, US, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK

Exchange rates: zaire (Z) per US$1 - 2,000,000 (January1993), 15,587 (1991), 719 (1990), 381 (1989), 187 (1988), 112 (1987)

Electricity
Production: 2,580,000 kW capacity; 6,000 million kWh produced, 160 kWh per capita (1991)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $49 million, 0.8% of GDP (1988)

Airports: usable: 235; with permanent-surface runways: 25; with runways over 3,659 m: 1; with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 6; with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 73

Pipelines: petroleum products 390 km

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

Merchant marine: 1 passenger cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,489 GRT/13,481 DWT

Disputes international: Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it is reported that the indefinite section of the Zaire-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