Background: Established as a Belgian colony in 1908 the then-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. In January 2001 KABILA was assassinated 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 the eastern DRC; 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; it held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the presidency National Assembly and provincial legislatures took place in 2006. In 2009 following a resurgence of conflict in the eastern DRC the government signed a peace agreement with the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) a primarily Tutsi rebel group. An attempt to integrate CNDP members into the Congolese military failed prompting their defection in 2012 and the formation of the M23 armed group - named after the 23 March 2009 peace agreements. Renewed conflict has lead to the displacement of large numbers of persons and significant human rights abuses. As of February 2013 peace talks between the Congolese government and the M23 were on-going. In addition the DRC continues to experience violence committed by other armed groups including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and Mai Mai groups. In the most recent national elections held in November 2011 disputed results allowed Joseph KABILA to be reelected to the presidency.

Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N 25 00 E

Area
Rank: 11
Land: 2,267,048 km²
Water: 77,810 km²
Comparative: slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US

Land boundaries
Border countries: (9) Angola 2,511 km; (of which 225 km; is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province) Burundi 233 km; Central African Republic 1577 km; Republic of the Congo 2,410 km; Rwanda 217 km; South Sudan 628 km; Tanzania 459 km; Uganda 765 km; Zambia 1930 km

Coastline: 37 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors

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

Elevation
Extremes highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m

Natural resources: cobalt copper niobium tantalum petroleum industrial and gem diamonds gold silver zinc manganese tin uranium coal hydropower timber

Land use
Permanent crops: 0.32%
Other: 96.78% (2011)

Irrigated land: 105 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 1283 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); active volcanoes in the east along the Great Rift Valley
Volcanism: Nyiragongo (elev. 3,470 m) which erupted in 2002 and is experiencing ongoing activity poses a major threat to the city of Goma home to a quarter million people; the volcano produces unusually fast-moving lava known to travel up to 100 km /hr; Nyiragongo has been deemed a 'Decade Volcano' by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; its neighbor Nyamuragira which erupted in 2010 is Africa's most active volcano; Visoke is the only other historically active volcano

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; second largest country in Africa (after Algeria)

Population: 75,507,308 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 20
Growth rate: 2.54% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 28
Below poverty line: 71% (2006 est.)

Nationality
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

Languages: French (official) Lingala (a lingua franca trade language) Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili) Kikongo Tshiluba

Religions: Roman Catholic 50% Protestant 20% Kimbanguist 10% Muslim 10% other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%

Age structure
15-24 years: 21.3% (male 8,055,525/female 8,014,205)
25-54 years: 29.1% (male 10,955,261/female 11,003,910)
55-64 years: 3.5% (male 1,247,479/female 1,420,102)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 822,168/female 1,135,266) (2013 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 86.4 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.5 %
Potential support ratio: 18.2 (2013)

Median age
Male: 17.5 years
Female: 17.9 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.54% (2013 est.)
Rank: 28

Birth rate: 36.34 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 20

Death rate: 10.54 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 43

Net migration rate: -0.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 132

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 4.19% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: KINSHASA (capital) 8.798 million; Lubumbashi 1.543 million; Mbuji-Mayi 1.488 million; Kananga 878,000; Kisangani 812,000 (2011)

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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 20.2 (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 12
Male: 78.56 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 71.07 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 200
Male: 54.66 years
Female: 57.66 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.95 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 20

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 17.7% (2010)

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 0.11 physicians/1000 population (2004)

Hospital bed density: 0.8 beds/1000 population (2006)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria dengue fever and trypanosomiasis-gambiense (African sleeping sickness)
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis
Animal contact disease: rabies (2013)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 1.7% (2008)
Rank: 185

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 28.2% (2007)
Rank: 20

Education expenditures: 2.5% of GDP (2010)
Rank: 159

Literacy
Total population: 66.8%
Male: 76.9%
Female: 57% (2010 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 10 years
Female: 7 years (2011)

Country name
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
Geographic coordinates: 4 19 S 15 18 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provinces singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bandundu Bas-Congo (Lower Congo) Equateur Kasai-Occidental (West Kasai) Kasai-Oriental (East Kasai) Katanga Kinshasa* Maniema Nord-Kivu (North Kivu) Orientale Sud-Kivu (South Kivu)

Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)

National holiday: Independence Day 30 June (1960)

Constitution: several previous; latest adopted 13 May 2005 approved by referendum 18-19 December 2005 promulgated 18 February 2006; revised 2011 (2011)

Legal system: civil legal system based on Belgian version of French civil law

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch
Head of government: Prime Minister Augustin MATATA PONYO Mapon (since 18 April 2012)
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 28 November 2011 (next to be held in November 2016); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Joseph KABILA reelected president; percent of vote - Joseph KABILA 49% Etienne TSHISEKEDI 32.3% other 18.7%; note - election marred by serious voting irregularities

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 scheduled for 5 June 2013; though likely to be delayed); National Assembly - last held on 28 November 2011 (next to be held in 2016)
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 62 UDPS 41 PPPD 29 MSR 27 MLC 22 PALU 19 UNC 17 ARC 16 AFDC 15 ECT 11 RRC 11 independents 16 others 214 (includes numerous political parties that won 10 or fewer seats and 2 constituencies where voting was halted); note - the November 2011 elections were married by violence including the destruction of ballots in two constituencies resulting in the closure of polling sites; election results were delayed three months stongly contested and continue to be unresolved

Judicial branch
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court of Justice judges nominated by the Judicial Service Council an independent body of public prosecutors and selected judges of the lower courts; judges tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges - 3 nominated by the president 3 by the Judicial Service Council and 3 by the legislature; judges appointed by the president to serve 9-year non-renewable terms
Subordinate courts: State Security Court; Court of Appeals (organized into administrative and judiciary sections); Tribunal de Grande; magistrates' courts; customary courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU CEPGL COMESA EITI (candidate country) FAO G-24 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA NAM OIF OPCW PCA SADC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chancery: Suite 601 1726 M Street NW Washington DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 234-7,690 through 7,691
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 234-2,609
In the us consulate general: New York
From the us embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs Kinshasa
From the us mailing address: Unit 2,220 DPO AE 9,828
From the us telephone: [243] (081) 556-0151
From the us FAX: [243] (081) 556-0175

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

National symbols: leopard

National anthem
Lyrics and music: Joseph LUTUMBA/Simon-Pierre BOKA di Mpasi Londi

Economy overview: The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast natural resource wealth - is slowly recovering after decades of decline. Systemic corruption since independence in 1960 combined with country-wide instability and conflict that began in the mid-90s has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue and increased external debt. With the installation of a transitional government in 2003 after peace accords economic conditions slowly began to improve as the transitional government reopened relations with international financial institutions and international donors and President KABILA began implementing reforms. Progress has been slow to reach the interior of the country although clear changes are evident in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. An uncertain legal framework corruption and a lack of transparency in government policy are long-term problems for the mining sector and for the economy as a whole. 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 has boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth in recent years. The global recession cut economic growth in 2009 to less than half its 2008 level but growth returned to around 7% per year in 2010-12. The DRC signed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF in 2009 and received $12 billion in multilateral and bilateral debt relief in 2010 but the IMF at the end of 2012 suspended the last three payments under the loan facility - worth $240 million - because of concerns about the lack of transparency in mining contracts. In 2012 the DRC updated its business laws by adhering to OHADA the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa. The country marked its tenth consecutive year of positive economic expansion in 2012.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 115

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 29

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 227

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 12.5%
Investment in fixed capital: 28.2%
Investment in inventories: 1%
Exports of goods and services: 57.2%
Imports of goods and services: -63.8%: (2012 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 20.8%
Services: 32.9% (2012 est.)

Agriculture products: coffee sugar palm oil rubber tea cotton cocoa quinine cassava (manioc) bananas plantains peanuts root crops corn fruits; wood products

Industries: mining (copper cobalt gold diamonds coltan zinc tin tungsten) mineral processing consumer products (textiles plastics footwear cigarettes) metal products processed foods and beverages timber cement commercial ship repair

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 34.12 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 18
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: 71% (2006 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Highest 10: 34.7% (2006)

Budget
Expenditures: $5.537 billion (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -2.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 100

Taxes and other revenues: 30% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 96

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 15.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 197

Central bank discount rate: 20% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 7

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 43.75% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 3

Stock of narrow money: $862.7 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 151

Stock of broad money: $2.654 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 144

Stock of domestic credit: $1.861 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 134

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance: $-1.665 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 146

Exports: $9.472 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 99
Commodities: diamonds copper gold cobalt wood products crude oil coffee
Partners: China 54.3% Zambia 22.6% Belgium 5.7% (2012)

Imports: $8.916 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 105
Commodities: foodstuffs mining and other machinery transport equipment fuels
Partners: South Africa 22.3% China 15.3% Belgium 8% Zambia 6.9% Zimbabwe 5.6% France 4.9% Kenya 4.7% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.268 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 127

Debt external: $5.448 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 112

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 7.804 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 101
Consumption: 6.197 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 105
Exports: 916 million kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 59
Imports: 161 million kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 88
Installed generating capacity: 2.437 million kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 96
Generation sources fossil fuels: 1.4% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 203
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 62
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 98.6% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 7
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 166

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 20,000 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 80
Crude oil exports: 22,240 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 52
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 171
Crude oil proven reserves: 180 million bbl (1 January 2013 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 61

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 162
Products consumption: 10,240 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 153
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 162
Products imports: 16,200 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 115

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 114
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 129
Exports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 78
Imports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 174
Proven reserves: 991.1 million m³ (1 January 2013 es)
Proven reserves rank: 103

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 2.721 million Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 141

Telephones
Main lines in use: 58,200 (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 161
Mobile cellular: 19.487 million (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 52

Telephone system
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 mobile teledensity is roughly 20 per 100 persons
International: country code - 243; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011)

Broadcast media: state-owned TV broadcast station with near national coverage; more than a dozen privately owned TV stations with 2 having near national coverage; 2 state-owned radio stations are supplemented by more than 100 private radio stations; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are available (2007)

Internet
Country code: .cd
Hosts: 2,515 (2012)
Hosts rank: 159
Users: 290,000 (2008)
Users rank: 132

Airports: 198 (2013)
Rank: 27
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 17
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 20
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 87
With unpaved runways: 65 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 62 km; oil 77 km; refined products 756 km (2013)

Railways
Rank: 43
Narrow gauge: 3,882 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 32
Paved: 2,794 km