top of pageBackground:
Established as an official 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 led to large population displacements and significant human rights abuses before the M23 was pushed out of DRC to Uganda and Rwanda in late 2013 by a joint DRC and UN offensive. In addition the DRC continues to experience violence committed by other armed groups including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda the Allied Democratic Forces and assorted Mai Mai militias. In the most recent national elections held in November 2011 disputed results allowed Joseph KABILA to be reelected to the presidency; the next presidential election is scheduled for 2016.
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 niobium tantalum petroleum industrial and gem diamonds gold silver zinc manganese tin uranium coal hydropower timber
Natural hazards: periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); active volcanoes in the east along the Great Rift Valley
Volcanism: Nyiragongo 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
GeographyNote: second largest country in Africa (after Algeria) and largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa; straddles the 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
top of pagePopulation: 79,375,136
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
Rank: 20
Growth rate: 2.45% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 26
Below poverty line: 63% (2012 est.)
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%
Major urban areasPopulation: KINSHASA (capital) 11.587 million; Lubumbashi 2.015 million; Mbuji-Mayi 20.007 million; Kananga 1.169 million; Kisangani 1.04 million; Bukavu 832,000 (2015)
EnvironmentCurrent 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 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Drinking water source:
urban: 81.1% of population
rural: 31.2% of population
total: 52.4% of population
urban: 18.9% of population
rural: 68.8% of population
total: 47.6% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
urban: 28.5% of population
rural: 28.7% of population
total: 28.7% of population
urban: 71.5% of population
rural: 71.3% of population
total: 71.3% of population (2015 est.)
top of pageAdministrative divisions: 25 provinces (provinces singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bas-Uele Equateur Haut-Katanga Haut-Lomami Haut-Uele Ituri Kasai Kasai-Occidental (West Kasai) Kinshasa* Kongo Central Kwango Kwilu Lomami Lulua Lualaba Mai-Ndombe Maniema Mongala Nord-Kivu (North Kivu) Nord-Ubangi San Kuru Sub-Ubangi Sud-Kivu (South Kivu) Tanganyika Tshopo Tshuapa
Constitution: several previous; latest adopted 13 May 2005 approved by referendum 18-19 December 2005 promulgated 18 February 2006; amended 2011 (2015)
Legal system: civil law system primarily based on Belgian law but also customary and tribal law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branchChief of state: President Joseph KABILA
Head of government: Prime Minister Augustin MATATA PONYO Mapon
Cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term ; election 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 (UDPS) 32.3% other 18.7%; note - election marred by serious voting irregularities
Legislative branchDescription: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate and the National Assembly (500 seats; 439 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 61 directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: Senate - last held on 19 January 2007 ; 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 independent 26 other 18; 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 independent 16 other 214 ; note - the November 2011 election was marred by violence including the destruction of ballots in two constituencies resulting in the closure of polling sites; election results were delayed three months strongly contested and continue to be unresolved
Judicial branchHighest court: Supreme Court of Justice ; Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)
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 ; Tribunal de Grande; magistrates' courts; customary courts
Political parties and leaders:
Union for the Congolese Nation or UNC [Vital KAMERHE]
Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI]
International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU CEMAC CEPGL COMESA EITI (compliant country) FAO G-24 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (NGOs) ICCt 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
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
top of pageEconomy 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 countrywide 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. Renewed activity in the mining sector the source of most export income has boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth in recent years. An uncertain legal framework corruption and a lack of transparency in government policy are long-term problems for the large 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. 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 twelfth consecutive year of positive economic expansion in 2014.
Agriculture products: coffee sugar palm oil rubber tea cotton cocoa quinine cassava (manioc tapioca) 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
Exports:
$12.98 billion (2014 est.)
$11.61 billion (2013 est.)
Rank: 86
Commodities: diamonds copper gold cobalt wood products crude oil coffee
Partners: China 39.3% Zambia 24.7% Italy 8.6% Belgium 4.4% (2014)
Imports:
$11.98 billion (2014 est.)
$10.81 billion (2013 est.)
Rank: 94
Commodities: foodstuffs mining and other machinery transport equipment fuels
Partners: China 19.6% South Africa 17.9% Zambia 15.9% Belgium 6.1% Zimbabwe 4.9% (2014)
Debt external:
$6.562 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
$6.082 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
Rank: 122
Exchange rates:
Congolese francs (CDF) per US dollar -
925.23 (2014 est.)
925.23 (2013 est.)
920.25 (2012 est.)
899 (2011 est.)
905.91 (2010 est.)
top of pagetop of pageTelephone systemGeneral 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 100 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 (2011)
Broadcast media: state-owned TV broadcast station with near national coverage; more than a dozen privately owned TV stations - 2 with 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)
top of pagetop of pagePipelines: gas 62 km; oil 77 km; refined products 756 km (2013)
Waterways: 15,000 km (including the Congo its tributaries and unconnected lakes) (2011)
Rank: 8
top of pageDisputes 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 DRC 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 DRC village of Pweto; DRC accuses Angola of shifting monuments
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 leave 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)
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