Democratic Republic of the Congo Tourism - Travel to Democratic Republic of the Congo
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| Quick Facts | |
| Capital | Kinshasa |
| Government | dictatorship; presumably undergoing a transition to representative government |
| Currency | Congolese franc (CDF) |
| Area | total: 2,345,410 sq km water: 77,810 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km |
| Population | 55,225,478 |
| Language | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba |
| Religion | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10% |
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (Republique Democratique du Congo) (Abbreviated:DROC) is a country in Central Africa. It straddles the Equator and is surrounded by Angola to the southwest, (Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province lies to the west and north of a very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean), Republic of the Congo to the northwest, Central African Republic to the north, Sudan to the northeast, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania in the east from north to south, and Zambia to the southeast.
The country has formerly been known as Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo or Zaire.
| Table of contents |
Regions in Democratic Republic of the Congo
There are 10 provinces:- Bandundu
- Bas-Congo
- Equateur
- Kasai-Occidental
- Kasai-Oriental
- Katanga
- Maniema
- Nord-Kivu
- Orientale
- Sud-Kivu
Map of Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Cities in Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Kinshasa - Capital
Ports and harbors
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Climate in Democratic Republic of the Congo
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; Natural hazards : periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal)
Terrain
Vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east. There are dense tropical rain forest in the central river basin and eastern highlands. In the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes.- Highest point
- Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
History of Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Independence
- 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
- National holiday
- Independence Day, 30 June (1960)
- Constitution
- 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990; transitional constitution promulgated in April 1994; in November 1998, a draft constitution was approved by former President Laurent KABILA but it was not ratified by a national referendum; one outcome of the ongoing inter-Congolese dialogue is to be a new constitution
One million refugees fled into Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DROC) in 1994 as a result of the ethnic fighting in Rwanda; fighting in the DROC between rebels and government forces in October 1996 caused 875,000 refugees to return to Rwanda in late 1996 and early 1997 and additional refugees have returned in subsequent years; fighting between the Congolese government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese displaced in DROC and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries.
Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga was president from 24 November 1965 until forced into exile on 16 May 1997 when his government was overthrown militarily by Laurent Desire KABILA; Previously the president was elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 29 July 1984 ;MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga was reelected president in 1984 without opposition. Elections were not held in 1991 as called for by the constitution (next was scheduled to be held in May 1997)
Laurent Desire KABILA seized power on 16 May 1997. KABILA immediately assumed governing authority and pledged to hold elections by April 1999, but, in December 1998, announced that elections would be postponed until all foreign military forces attempting to topple the government had withdrawn from the country; KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph KABILA
Since 1997 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC; formerly called Zaire) has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow in 1994 of refugees from the fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. The government of former president MOBUTU Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent KABILA in May 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999 by the DROC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued. KABILA was assassinated on 16 January 2001 and his son Joseph KABILA was named head of state ten days later. In October 2002, the new president was successful in getting occupying Rwandan forces to withdraw from eastern Congo; two months later, an agreement was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and set up a government of national unity.
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Democratic Republic of the Congo Talk
- Languages
- French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
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This article is an import from the CIA World Factbook 2002. It's a starting point for creating a real aTRAVELdirectory country article according to our country article template. Please plunge forward and integrate it into the article above.
Geography in Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Geographic coordinates
- 0 00 N, 25 00 E
- Area
- total: 2,345,410 sq km
water: 77,810 sq km
land: 2,267,600 sq km - Area - comparative
- slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
- Coastline
- 37 km
- Maritime claims
- exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
territorial sea: 12 NM - Natural resources
- cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber
- Land use
- arable land: 2.96%
permanent crops: 0.52%
other: 96.52% (1998 est.) - Irrigated land
- 110 sq km (1998 est.)
- 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
People in Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Population
- 55,225,478
- 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 syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%
- Literacy
- definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population: 77.3%
male: 86.6%
female: 67.7% (1995 est.)
Government in Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Country name
- conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: none
local short form: none
former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire
local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo
abbreviation: DROC
- Government type
- dictatorship; presumably undergoing a transition to representative government
- Legal system
- based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
- Judicial branch
- Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
- Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Faida MITIFU
FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609
telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691
chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
- Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Aubrey HOOKS
embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa
mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828
telephone: [243] (88) 43608
FAX: [243] (88) 43467
- Flag description
- light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side
Economy in Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Economy - overview
- The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began in August 1998, has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue and has increased external debt. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, raging inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms.
- GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 54%
industry: 9%
services: 37% (1999 est.) - Inflation rate (consumer prices)
- 358% (2001 est.)
- Labor force - by occupation
- agriculture 65%, industry 16%, services 19% (1991 est.)
- Industries
- mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement
- Electricity - production by source
- fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% - Agriculture - products
- coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
- Exports - commodities
- diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil
- Exports - partners
- Benelux 62%, US 18%, South Africa, Finland, Italy (1999)
- Imports - commodities
- foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
- Imports - partners
- South Africa 28%, Benelux 14%, Nigeria 9%, Kenya 7%, China (1999)
- Currency
- Congolese franc (CDF)
- Currency code
- CDF
- Exchange rates
- Congolese francs per US dollar - 305 (January 2002), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999), 1.61 (1998), 1.31 (1997)
note: on 30 June 1998 the Congolese franc was introduced, replacing the new zaire
Communications
- Telephones - main lines in use
- 20,000 (2000)
- Telephones - mobile cellular
- 15,000 (2000)
- Telephone system
- general assessment: poor
domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) - Radio broadcast stations
- AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)
- Radios
- 18.03 million (1997)
- Television broadcast stations
- 4 (2001)
- Televisions
- 6.478 million (1997)
- Internet country code
- .cd
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
- 1 (2001)
- Internet users
- 6,000 (2002)
Transportation in Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Railways
- total: 5,138 km
narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge
note: severely reduced route-distance in use because of damage to facilities by civil strife (2000 est.) - Highways
- total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)(1996)
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km - Waterways
- 15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes)
- Airports
- 232 (2001)
- Airports - with paved runways
- total: 24
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 - Airports - with unpaved runways
- total: 205
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19
914 to 1,523 m: 95
under 914 m: 91 (2002) - Heliports
- 1 (2002)
Military
- Military branches
- Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Security Battalion
Transnational Issues in Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Disputes - international
- Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war that has drawn in military forces from neighboring states, with Uganda and Rwanda supporting the rebel movements that occupy much of the eastern portion of the state; Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, political rebels, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda; most of the Congo River boundary with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area)
- Illicit drugs
- illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption; 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
