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Congo Democratic Republic

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Background :

Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the 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 the use of 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. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 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 eastern Congo; 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. Joseph KABILA as president and four vice presidents represented the former government, former rebel groups, the political opposition, and civil society. The transitional government held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the presidency, National Assembly, and provincial legislatures in 2006. KABILA was inaugurated president in December 2006. The National Assembly was installed in September 2006. Its president, Vital KAMERHE, was chosen in December. Provincial assemblies were constituted in early 2007, and elected governors and national senators in January 2007. 

Location :

Central Africa, northeast of Angola 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

0 00 N, 25 00 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 12.20
North 5.39
East 31.31
South -13.46

Area :

total 2 344 858 square km
land 2 267 048 square km
water 77 810 square km

Land boundaries :

total 10 730 km
Angola (ao) 2 511 km
Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km
Central African Republic (cf) 1 577 km
Republic of the Congo 2 410 km
Rwanda (rw) 217 km
Sudan (sd) 628 km
Tanzania (tz) 459 km
Uganda (ug) 765 km
Zambia (zm) 1 930 km

Coastline :

37.00 km

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 :

lowest point 0 metres
highest point 5 110 metres

Natural resources :

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

Land use :

arable land 2.86 %
permanent crops 0.47 %
other 96.67 %

Irrigated land :

110 square km

Natural hazards :

active volcanoes floods
periodic droughts

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 :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Environmental Modification
Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea
Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection
Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94
Wetlands

Population :

68 692 542 

Indicators :

Growth rate 3.21 %
Birth rate 42.63 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 6.20 children born/woman
Death rate 11.63 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate 1.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 46.90 %
15-64 years 50.60 %
65 years and over 2.50 %

Median age :

total 16.40 years
male 16.20 years
female 16.60 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.68 male(s)/female
total population 0.99 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 81.21 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 54.36 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 52.58 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 56.20 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 4.20 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 1 100 000
HIV-AIDS deaths 100 000

Religions :

Roman Catholic 50.00 %
Protestant 20.00 %
Kimbanguist 10.00 %
Muslim 10.00 %
other 10.00 %

Languages :

French  
Lingala  
Kingwana  
Kikongo  
Tshiluba  

Literacy :

total population 67.20 %
male 80.90 %
female 54.10 %

Country name :

conventional long form Democratic Republic of the Congo
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

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 CD
ISO Numeric 180
ISO3 COD
FIPS CG
ccTLD cd
English Congo Democratic Republic

Administrative divisions :

10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu| 

Capital :

name Kinshasa
geographic coordinates 4 19 S, 15 18 E
time difference 1.00

International organization participation :

ACCT ACP
AU AfDB
CEPGL COMESA
FAO G-24
G-77 IAEA
IBRD ICAO
ICCt ICRM
IDA IFAD
IFC IFRCS
IHO ILO
IMF IMO
IOC IOM
IPU ISO
ITSO ITU
ITUC Interpol
MIGA MINURCAT
NAM OIF
OPCW PCA
SADC UN
UNCTAD UNESCO
UNHCR UNIDO
UNWTO UPU
WCO WFTU
WHO WIPO
WMO WTO

Independence :

1960-06-30 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1960-06-30

Executive branch :

President Joseph KABILA Prime Minister Adolphe MUZITO

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 21 640 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 11 100 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate 3.00 %
PPP - per capita 300 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 55.00 %
industry 11.00 %
services 34.00 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 23 530 000 people
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 16.70 %
Current account balance - 402 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 890 000 000 $
Debt external 10 000 000 000 $
Military expenditures 2.50 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 2.30 %
highest 10% 34.70 %

Budget :

revenues 700 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

bananas cassava
coffee corn
fruits palm oil
palm oil quinine
root crops rubber
sugar tea
wood

Industries :

cement cigarettes
cobalt coltan
commercial ship repair consumer products
copper footwear
gold mineral processing
mining processed food and beverages
textiles zinc

Energy :

Electricity Production 8 217 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 5 997 000 000 kWh
Electricity Exports 1 916 000 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 6 000 000 kWh
Oil Production 19 960 bbl/day
Oil Consumption 11 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 20 090 bbl/day
Oil Imports 11 350 bbl/day
Oil Proved reserves 180 000 000 bbl
Electricity Exports 991 100 000 cubic metres

Value :

6 100 000 000 $

Commodities :

cobalt coffee
copper crude oil
diamonds gold
wood products

Value :

5 200 000 000 $

Commodities :

foodstuffs fuels
mining transportation equipment

Currency-name :

Congolese franc 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 37 300
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 9 263 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 11
Television broadcast stations 4
Internet Country code (ccTLD) cd
Internet Hosts 3 015
Internet Users 290 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 26
Pipelines - gas 37 km
Pipelines - oil 39 km
Pipelines - refined products 756 km
Roadways - total 153 497 km
Roadways - paved 2 794 km
Roadways - unpaved 150 703 km
Railways 4 007 km
Waterways 15 000 km

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