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NAVIGATION
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republique Democratique du Congo
former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire
INTRODUCTION
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Background:
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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. |
GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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Central Africa, northeast of Angola |
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Geographic coordinates:
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0 00 N, 25 00 E |
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Map references:
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Africa |
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Area:
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total: 2,345,410 sq km
water: 77,810 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 10,730 km
border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km |
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Coastline:
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37 km |
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Maritime claims:
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exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Climate:
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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 |
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Terrain:
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vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m |
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Natural resources:
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cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber |
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Land use:
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arable land: 2.96%
permanent crops: 0.52% other: 96.52% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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110 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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straddles equator; has very 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 |
PEOPLE
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Population:
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56,625,039
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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 48.3% (male 13,734,706; female 13,624,579)
15-64 years: 49.2% (male 13,648,155; female 14,203,077) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 583,366; female 831,156) (2003 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 15.8 years
female: 16.1 years (2002) male: 15.4 years |
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Population growth rate:
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2.9% (2003 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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45.12 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Death rate:
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14.87 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-1.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: 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 internally displaced and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2003 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 96.56 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 87.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 105.15 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 48.93 years
male: 46.83 years female: 51.09 years (2003 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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6.69 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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4.9% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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1.3 million (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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120,000 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
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Ethnic groups:
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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 |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10% |
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Languages:
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French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population: 65.5% male: 76.2% female: 55.1% (2003 est.) |