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Democratic Republic of the Congo
Population: 58,317,930 (July 2004 est.)
Capital: Kinshasa
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An Introduction to Democratic Republic of the Congo
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.
Map of Congo, Democratic Republic of the ( Location ) : 0 00 N, 25 00 E, Central Africa, northeast of Angola .
For additional reports and educational information specific to Congo, Democratic Republic of the, refer to the Country Info menubar to the upper right.
The Congolese Flag
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.
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Rankings of The Most Populous Countries in the World.
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Some interesting facts and figures about Congo, Democratic Republic of the.
Pop Growth Rate / Year:
• 2.99%
Avg. Life Expectancy:
• 47.06 yrs - Male
• 51.28 yrs - Female
Phone Lines:
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10,000 (2002)
Televisions:
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6.478 million (1997)
Radios:
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18,030,000 (1997)
Internet Code:
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.cd
Did you know ... People from Congo, Democratic Republic of the are called Congolese
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