|arms=Arms of DemRep Congo.png
|capital=Kinshasa
|government=[[Semi-Presidential Republicpresidential republic]]
|language=French
|monarch=
|president=Joseph Kabila
|chancellor=
|pm=Antoine GizengaAugustin Matata Ponyo
|area=2,344,858 km²
|pop=7192,712500,000(2020)|pop-basis=2011|gdp=$47,500,000,000 (2020)|gdp-year=$13.1 billion|gdp-pc=$189514 (2020)
|currency=Franc Congolais (CDF)
|idd=+243
*Ethnic groups: More than 200 African ethnic groups; the Luba, Kongo, and Anamongo are some of the larger groupings of tribes.
*Religions (2011 est.): Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, other syncretic sects and traditional beliefs 10%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%.
*Language: Official--FrenchOfficial—French. National languages--Lingalalanguages—Lingala, [[Swahili]], Kikongo, Tshiluba.
*Education: Literacy (2008 est.)--French or local language: 55% (women), 76% (men). Schooling (2007 est.)--none 21%, primary 46%, secondary 30%, university 3%.
*Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--92rate—92/1,000 live births. Life expectancy (2008 est.)--51.3 yrs.
==Government and Political Conditions==
The D.R.C. legislature held its first session on September 22, 2006. On February 26, 2007, Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga and the new Congolese cabinet formally took office. In May 2007, Kengo wa Dongo was elected Senate President.
On December 7th7, 2011, Joseph Kabila, the former president announced the results from the November 28 presidential elections. According to those figures, he won 49% of the votes cast versus Etienne Tshisekedi’s 32%.
The CEI reported several irregularities, including voters participation of 100,14 % in the Monono region.
===Principal Government Official===
*President--Joseph President—Joseph Kabila
===Foreign Relations===
D.R.C.’s relations with neighboring countries have often been driven by security concerns, leading to intricate and interlocking alliances. Domestic conflicts in the [[Central African Republic]], [[Sudan]], [[Uganda]], [[Angola]], [[Rwanda]], and [[Burundi]] have at various times created bilateral and regional tensions. The current crisis in eastern D.R.C. has its roots both in the use of the Congo as a base by various insurgency groups attacking neighboring countries and in the absence of a strong Congolese Government with a military capable of securing Congo’s borders. The war has been exacerbated and prolonged by the exploitation of Congo’s resources by neighboring countries. Although 2003 and early 2004 saw a number of improvements in regional relations, mid-to-late 2004 was marked by increased tension between the D.R.C. and Rwanda.
In June 2025, President Felix Tshisekedi signed an agreement with [[Rwanda]]. [[US President Donald Trump]], whose administration mediated the pact, said the deal also grants [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] rights to local mineral wealth. Tshisekedi said at the start of the 2025 [[UN General Assembly]] session, however, that the agreement has failed to stop the clashes and his [[government]] will not "auction" the country’s mineral wealth to the [[US]] as part of Washington's efforts to end the protracted violence, ''[[Reuters]]'' reported.
==Economy==
*Per capita GDP (2010): $189.
*Natural resources: Copper, cobalt, diamonds, gold, other minerals; petroleum; wood; hydroelectric potential.
*Agriculture: Cash crops--coffeecrops—coffee, rubber, palm oil, cotton, cocoa, sugar, tea. Food crops--manioccrops—manioc, corn, legumes, plantains, peanuts.
*Land use: Agriculture 3%; pasture 7%; forest/woodland 77%; other 13%.
*Industry: Types--processed Types—processed and unprocessed minerals; consumer products, including textiles, plastics, footwear, cigarettes, metal products; processed foods and beverages, cement, timber.
*Currency: Congolese franc (FC). The U.S. dollar is also used as legal tender.
*Trade: Exports (2010)--$7.5 billion. Products--diamondsProducts—diamonds, gold, cobalt, copper, coffee, petroleum, wood. Main partners--EUpartners—EU, Japan, South Africa, U.S., China. Imports (2010)--$7.0 billion. Products--consumer Products—consumer goods (food, textiles), capital equipment, refined petroleum products. Partners--EUPartners—EU, China, South Africa, U.S.
*Official debt (2010 est.): $3.9 billion.
The area known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. by Bantus from present-day [[Nigeria]]. Discovered in 1482 by Portuguese navigator Diego Cao it was explored in the late 19th century by English journalist Henry Morton Stanley.
The Congo was officially colonized in 1885 as a personal possession of Belgian [[King Leopold II]] as the Congo Free State. Waging a successful propaganda campaign to bill Leopold as a champion of human rights, Leopold garnered the support of Liberals and Conservatives alike. However, word surfaced that the Congolese were being treated terribly by Leopold, his mercenaries, and the Force Publique, a military organization made up mostly of Africans run by Leopold. The maltreatment of native rubber workers created an international scandal that has often been called the first global human rights movement, and in 1907, full control was given to the Belgian Government. It renamed the country the Belgian Congo.
Following a series of riots and unrest, the Belgian Congo was granted its independence on June 30, 1960. Parliamentary elections in 1960 produced Patrice Lumumba as prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president of the renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.
{{African Countries}}
[[Category:Christian-Majority Countries]]