The Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: République démocratique du Congo), also known as DR Congo, DRC, Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, DROC,or RDC, is a country located in Central Africa. It borders the Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Sudan to the north, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the East, Zambia and Angola to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 75 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country, the fourth most populous nation in Africa and thenineteenth most populous country in the world.
The Congolese Civil Wars, beginning in 1996, brought about the end of Mobutu Sese Seko’s 31 year reign, devastated the country, and ultimately involved nine African nations, multiple groups of UN Peacekeepers and twenty armed groups. The wars resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people since 1998 with more than 90% of those deaths the result of malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition, aggravated by displacement and unsanitary and over-crowded living conditions. Nearly half of the victims were children under five.
The country is extremely rich in natural resources but political instability, a lack of infrastructure and a culture of corruption have historically limited development, extraction and exploitation efforts. Besides the capital, Kinshasa, the country’s other largest cities are both mining communities (Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi) and the country’s largest exports are raw minerals with China accepting over 50% of DRC’s exports in 2012.
June 30,1960 – Congo gains independence from Belgium