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.
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 (DROC).
Laurent KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph KABILA,
was named head of state. 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.
conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo local short form: none former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa,
Zaire abbreviation: DROC
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name:Kinshasa geographic coordinates: 4 19 S, 15 18 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC
during Standard Time)
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 note: according to the Constitution adopted in December 2005, the
current administrative divisions will be subdivided into 26 new provinces by
2009
Independence:
30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 30 June (1960)
Constitution:
18 February 2006
Legal system:
a new constitution was adopted by
referendum 18 December
2005; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and
compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 17 January 2001); note - following
the assassination of his father, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency
which he retained through the 2003-06 transition; he was subsequently elected
president in October 2006 head of government: Prime Minister Adolphe MUZITO (since 10 October
2008) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president elections: under the new constitution the president is elected by
popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections
last held 30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime
minister appointed by the president election results: Joseph KABILA elected president; percent of vote
(second round) - Joseph KABILA 58%, Jean-Pierre BEMBA Gombo 42% note: Joseph KABILA succeeded his father, Laurent Desire KABILA,
following the latter's assassination in January 2001; negotiations with rebel
leaders led to the establishment of a transitional government in July 2003
with free elections held on 30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006 confirming
Joseph KABILA as president
Legislative branch:
bicameral legislature consists of
a National Assembly (500 seats; 61 members elected by majority vote in
single-member constituencies, 439 members elected by open list
proportional-representation in multi-member constituencies; to serve
five-year terms) and a Senate (108 seats; members elected by provincial
assemblies to serve five-year terms) elections: National Assembly - last held 30 July 2006 (next to be held
in 2011); Senate - last held 19 January 2007 (next to be held by 2012) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - PPRD 111, MLC 64, PALU 34, MSR 27, FR 26, RCD 15,
independents 63, others 160 (includes 63 political parties that won 10 or
fewer seats); Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD
22, MLC 14, FR 7, RCD 7, PDC 6, CDC 3, MSR 3, PALU 2, independents 26, others
18 (political parties that won a single seat)
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court; Appeals Court or
Cour de Cassation; Council of State; High Military Court; plus civil and
military courts and tribunals
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democrat Party or PDC
[Jose ENDUNDO]; Congolese Rally for Democracy or RCD [Azarias RUBERWA];
Convention of Christian Democrats or CDC; Forces of Renewal or FR [Mbusa
NYAMWISI]; Movement for the Liberation of the Congo or MLC [Jean-Pierre
BEMBA]; People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy or PPRD [Joseph
KABILA]; Social Movement for Renewal or MSR [Pierre LUMBI]; Unified Lumumbist
Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or
UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI]; Union of Mobutuist Democrats or UDEMO [MOBUTU
Nzanga]
Political pressure groups and
leaders:
MONUC - UN organization working
with the government; FARDC (Forces Armees de la Republique du Congo) - Army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo which commits
atrocities on citizens; FDLA (Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda)
- Rwandan militia group
chief of mission: Ambassador Faida MITIFU chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009: note -
Consular Office at 1726 M Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609
Diplomatic representation from
the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William GARVELINK embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (81) 225-5872 FAX: [243] (81) 301-0561
Flag description:
sky blue field divided diagonally
from the lower hoist corner to upper fly corner by a red stripe bordered by
two narrow yellow stripes; a yellow, five-pointed star appears in the upper
hoist corner
The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - is slowly recovering from two
decades of decline. Conflict, which began in August 1998, dramatically
reduced national output and government revenue, increased external debt, and
resulted in the deaths of more than 3.5 million people from violence, famine,
and disease. Foreign businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about
the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult
operating environment. Conditions began to improve in late 2002 with the
withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. The
transitional government reopened relations with international financial
institutions and international donors, and President KABILA has begun
implementing reforms, although progress is slow and the International
Monetary Fund curtailed their program for the DRC at the end of March 2006
because of fiscal overruns. Much economic activity still occurs in the
informal sector, and is not reflected in GDP data. Renewed activity in the
mining sector, the source of most export income, boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth,
however, a renewal of strife is likely to halt recent advances. Government
reforms may lead to increased government revenues, outside budget assistance,
and foreign direct investment, although an uncertain legal
framework, corruption, a lack of transparency in government policy are
long-term problems.
general assessment: inadequate; state-owned fixed-line operator has been unable to
expand fixed-line connections and there are now fewer than 10,000 connections
- less than 1 per 1000 persons; given the backdrop of a wholly inadequate
fixed-line infrastructure, the use of cellular services has surged and subscribership
in 2007 reached 6.6 million - 10 per 100 persons domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in
and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 243; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
Heads of the Great Lakes states
and UN pledged in 2004 to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the
region, including northeast Congo, where the UN Organization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), organized in 1999, maintains over
16,500 uniformed peacekeepers; members of Uganda's Lords Resistance Army
forces continue to seek refuge in Congo's Garamba National Park as peace talks
with the Uganda government evolve; the location of the boundary in the broad
Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool
Malebo/Stanley Pool area; Uganda and DROC dispute Rukwanzi island in Lake
Albert and other areas on the Semliki River with hydrocarbon potential;
boundary commission continues discussions over Congolese-administered
triangle of land on the right bank of the Lunkinda river claimed by Zambia
near the DROC village of Pweto
Refugees and internally
displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 132,295 (Angola);
37,313 (Rwanda); 17,777 (Burundi); 13,904 (Uganda);
6,181 (Sudan); 5,243 (Republic of Congo) IDPs: 1.4 million (fighting between government forces and rebels since
mid-1990s; most IDPs are in eastern provinces) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Democratic Republic of the Congo is a source and destination country
for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and
sexual exploitation; much of this trafficking occurs within the country's
unstable eastern provinces and is perpetrated by armed groups outside
government control tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Democratic Republic of the Congo is
on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing
efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2007; while some significant
initial advances were noted, the government's capacity to apprehend, convict,
or imprison traffickers remained weak; the government lacks sufficient
financial, technical, and human resources to effectively address not only
trafficking crimes, but also to provide basic levels of security in some
parts of the country (2008)
Illicit drugs:
One of Africa's
biggest producers of cannabis, but mostly for domestic consumption; while
rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the banking system
vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system
limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center
Disclaimer| Last updated date - Saturday, September 11, 2010 | Best Resolution - 1024X768
