The Democratic Republic of the Congo is also called “Congo-Kinshasa,” to
distinguish it from “Congo-Brazzaville” which is also known
as the Republic
of the Congo.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo was known as Zaire from 1971 until 1997.
The country straddles the equator in central Africa. The name Congo, to which the country returned in 1997, comes from the Kongo tribe along the Congo River, which flows through the country.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is bordered by the Republic of the Congo to the west, the Central African Republic and Sudan to the north, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania to the east, Zambia to the south, and Angola (Cabinda) to the south and southwest. It is a large country with a total territorial area of 2,245,410 square miles, and occupies a strategic position in Africa. In comparative size, it is slightly more than one fourth the total area of the United States.
The country has many natural mineral resources, particularly in the Katanga region. Hydroelectric power potential, coal and petroleum are significant. Very little of the land is arable. About 3 percent of total land area is under cultivation.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo was known as the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908, when it was ruled by the Belgian King Leopold II. In 1908 it began to be called the Belgian Congo, and that name continued until the country received its independence in 1960. From 1964 to 1971, under Colonel Joseph Mobutu, the official name of the country was the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but it was referred to as Congo-Leopoldville (Congo-Kinshasa after 1976). This name was intended to distinguish it from the French Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville, now known as the Republic of Congo. In 1971 President Mobutu Sese Seko changed the country’s name to Zaire, as part of a cultural nationalism program. When Mobutu was overthrown in 1997 by a rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda and fronted by Laurent Kabila, the name reverted to the Democratic Republic of the Congo under Kabila’s new regime.
The country has suffered several periods of political chaos and violence since it became independent in 1960. Violence between Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups broke out in 1995 and 1996, and again in 1998, when the second rebellion began again backed by Rwanda and other neighboring states. Kabila’s son assumed power after his father’s assassination in 2001. The country began a transition to democratically elected government in 2002, and the first multiparty elections were held in 2006. The National Assembly was installed in September 2006.
Unrest continues today, particularly in regard to relations with Rwanda.
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