DR Congo

By Prof. Raju Vatsavayi

Name

Official name	Democratic Republic of the Congo — République démocratique du Congo
Short forms	DR Congo; DRC; Congo-Kinshasa — to tell it from the Republic of the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, across the river
Former names	Congo Free State (1885–1908); Belgian Congo (1908–1960); Republic of the Congo, Congo-Léopoldville (1960–1964); Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964–1971); Zaire (1971–1997)
Demonym	Congolese
Meaning of the name	From the Kongo people and their kingdom at the river's mouth — nzadi o nzere, "the river that swallows all rivers," heard by the Portuguese as Zaire
Motto	"Justice – Paix – Travail" — justice, peace, work

Quick facts

Capital	Kinshasa — Léopoldville until 1966; on the Congo at the Malebo Pool; about 17 million — the largest French-speaking city in the world
Largest cities	Kinshasa; Lubumbashi, about 2.5 million; Mbuji-Mayi; Kananga; Kisangani; Bukavu; Goma; Kolwezi; Likasi
Official language	French; four national languages — Lingala, Kikongo ya leta, Swahili and Tshiluba; some 200 languages in all
Currency	Congolese franc — ISO code CDF, FC; about 2,800 to the U.S. dollar, which circulates widely
Time zones	Two — West Africa Time, UTC+1, in Kinshasa and the west; Central Africa Time, UTC+2, in Katanga, the Kasais and the east
Calling code	+243
Internet domain	.cd
ISO 3166 codes	CD · COD · 180
Vehicle registration code	CGO
Driving side	Right
Electricity	220 V, 50 Hz; plug types C, D and E
Independence	30 June 1960, from Belgium — Patrice Lumumba prime minister, Joseph Kasa-Vubu president
National days	30 June, Independence Day; 17 January, the Day of the Martyrs, for Lumumba; 17 May, Liberation Day, for 1997; 4 January, the Day of the Martyrs of Independence, for 1959
Constitution	18 February 2006 — approved by referendum 18–19 December 2005; amended 20 January 2011; the president's push for a new constitution since 2024 contested
Population	About 112 million (UN and CIA World Factbook, 2025 est.) — no census since 1984, when 29.7 million were counted
Area	2,344,858 km² (905,354 sq mi) — land 2,267,048 km², water 77,810 km²; the second-largest country in Africa

Flag & national symbols

National flag	A sky-blue field crossed by a red diagonal stripe with yellow borders, a yellow star in the upper hoist — peace, the blood of the martyrs, the wealth of the land, and the radiant future; adopted 20 February 2006 with the constitution, recalling the flag of 1963–71.Flag of DR Congo
Coat of arms	A leopard's head between an elephant tusk and a spear, over the motto on a scroll — adopted 18 February 2006
National anthem	"Debout Congolais" ("Arise, Congolese") — words by Joseph Lutumba, music by Simon-Pierre Boka; adopted 1960, replaced under Zaire, restored 1997
National motto	"Justice – Paix – Travail"
National colors	Blue, red and yellow
National animals	The okapi — the forest giraffe of the Ituri, found in no other country; the leopard, on the arms; the bonobo, endemic to the left bank of the Congo; the mountain gorilla of Virunga; widely cited
National dish	Pondu — cassava leaves — with fufu; liboke, fish in banana leaves; widely cited
Symbol status	The flag, arms, anthem and motto are fixed by Article 1 of the Constitution; the animals and dish are widely cited, none designated

Geography

Location	Central Africa — the Congo Basin, on the equator, from a sliver of Atlantic coast to the Great Lakes of the Rift
Land borders	10,481 km (6,512 mi) with nine countries — the most of any African country
Border with Angola	2,646 km (1,644 mi), including 225 km with Cabinda
Border with Zambia	2,332 km (1,449 mi)
Border with the Central African Republic	1,747 km (1,086 mi) — the Oubangui
Border with the Republic of the Congo	1,229 km (764 mi) — the Congo River and the Oubangui
Border with Uganda	877 km (545 mi)
Border with South Sudan	714 km (444 mi)
Border with Tanzania	479 km (298 mi) — down the middle of Lake Tanganyika
Border with Burundi	236 km (147 mi)
Border with Rwanda	221 km (137 mi)
Coastline	37 km (23 mi) at the mouth of the Congo — among the shortest in the world
Highest point	Margherita Peak, Mount Stanley, 5,109 m (16,762 ft), in the Rwenzori — the third-highest in Africa
Lowest point	The Atlantic Ocean, 0 m
Mean elevation	726 m (2,382 ft)
The Congo River	4,700 km (2,920 mi) — the second-longest in Africa and the deepest in the world, above 220 m; the second-largest by flow after the Amazon; the only major river to cross the equator twice; the Inga rapids below Kinshasa
Lakes	Tanganyika, the second-deepest in the world; Kivu, the exploding lake of dissolved gas; Albert, Edward and Mweru on the borders; Mai-Ndombe and Tumba in the basin; Upemba
Terrain	The central basin of rainforest — the second-largest in the world after the Amazon; the plateaus of Katanga and the Kasais; the mountains of the Rift in the east — the Virunga volcanoes, Nyiragongo above Goma erupting in 2002 and 2021; the Rwenzori
Climate	Equatorial in the basin, hot and wet all year; tropical with wet and dry seasons north and south; cool in the eastern highlands
Natural hazards	Volcanoes — Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira; floods on the river; the gas of Lake Kivu; Ebola, first identified on the Ebola River in 1976
Natural resources	Cobalt — about 70% of the world's production; copper, diamonds, gold, coltan, tin, tungsten, zinc, lithium at Manono, oil, timber, hydropower — the mineral wealth reckoned in the trillions of dollars
Land use	Agricultural land about 11%; forest about 67% — the Congo Basin, the world's second lung and its largest tropical peatland
National parks	Virunga, Africa's first, 1925; Garamba; Kahuzi-Biega; Salonga, the largest rainforest reserve in Africa; the Okapi Wildlife Reserve; Upemba; Kundelungu
UNESCO World Heritage	5 — Virunga National Park (1979); Garamba (1980); Kahuzi-Biega (1980); Salonga (1984); the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (1996) — all five listed as in danger at one time or another, Salonga removed from the list in 2021
Administrative divisions	26 provinces since the division of 2015, including the city-province of Kinshasa — Haut-Katanga, Lualaba, North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, Tshopo, Kasaï and the rest

People

Population	About 112 million (2025 est.) — the fourth-largest in Africa
Population density	About 48 per km² (125 per sq mi) — the basin nearly empty, the east and the Kasais crowded
Population growth	About 3.2% a year
Median age	About 17 years
Life expectancy	About 62 years
Fertility rate	About 6 births per woman — among the highest in the world
Urban population	About 47%
Adult literacy	About 80%
Ethnic groups	Some 250 — the Luba, Kongo, Mongo and Mangbetu-Azande the largest, together about 45%; the Lunda, Tetela, Nande, Hutu and Tutsi of the Kivus; the Mbuti and other forest peoples
Languages	Lingala the language of Kinshasa, the army and the music; Swahili in the east and Katanga; Kikongo in the west; Tshiluba in the Kasais; French in government and school
Religion	Roman Catholic about 45%, Protestant about 25%, Kimbanguist about 5%, other Christian about 10%, Muslim about 2%; the Catholic Church the strongest institution in the country
Displacement	More than 7 million people displaced within the country — the largest number in Africa — and about a million refugees abroad
Human Development Index	0.481 (2023 data, 2025 report) — low; about 181st of 193
Health	Ebola — sixteen outbreaks since 1976; mpox declared a global emergency in 2024; the Nobel Peace Prize of 2018 to Denis Mukwege of Panzi Hospital, Bukavu
Sport	Football — the Leopards, African champions in 1968 and 1974 and the first sub-Saharan team at a World Cup, 1974; the Rumble in the Jungle, Ali against Foreman at Kinshasa, 30 October 1974; Dikembe Mutombo
Diaspora	Some 1.5 million abroad — in Belgium, France, Angola, South Africa, Uganda and the United States

Government

Form of government	Semi-presidential republic under the Constitution of 2006 — the president elected for five years, twice; a prime minister answerable to the National Assembly
President	Félix Tshisekedi (Union for Democracy and Social Progress), since 24 January 2019 — the fifth; the son of the opposition leader Étienne Tshisekedi; declared the winner of the election of 30 December 2018 in the first peaceful handover since independence; re-elected 20 December 2023 with 73.3% on a vote the opposition called a sham; born 13 June 1963; his term runs to 2029, and he may not stand again unless the constitution is changed, which he has proposed
Prime Minister	Judith Suminwa Tuluka (UDPS), since 12 April 2024 — the first woman in the post; an economist and former planning minister
Parliament	The National Assembly — 500 members elected in December 2023, the president's Sacred Union coalition with a large majority; the Senate — 109 members elected by the provincial assemblies
The next election	The general election due in December 2028
The war in the east	The M23 movement, backed by Rwanda by the findings of UN experts and the U.S. — which Kigali denies — took Goma on 27 January 2025 and Bukavu on 16 February 2025 with the Congo River Alliance and holds much of North and South Kivu, appointing its own administrators; the army fights with allied militias, the FDLR of the Rwandan Hutu and, until 2025, mercenaries; the ADF, an Islamic State affiliate, kills in Ituri and North Kivu; some 100 armed groups in all; MONUSCO, the UN mission since 1999, in drawdown
The peace process	The Washington agreement between the DRC and Rwanda signed 27 June 2025 under U.S. mediation, its key provisions unimplemented; the Doha framework between the government and M23 signed 15 November 2025 under Qatar; a first prisoner transfer on 7 August 2026; a roadmap for sequenced negotiations agreed at talks in Switzerland on 17–21 August 2026 and a first ceasefire monitoring mission deployed to South Kivu; fighting continuing in Kalehe, Walungu, Fizi and Uvira; the main opposition coalition rejecting the president's national dialogue
The United States	A strategic partnership agreement of 2025 giving American companies preferential access to the country's critical minerals in return for security cooperation
Joseph Kabila	President 2001–2019, sentenced to death in absentia on 30 September 2025 by a military court for treason and war crimes, accused of backing the rebels; in the M23-held east
Legal system	Civil law on the Belgian model, with customary law; the Constitutional Court; the Court of Cassation
Provinces	26, each with an elected assembly and governor
United Nations	Member since 20 September 1960
Regional memberships	The African Union; SADC (1997); the East African Community (2022); the Economic Community of Central African States; COMESA; the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie; the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region

Economy

GDP (nominal)	About US$80 billion (2025, IMF)
GDP per capita	About US$700 (2025) — among the lowest in the world for a country of such wealth
GDP per capita (PPP)	About US$1,700 (2025)
GDP growth	About 5–6% a year (2023–25), driven by mining
Economy by sector	Industry about 45% — mining most of it; services about 35%; agriculture about 20%, employing most
Currency	Congolese franc (CDF); the U.S. dollar in most large transactions
Cobalt	About 70% of the world's production, from the Copperbelt of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga — the Kamoto and Tenke Fungurume mines, most under Chinese ownership; artisanal miners some 200,000; the export ban of 2025 and the quota system of 2026
Copper	The largest producer in Africa and the second in the world — above 3 million metric tons a year; Kamoa-Kakula the largest new mine of the century
Other minerals	Diamonds from the Kasais — MIBA at Mbuji-Mayi, among the largest by volume; gold from Kibali; coltan, tin and tungsten from the Kivus, much of it smuggled through Rwanda; lithium at Manono
Trade partners	China about half of exports; the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Zambia, Belgium
Energy	The Inga dams on the Congo — Inga I and II of the 1970s and 1980s; the Grand Inga project of some 40 GW, the largest hydropower scheme ever proposed; about 20% of the population with electricity
Income classification	Low income (World Bank); a least developed country

Transport & infrastructure

Main airports	N'djili International Airport, Kinshasa; Lubumbashi; Goma; Kisangani; Mbuji-Mayi
Airline	Congo Airways, the national carrier since 2015; all Congolese carriers banned from EU skies
Main port	Matadi on the Congo, 150 km upriver — the sea port; Boma; Banana at the mouth, a deep-water port under construction
Railways	About 4,000 km (2,500 mi), most in Katanga — the SNCC lines to Zambia and Angola; the Matadi–Kinshasa railway of 1898, rebuilt; the Lobito Corridor to the Atlantic through Angola since 2024
Roads	About 150,000 km (93,000 mi), a few thousand paved — the least road for its size of any large country; Route Nationale 1 from Matadi to Lubumbashi, incomplete
The river	The Congo and its tributaries navigable for some 15,000 km — the highway of the country; Kinshasa to Kisangani by boat in weeks

History in dates

c. 1400	The Kingdom of Kongo at the river's mouth; the Luba and Lunda empires in the south
1482	Diogo Cão reaches the mouth of the Congo
1885	The Congo Free State — Leopold II's private domain, recognized at Berlin; the rubber terror
1908	Belgium annexes the Congo, 15 November
1960	Independence, 30 June; the Katanga secession, 11 July; Lumumba deposed, September
1961	Patrice Lumumba murdered in Katanga, 17 January
1965	Mobutu's coup, 24 November
1971	The country renamed Zaire, 27 October
1974	The Rumble in the Jungle, 30 October
1994	The Rwandan genocide; a million refugees cross into Zaire
1997	Kabila takes Kinshasa, 17 May; Mobutu falls
1998–2003	The Second Congo War — "Africa's World War," nine countries, some 5 million dead
2001	Laurent Kabila assassinated, 16 January; Joseph Kabila president
2006	The new Constitution, 18 February; the first free elections, July and October
2012	M23 takes Goma for ten days, November
2019	Félix Tshisekedi president, 24 January — the first peaceful transfer
2022	M23 returns; the DRC joins the East African Community, 29 March
2025	Goma falls, 27 January; Bukavu, 16 February; the Washington agreement, 27 June; the Doha framework, 15 November
2026	The roadmap for talks, 23 August

Records & firsts

The deepest river in the world	The Congo, above 220 m
The second-largest rainforest	The Congo Basin, after the Amazon
The largest French-speaking city	Kinshasa, about 17 million
The world's cobalt	About 70% from one country
The most neighbors in Africa	Nine
Two capitals face to face	Kinshasa and Brazzaville across the river
The okapi and the bonobo	Found nowhere else on earth
Africa's first national park	Virunga, 1925
The largest UN peacekeeping mission	MONUSCO, at its peak above 20,000
The Rumble in the Jungle	Kinshasa, 1974
A Nobel laureate	Denis Mukwege, the Peace Prize of 2018
The largest hydropower scheme ever proposed	Grand Inga, 40 GW

Frequently asked questions

Which Congo is the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

The big one — the former Belgian Congo and Zaire, with its capital at Kinshasa, the second-largest country in Africa and the most populous French-speaking country in the world. Across the river lies the Republic of the Congo, the former French Congo, with its capital at Brazzaville: the two capitals face each other across the Congo, the closest pair of capitals on earth. Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo and DRC all mean the same country; Congo-Brazzaville is the other.

What is the official name of DR Congo?

The Democratic Republic of the Congo — République démocratique du Congo — restored on 17 May 1997 when Laurent-Désiré Kabila overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, who had renamed the country Zaire in 1971. It was the Congo Free State of Leopold II from 1885, the Belgian Congo from 1908, the Republic of the Congo at independence on 30 June 1960 and the Democratic Republic from 1964. The name is that of the Kongo people and their kingdom at the river's mouth.

What is the capital of DR Congo?

Kinshasa — Léopoldville until 1966 — on the south bank of the Congo at the Malebo Pool, with about 17 million people: the largest French-speaking city in the world and, by most counts, the largest city in Africa after Cairo and Lagos. Lubumbashi, the copper capital of Katanga, Mbuji-Mayi, Kananga, Kisangani, Goma and Bukavu are the next cities.

How big is DR Congo, and how many people live there?

About 2,344,858 km² (905,354 sq mi) — the second-largest country in Africa after Algeria and the eleventh in the world, a quarter the size of the United States, with nine neighbors along 10,481 km of border and 37 km of Atlantic coast. No census has been taken since 1984; the UN and the CIA World Factbook estimate about 112 million people for 2025, the fourth-largest population in Africa and the largest French-speaking one, growing at more than 3 percent a year with a median age of about 17.

What are the highest and lowest points of DR Congo?

Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley, 5,109 m (16,762 ft), in the Rwenzori Mountains on the Ugandan border — the third-highest peak in Africa, with glaciers on the equator — and the Atlantic. The country is the basin of the Congo River, the deepest river in the world and the second by flow after the Amazon, ringed by highlands in the east where the Great Lakes lie along the Rift and the Virunga volcanoes rise above Goma.

Who governs DR Congo?

President Félix Tshisekedi, in office since 24 January 2019 — the first peaceful transfer of power in the country's history — and re-elected on 20 December 2023 with 73 percent in a vote the opposition rejected; his second and last term under the constitution runs to 2029. Judith Suminwa, the first woman in the post, has been prime minister since 12 April 2024. The government does not control the east: the Rwanda-backed M23 took Goma in January 2025 and Bukavu in February, and holds much of North and South Kivu despite the agreement with Rwanda signed in Washington on 27 June 2025 and the framework signed with M23 at Doha on 15 November 2025; a roadmap for talks was agreed on 23 August 2026 while fighting continued. More than seven million people are displaced.

Explore the Encyclopedia

World knowledge, A to Z — the flags of every country, the sciences, places, people and more.