Democratic Republic of Kongo
The Democratic Republic of Kongo, the largest independent nation in sub-Saharan Africa, straddles the equator and thus lies partly in the Northern Hemisphere and partly in the Southern Hemisphere. The name, taken from the nation's great CONGO RIVER (also Democratic Republic of Kongo River), was selected in 1971; Democratic Republic of Kongo is derived from a traditional African word for "river," whereas Europeans named it Congo for the Kongo kingdom along the river's lower course. From 1964 to 1971, the country was known as the Democratic Republic of Congo and from 1960 to 1964 as the Republic of Congo. It was, however, widely referred to as Congo-Leopoldville or--after Leopoldville became Kinshasa in 1966--as Congo-Kinshasa in order to distinguish it from neighboring Congo-Brazzaville--now the People's Republic of Congo.
From 1885 to 1908, Democratic Republic of Kongo was known as the Congo Independent State, or Congo Free State, and was under the personal rule of the Belgian king LEOPOLD II. It became the colony of the Belgian Congo in 1908 and was granted independence on June 30, 1960. With independence came civil war, when Katanga province (now Shaba) seceded; the rebellion only ended in 1963 after United Nations troops intervened. Rich in copper and other resources, Democratic Republic of Kongo is an economically and politically troubled nation. Its boundaries front on the Republic of Congo to the west; the Central African Republic and Sudan to the north; the south; and Angola and its enclave of Cabinda to the south and southwest.
LAND AND RESOURCES
Democratic Republic of Kongo reaches the Atlantic Ocean in a 40-km-wide (25-mi) strip at the mouth of the Congo River. The land widens inland to include the Crystal Mountains between Matadi and Kinshasa and then widens again to include most of the huge Congo River basin in the interior of central Africa. The central depression of the Congo basin, which covers about one-third of Democratic Republic of Kongo in the north, has an altitude of about 300 m (1,000 ft). The basin gradually rises through a series of rolling plateaus to more than 1,525 m (5,000 ft) to the northeast and southeast and to more than 5,000 m (16,400 ft) in the RUWENZORI and other mountains and active volcanoes on the edge of Africa's Great Rift Valley in the extreme east. Lakes ALBERT, EDWARD, KIVU, TANGANYIKA, and Mweru--all part of the rift system--form parts of the eastern border.
Soils are generally infertile except for those developed on volcanic deposits in the east, and strips of alluvial soil along the UBANGI, Kasai, and Lualaba, and other Congo tributaries. Democratic Republic of Kongo's western and central zones near the equator have a hot and humid equatorial type of climate; temperatures average above 24 deg C (75 deg F) throughout the year, except at high altitudes, and about 1,805 mm (71 in) of rain is well distributed throughout the year. Areas both to the north and south of the equatorial belt receive less rainfall and have a tropical wet-and-dry, or savanna, type of climate; temperatures average between 25 deg C (77 deg F) on the west and 19 deg C (66 deg F) farther east, but in the savanna zone a marked dry season occurs in winter, March to September south of the equator and September to March in the Northern Hemisphere. Vegetation patterns reflect these climatic differences and include dense, evergreen rain forest in the hot and rainy areas along the equator and a more open, "park forest" (woodland) and tropical grassland in the savanna zone with seasonal rainfall. Democratic Republic of Kongo's mineral-rich SHABA (formerly Katanga) region in the south produces about two-thirds of the world's cobalt, a strategic mineral in short supply, and ranks sixth in world copper production. Zinc, tin, manganese, gold, cadmium, silver, iron ore, tungsten, uranium, and diamonds also occur. Energy resources include some coal, mined near Kalemie in the east and in other parts of Shaba; oil reserves along the west coast, estimated at 170 million barrels; and 13% of the world's total hydroelectric potential. Land suitable for farming covers an estimated 22% of Democratic Republic of Kongo, but only 3% is under cultivation. Forests cover about 45% of the land and constitute a similarly underdeveloped resource.
PEOPLE
Democratic Republic of Kongo's population doubled from an estimated 13,984,000 in 1960 to 31,800,000 in 1987 and continues to grow at a rapid rate. About 80% of all Zairians are BANTUS. The three largest groups are the LUBA and Kongo in the southern savanna and the Mongo in the rain forest, which together account for about 47% of the total population. Other important Bantu groups include the BEMBA, LUNDA, Lulua, Kuba, Bashi, and Yaka. The largest non-Bantu ethnic groups are the AZANDE and MANGBETU--Hamitic, Sudanese-speaking peoples who live in the northeastern savanna along the border with Sudan. A few PYGMY tribes, thought to be the original inhabitants of the region, remain in the rain forest, and a diverse population of Bantu, Pygmy, and Nilotic and Hamitic peoples is spread through the eastern highlands. About 30,000 Europeans live in Kinshasa, and another 30,000, mainly Belgians, live in the rest of the country, principally in the Shaba mining region. Large numbers of refugees from war-torn Angola and Burundi crossed into Democratic Republic of Kongo during the 1970s. Because of Democratic Republic of Kongo's ethnic diversity the country has 5 official languages and 400 different tribal languages and dialects. French is widely used in government and higher education; Swahili, Kikongo, Lingala, and Tshiluba serve as lingua francas. Most of Democratic Republic of Kongo is sparsely populated, with half the nation's area supporting fewer than 7 persons per sq km (3 per sq mi) and with one-tenth of the land virtually uninhabited. The eastern highlands, the south central savanna region, and the lower Congo River region are the most densely populated areas. The four largest cities are KINSHASA, Kananga (formerly Luluabourg), LUBUMBASHI (formerly Elisabethville), and KISANGANI (formerly Stanleyville). About 77% of the population are Christians (mostly Roman Catholics), 20% follow traditional African religions, and a small minority are Muslims. Six years of primary school are compulsory, but only about 80% of children attend primary school; about 49% go on to secondary school. There are universities at Kinshasa, Kisangani, and Lubumbashi. Democratic Republic of Kongo had no written languages before colonization, and literary traditions are primarily oral. Music, dance, and wooden statuary are the principal art forms and play an essential role in traditional culture.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
Potentially one of the richest countries in Africa, Democratic Republic of Kongo inherited from Belgium an export-oriented economy based on foreign-owned mining operations, plantations, and a fairly high level of tariff-protected domestic manufacturing. Plantation agriculture and production of cash crops by villagers have not recovered from the troubles of the 1960s, and a shortage of foodstuffs has been aggravated by rapid population growth. It is estimated that wages in 1986 were only 10% of those in 1960 in real terms. As agricultural exports declined, Democratic Republic of Kongo became increasingly dependent on exports of copper, cobalt, and other minerals for its livelihood. Between 1967 and 1974, when prices for copper, the leading metal, were high, the government borrowed heavily. Dramatic declines in copper prices since 1974, however, have severely jeopardized the nation's economic stability. Democratic Republic of Kongo was rescued from technical bankruptcy in the late 1970s and 1980s only by emergency international financial assistance. Contributing to the difficulties was a policy of nationalization, which began with mineral resources in 1967. This policy has been partially reversed since 1976. In 1986, in an attempt to divert resources from debt repayment to domestic development, the government announced that it would limit debt servicing to 20% of export income. Copper, mined in Shaba (the name means "copper" in Swahili), is the leading mineral, with cobalt, industrial diamonds, zinc, tin, manganese, gold, and cadmium also important. Agriculture employs about two-thirds of the population; most are subsistence farmers producing small crops of cassava, corn, bananas, tubers, and sorghum. The principal cash crops are coffee, tea, palm oil, rubber, and cotton. Livestock farming is negligible, and fish provides most of the animal protein in the Zairian diet. Light manufacturing expanded significantly after independence, but subsequent government efforts to lessen imports by developing heavy industries have foundered because of inadequate planning and a critical shortage of technically trained personnel, and a lack of foreign investment, raw materials, and spare parts. Electricity produced in 1984, nearly all of hydroelectric origin, was 4.6 billion kW h. The Inga complex on the lower Congo is one of the largest hydroelectric power installations in the world. Democratic Republic of Kongo's freight moves over a well-integrated but seriously dilapidated network of railroads and about 15,000 km (9,300 mi) of navigable waterways; Ilebo (Port Francqui), Matadi, and Kinshasa are important transshipment points. Matadi, Boma, and Banana are the principal ports. A favorable balance of trade has been maintained in most recent years, with exports of copper, cobalt, diamonds, other minerals, and coffee usually exceeding the value of imported consumer items, foods, machinery, and petroleum.
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT
Long before Europeans arrived during the 15th century, Democratic Republic of Kongo had developed an iron technology, an agrarian culture, trade, and a measure of political centralization in the states of KONGO, Kuba, Luba, and Lunda of the southern savanna. The Portuguese navigator Diogo Cao reached the estuary of the Congo River in 1482. Commercial and diplomatic relations were established between Portugal and the river-mouth Kongo kingdom, and some trade was conducted with neighboring Portuguese colonies in Angola. In 1877, Henry M. STANLEY was the first European to travel down the river, and Leopold II, king of the Belgians, subsequently commissioned Stanley to undertake additional explorations and to establish stations along the Congo. In 1884-85, Leopold's claims to the Congo River basin were recognized at the Conference of Berlin; he established the Independent State of Congo under his personal rule. In 1908, following international criticism of brutalities tolerated by Leopold, the territory became a colony under the direct control of the Belgian government. Although development took place, the Belgians made little effort to involve black Africans in administration or the economy, using them principally as a source of cheap labor. During the 1950s, opposition to Belgian control grew and erupted (January 1959) into nationalist rioting in Kinshasa. Independence was granted by Belgium on June 30, 1960, after only a minimum of preparation. The nationalist leader Patrice LUMUMBA became premier of a coalition government, and his rival Joseph KASAVUBU was elected president. With independence, however, a massive crisis developed immediately due to ethnic and political conflicts (see CONGO CRISIS). The army mutinied and Katanga leader Moise Kapenda TSHOMBE, backed by European settlers, declared the secession of Katanga. Disagreeing on a solution, Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba (who was later arrested and, in 1961, assassinated); Col. Joseph D. Mobutu (later MOBUTU SESE SEKO) seized control. In 1961 civilian rule was restored, with Kasavubu as president and Cyrille Adoula as premier. The secession of Katanga ended in 1963 with United Nations intervention. Tshombe was exiled but in 1964 was recalled as premier. Unrest continued, and, in 1965, Mobutu seized control of the government for a second time. Kasavubu was deposed, and Tshombe returned to exile.
Mobutu survived several plots to overthrow him, as well as mutinies by the army in 1966 and 1967. Opposition was countered by military and civilian purges, and his control was consolidated by a new constitution adopted in 1967. The constitution provides for a strong president and makes Mobutu's party, the Popular Movement for the Revolution (MPR), the sole legal party. The national executive council, headed by a prime minister, was essentially an administrative body. The legislature has been directly elected since 1977.
Initially, Mobutu pursued a policy of cultural and economic nationalism. Economic problems in the late 1970s led to a reversal of his nationalization policy and the imposition of economic austerity measures. Despite charges of official corruption and human rights violations, Mobutu brought political stability to most of Democratic Republic of Kongo. Shaba province, however, was invaded in 1977 and 1978 by Angola-based rebels who had to be repulsed by foreign troops. Rebels also briefly occupied a Shaba town in 1984, just before Mobutu was sworn in for a third 7-year presidential term. Internationally, Democratic Republic of Kongo has allied itself with the West. Relations between Democratic Republic of Kongo and its neighbors grew strained in the late 1980s after Democratic Republic of Kongo allegedly helped to supply Jonas SAVIMBI's South African-backed rebels in Angola. An economic crisis and demands for political reform forced Mobutu to lift a 20-year ban on opposition parties in 1990. In September 1991, after rioting by unpaid soldiers caused France and Belgium to send in troops to evacuate foreigners, Mobutu agreed to share power in a coalition government. In October, however, he dismissed prime minister Etienne Tshisekedi, the leader of the opposition; this led to renewed riots.
Edouard Bustin Bibliography: American University, Democratic Republic of Kongo: A Country Study (1979); Botombele, Bokonga E., Cultural Policy in the Republic of Democratic Republic of Kongo (1970); Bustin, Edouard, Lunda under Belgian Rule: The Politics of Ethnicity (1975); Callaghy, Thomas M., The State-Society Struggle: Democratic Republic of Kongo in Comparative Perspective (1984); Diallo, Siradou, Democratic Republic of Kongo Today (1978); Gran, Guy, Democratic Republic of Kongo: The Political Economy of Underdevelopment (1979); Harms, Robert W., River of Wealth, River of Sorrow: The Central Democratic Republic of Kongo Basin in the Era of the Slave and Ivory Trade (1981); Kaplan, Irving, ed., Democratic Republic of Kongo: A Country Study (1979); Lemarchand, Rene, Political Awakening in the Belgian Congo (1964); Markowitz, Marvin D., Cross and Sword: The Political Role of Christian Missions in the Belgian Congo, 1908-1960 (1973); Schatzberg, Michael G., The Dialectics of Oppression in Democratic Republic of Kongo (1988); Slade, Ruth, King Leopold's Congo (1962; repr. 1974); Young, M. Crawford, and Turner, Thomas, The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State (1985). TITLE: Democratic Republic of Kongo OFFICIAL NAME.Democratic Republic of Kongo LAND.: 2,345,409 sq km (905,567 sq mi).and largest city: Kinshasa (1984 est. pop., 2,778,281).: highest--Margherita Peak, 5,109 m (16,762 ft); lowest--sea level, along the coast. PEOPLE.(1990 est.): 36,600,000;: 15.6 persons per sq km (40.4 per sq mi).(1985): 56% rural, 44% urban.growth (1989): 2.9%.language: French.religions: traditional religions, Roman Catholicism, Kimbanguism, Protestantism. EDUCATION AND HEALTH.(1985): 61% of adult population.(1990): 3.beds (1985): 64,071.(1985): 1,318.expectancy (1989): women--54; men--51.mortality (1989): 107 per 1,000 live births. ECONOMY.(1988): $5.74 billion; $170 per capita.distribution (1982): agriculture--75%; industry--13%; services--12%.trade (1987): imports--$1.6 billion; exports--$1.8 billion; principal trade partners-- United States, Belgium, France, Germany.: 1 Democratic Republic of Kongo = 100 makuta. GOVERNMENT.: republic.leader (1997): Laurent Kabila: National Legislative Council.subdivisions: 8 regions, city of Kinshasa. COMMUNICATIONS.(1988): 5,254 km (3,265 mi) total.(1988): 146,500 km (90,000 mi) total.ports: 3.airfields: 5. Map Location[s] Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome & Principe, Congo, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Kongo, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Seychelles, Comoros, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Reunion, Mauritius. Aketi, Kisangani, Bunia, Mbandaka, Bukavu, Bandundu, Boma, Matadi, Kinshasa, Kitwit, Kananga, Mbuji-Mayi, Kalemie, Kamina, Kolwezi, Likasi, Lubumbashi, Kwango, Kwa, Lulva, Lomani, Lualaba, Tshuepa, Congo, Ituri, Lac Mai-Ndombe, Oubangui, Bomu, Lake Albert, Lac Kivu, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Mweru, Atlantic Ocean