About DR. Congo

Short History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), sometimes called Congo-Kinshasa in reference to its capital Kinshasa, is the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. The country is also the most French-speaking country in the world in area and population.

Located in central Africa, DRC gained independence from Belgium on June 30, 1960.

Kinshasa, the capital, is the largest city in central Africa, it serves as the country’s official administrative, economic, and cultural center.
There are several other major cities; all are administrative or commercial centers; Kananga is the capital of the Kasaï-Occidental (Western Kasai) province. Lubumbashi, the administrative headquarters of Katanga, is the heavily industrialized capital of the country’s copper-mining zone. Mbuji-Mayi is the capital of Kasaï-Oriental (Eastern Kasai) province and Congo’s diamond center. Kisangani, the terminal point of navigation on the Congo River from Kinshasa, is the capital of Orientale province. Bukavu, the headquarters of Sud-Kivu province, is a major tourist center; Kikwit, the former capital of Bandundu province, is the terminal port on the Kwilu River; and Matadi, the capital of Bas-Congo, is the country’s main port. Mbandaka is a river port and the capital of Équateur province.

More than 200 African ethnic groups live in Congo; of these, Bantu peoples constitute a large majority of the country’s population.
More than 200 languages are spoken in Congo. Communication between groups has been facilitated by four national languages: Swahili, Tshiluba (Kiluba), Lingala, and Kongo. French is the official language and the language of instruction, business, administration, and international communications.

As of 2021, the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is 92.38 million people.
Congo’s rate of natural increase is among the highest in the world. More than two-fifths of the population is younger than age 15, with some three-fourths under age 30; on the other hand, only a small fraction of the population is 60 or older.

The DRC is known for its vast resources and diverse wildlife, as well as having the world’s second-largest rainforest, after the Amazon. The country is home to more than 1,000 species of birds, more than 400 species of fish, 10,000 species of plants, and three of the world’s four great apes. Breathtaking protected habitats are in the DRC, including Garamba National Park and Virunga National Park, the oldest nature reserve of its kind in the world. The DRC also has nearly 80 million hectares of arable land and more than 1,100 precious minerals and metals.

 The motto of DR Congo is Justice, Peace, Work.

“Justice, Peace, Work” is the motto of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which intends to promote these three values within the republic. This trilogy embodies the aspiration of the Congolese people to want to live together in a dynamic of peace, justice, and collective efforts crystallized around the values of unity and work. This motto (Justice, Peace, Work) stems from the Constitution of February 18, 2006, in its first article.