Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire,
emerged from a rebel coup in 1997 with a new name and new
leadership, but prospects for real change after decades of
corruption remain uncertain.
Rebel leader Laurent Kabila's troops rolled over the feeble
resistance put up by the government troops of dictator Mobutu
Sese Seko, who died shortly after being forced into exile.
Kabila renamed the country and proclaimed himself president
in May 1997.
The immediate prospects of many people remain bleak in a
society plundered for more than 30 years under Mobutu. The
basics of a functioning society are still far from the norm,
with high inflation, widespread poverty and an unstable
currency.
The political situation appears similarly unreliable. Kabila
has promised elections for 1999, but some observers are
skeptical.
He has suppressed political opposition, eliminated
subordinate positions and resisted U.N. investigations of
alleged human rights abuses involving an unknown number of
refugees.
Land and People | History |
| Financial | Weather
DEMOGRAPHICS
- Population:
- 47,440,362
- Average life span:
- 45.2 male, 49 female
- GDP per capita (US$):
- $400
- Literacy rate:
- 77%
THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE
- Capital:
- Kinshasa
- Size:
- 905,365 sq. mi. (2,344,885 sq. km.)
- Government type:
- Republic (In transition)
- Political leaders:
- Laurent Kabila, president;
Likulia Bolongo, prime minister
- Religions:
- Christianity, Kimbanguist, Islam, traditional
- Languages:
- French (official), English, numerous dialects
HISTORY
- 1480s-90s -- Portugal establishes diplomatic relations with the Kongo kingdom, and kingdom representatives visit the Vatican. The kingdom adopts Roman Catholicism.
- 1500s-1800s -- Portuguese and other European traders buy black African slaves from regional leaders.
- Late 1870s -- British explorer Henry Stanley establishes outposts for King Leopold II of Belgium.
- 1885 -- The Congo Free State is formed as King Leopold II's personal colonial property.
- 1908 -- International criticism of the harsh treatment of the area's indigenous people under Leopold's rule prompts the Belgian government to assume control of the Congo Free State. The colony is renamed the Belgian Congo.
- 1920s-40s -- The colony's natural resources bring in wealth for Belgium until the Great Depression; during World War II, they provide raw materials for the Allies.
- June 30, 1960 -- Responding to an independence drive sweeping Africa, Belgium gives up the colony, which renames itself Congo.
- July-September 1960 -- Lacking clear leadership, the young nation tries a power-sharing arrangement between Joseph Kasavubu as president and Patrice Lumumba as prime minister. But Kasavubu dismisses Lumumba, whose supporters set up a rival government. Lumumba is assassinated the next year.
- 1960-64 -- U.N. troops work to restore order at the government's invitation.
- 1964 -- Moise Tshombe becomes prime minister of the reunited country.
- 1965 -- National elections are held. Tshombe's coalition wins but falls apart. The army seizes power, and Gen. Joseph Mobutu becomes president.
- Early 1970s -- Mobutu, pushing African names to reflect African pride, renames the country Zaire and himself Mobutu Sese Seko.
- 1970s -- Two external attempts by rebels to unseat Mobutu are driven back.
- 1970s-80s -- Living standards for many Zairians drop. Political pressure builds under an autocratic government.
- Early 1990s -- Mobutu is forced to share power and allow other political parties.
- Early 1997 -- Troops of rebel leader Laurent Kabila seize much of the country while Mobutu seeks medical treatment abroad. Mobutu returns but is forced to concede defeat and flees abroad.
- May 1997 -- Kabila names himself president and renames the country the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- September 1997 -- Mobutu, widely assumed to have bilked his country of untold wealth, dies in exile in Morocco.
FINANCIAL
- Monetary unit:
- Zaire; Congolese franc pending
CNN Travel Guide Currency Converter
CNN WEATHER INFORMATION
- Forecast and satellite maps:
- Africa forecast map
- Africa satellite image