 |
Congo, Dem Rep |
Capital: Kinshasa
Languages: French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Currency:
Background: Since 1994 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC; formerly called Zaire) has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees from the fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. Troops from Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Namibia have intervened in this devastating conflict. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999, but skirmishes continue. The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s.
PEOPLE
Population: 65,751,512 (July 2007 est.); 70,916,439 (July 2010)
Life expectancy at birth:
2007
Total population: 57.2 years
Male: 54.97 years
Female: 59.5 years (2007 est.)
2010
Total population: 54.73 years
Male: 52.93 years
Female: 56.59 years (2010 est.)
Age structure:
2007
0-14 years: 47.6% (male 15,718,614/female 15,557,058)
15-64 years: 49.9% (male 16,224,734/female 16,571,549)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 680,313/female 999,244) (2007 est.)
2010
0-14 years: 46.9% (male 16,161,301/female 16,038,024)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 17,289,453/female 17,483,027)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 699,667/female 1,021,070) (2010 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.39% (2007 est.); 3.165% (2010 est.)
Population below poverty line: N/A
HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate: 3.2% (2006 est.);
People living with HIV/AIDS: 1,000,000 (2006 est.)
Literacy - definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
Total population: 65.5%
Male: 76.2%
Female: 55.1% (2003 est.)
Refugees and Internally Displaced People:
Refugees (country of origin): 106,772 (Angola), 42,360 (Rwanda), 19,032 (Burundi), 18,954 (Uganda), 11,723 (Sudan), 5,243 (Republic of Congo) (2006)
Refugees (country of origin): 132,295 (Angola); 37,313 (Rwanda); 17,777 (Burundi); 13,904 (Uganda); 6,181 (Sudan); 5,243 (Republic of Congo) (2007)
IDPs: 1.1 million (fighting between government forces and rebels since mid-1990s; most IDPs are in eastern provinces) (2006)
IDPs: 1.4 million (fighting between government forces and rebels since mid-1990s; most IDPs are in eastern provinces) (2007)
ECONOMY
Unemployment rate: N/A
Labour force by Occupation: N/A
Agricultural Products: coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
Industries: mining (diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, coltan zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement, commercial ship repair
Exports – Commodities: diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt
Exports – Partners:
Belgium 29.4%, China 21.1%, Brazil 12.3%, Chile 7.8%, Finland 7.2%, US 4.9% (2006)
China 46.75%, US 15.35%, Belgium 10.68%, Zambia 5.78%, Finland 4.38% (2009)
Imports – Commodities: foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Imports – Partners:
South Africa 19.2%, Belgium 11.8%, France 9.3%, Zambia 7.5%, Kenya 7.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.8% (2006)
South Africa 18.22%, Belgium 10.2%, China 8.34%, Zambia 7.77%, France 7.28%, Zimbabwe 6.52%, Kenya 5.48%, Netherlands 4.13%, Italy 3.96% (2009)
ENVIRONMENT
Environment – Current issues: poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage
Natural hazards: periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Source: CIA World Factbook
|
