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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as Congo-Kinshasa and formerly known as Zaire, is a country in Central Africa.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a vast country in Central Africa, the most populated officially French-speaking country in the world. They also have French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, and Tshiluba.

 

HERALDVIEWS takes you through some facts and figures that make this country which is sometimes called DR Congo what makes it thick, its beauty, pains of the past, current challenges, and a beautiful prospect. 

The people of the DRC represent over 200 ethnic groups, with nearly 250 languages and dialects spoken throughout the country. Kinshasa, the capital, is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world.

 

As of May 18, 2023, the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was estimated to be 97,379,799 based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. It is the fourth most-populated nation in Africa and the eighteenth most-populated country in the world.

 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest country in Africa. It borders nine countries: Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

 

The people of the DRC represent over 200 ethnic groups, with nearly 250 languages and dialects spoken throughout the country. Kinshasa, the capital, is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world.

 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is named for the Congo River, which flows through the entire country.

 

The country has a tiny coast on the Atlantic Ocean (37 km / 23 mi), just enough to accommodate the mouth of the Congo River.

 

The Congo River is the second longest river in Africa after the Nile and the second largest river in the world by discharge volume of water (after the Amazon), and the world’s deepest river with measured depths in excess of 220 m (720 ft).

 

Since the 1960s, the Congolese have endured over two decades of armed conflict with over 5.4 million people dead due to war-related causes, making it the deadliest conflict since World War II.

 

DR Congo is the world's richest country with regard to mineral resources; it has an estimated $23 Trillion worth of mineral deposits still untapped. If properly utilized, DR Congo will be both the largest net exporter of natural resources and the net producer of finished goods in the world.

 

Congolese armed groups and elements of the army have a long, brutal history of recruiting child soldiers. The United Nations reported at least 1,000 cases of child soldier recruitment between January 2012 and August 2013.

 

Congo DR is the world's largest producer of cobalt, it accounts for nearly 60% of the world's cobalt production.  Unfortunately, it's exported to make engines for cars, planes, ceramic, and batteries for electrical appliances.

 

The oldest national park in Africa is the Congo’s Virunga National Park. It is home to rare mountain gorillas, lions, and elephants. The park is currently under threat by the UK oil company, Soco, which has begun oil exploration there.

 

DR Congo is one of the world's largest gold producers, it accounts for the majority of the gold smuggled out of Africa through Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda to Dubai. Its artisanal gold is one of the most sought-after gold.

 

DR Congo accounts for 80% of the world's Coltan production, this is used to produce phones, laptops, and accessories for top companies at the expense of child labour.

 

In the DRC, only 1.8% of existing roads are tarred and less than 10% of the population has access to electricity today. Recently there have been pushes to improve, including the announcement of a $1 billion package from the World Bank for infrastructure.

 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo hosts the United Nations’ largest peacekeeping mission in the world, with over 21,000 soldiers from approximately 50 different countries.

 

DR Congo has a large uranium deposit. In fact, the atomic bombs for World War 2 had her mineral resources sought from Congo DR and it produced 80% of America's nuclear weapons.

 

Due mainly to the ongoing instability in the eastern part of the country, about 450,000 refugees from the DRC remain in neighboring countries, particularly Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

 

The Congo rainforest is home to 600 tree species and 10,000 animal species. Some of its most famous residents include forest elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, okapi, leopards, hippos, and lions.

 

The DRC is among the most resource-rich countries on the planet, with an abundance of gold, tantalum, tungsten, and tin – all minerals used in electronics such as cell phones and laptops – yet it continues to have an extremely poor population.

 

Tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold have been dubbed “conflict minerals.” Armed groups use the profits from sales for campaigns of violence. Some companies are becoming more accountable by tracing their supply chains.

 

Former NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1997, he founded a humanitarian foundation to improve the health, education, and quality of life of the people in the DRC.

 

DR Congo has the world's second-largest diamond reserves and is the third diamond-producing country after Russia and Botswana.

 

DR Congo is a top wood exporting country, also the Congo basin is home to the largest mineral deposit in the world having wood, oil, diamonds, gold, and coltan.

 

Congo DR is a net exporter of entertainment with music being one of its largest export mostly in the 90s.

 

Congo DR can produce 40GW of power, the most in the world

 

The Virunga National Park is one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet and home to the world’s critically endangered mountain gorillas. It covers an area of 7,800 square kilometres (3,000 sq mi). The park was established in 1925 as Africa’s first national park and is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site since 1979. The oldest national park in Africa is the Congo’s Virunga National Park. It is home to rare mountain gorillas, lions, and elephants.

 

Garamba National Park was established in 1938. One of Africa’s oldest National parks, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. Garamba is (or at least was) the home to the world’s last known wild population of Northern White Rhinoceros. The park is also well known for its African elephant domestication program started in the 1960s, which managed to train tourist-rideable animals.