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| This is the Democratic Republic of the Congo! A Wealthy Country, but... |
This is the Democratic Republic of the Congo! A Wealthy Country, but...
Do you think the Republic of the congo and the democratic republic of the congo are the same country? The answer is no. these two countries are two different countries. The most striking difference is that the congo republic is a former french colony, while the democratic republic of the congo is a former colony of belgium. In this article, we will discuss the country whose territory is the largest between the two congo countries.
Democratic republic of the congo, is the official name of the country commonly referred to as RD congo or often also referred to as congo-kinshasa the designation is to distinguish it from the republic of congo or commonly referred to by the name of congo.
In the years 1971 to 1997 the country was also known as the republic of zaire or zaire, but later its name was again restored to the democratic republic of the congo, as we know it today. In order to prevent misinterpretation between the two congo countries, in some of the descriptions of this article we will mention the name of this country with RDK or RD congo.
The democratic republic of the congo is a sovereign state located in the sub-saharan of central africa, the country shares its border areas with several other african states such as, with the republics of central africa and southern sudan to the north, with the states of uganda, rwanda, burundi, and tanzania in the eastern part, with zambia and angola in the south, and with the republic of congo to the west. In addition, the country also borders the Atlantic Ocean in the western part of the country.
RDK has a total area of 2,345,409 square kilometers, 433,927 kilometers greater than the area of the country. Based on its area, the democratic republic of congo is the second largest country on the african continent after algeria. RDK is one of the countries across africa crossed by the equator, which has caused the country to experience heavy rainfall.
Annual rainfall in the country could reach 2,000 millimeters in some places, and the region supports the congo rainforest, the world's second-largest rainforest after the amazon. The tropical climate also produces a congo river system that dominates the topographical region of the country along with rainforests, watersheds or watersheds occupying almost the entire country with an area of up to 1,000,000 square kilometers. The river and its tributaries are the backbone of the country's economy and transportation.
Kinshasa is the name of the capital and is also the largest city in the democratic republic of the congo. The town of kinshasa formerly named after leopoldville is also the third largest urban area in the african after the cities of cairo and lagos. Based on the country's annual projection sources, on July 1, 2020, the total population in the RDK reached 101,935,800 people, making the RDK the 14th country with the most population in the world.
There are more than 200 ethnic groups of this country. The majority are from auxiliary ethnic groups with the four largest tribes all making up about 45% of the population. Christianity is the majority religion in the country with about 95% of the population of the RDK residents embracing this religion.
The democratic republic of the congo is a country with a semi-presidential republican form of government, the country is headed by a president, and its government is led by a prime minister. Economically RD congo has the potential to become one of the richest countries in the world with abundant natural resources including cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, diamond and gem industries, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower and wood.
Yet the country has suffered from political instability in its government, lack of infrastructure, corruption, extraction as well as commercial and colonial exploitation that took place over the centuries with little and uneven development. In 2016, the human development rate of the Congo RD was ranked 176th out of 187 countries according to the human development index.
History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Centered on the congo basin or congo basin, the territory of the democratic republic of the congo was first inhabited by explorers of central Africa or known as the african pygmies about 90,000 years ago, and then this region was achieved by expansion by auxiliary peoples about 3,000 years ago.
In the western regions of the country, the congo kingdom ruled around the mouth of the congo river from the 14th to the 19th centuries. In the northeastern, central and eastern parts, the kingdoms of azande, luba and lunda ruled from the 16th and 17th centuries to the 19th century. In the 1870s, just before the start of the seizure of africa by european countries, the first exploration of european nations in the congo valley was carried out, led by henry morton stanley under the sponsorship of king leopold II of belgium.
King leopold then officially acquired rights to the congo territory at a berlin conference in 1885 and declared the land in the territory as his private property, he later named the territory as a congo free state or congo free state. During the free state period, the colonial military units of the leopold king, called the force publique, forced the local population to produce rubber.
During the period from 1885 to 1908, millions of Congolese died as a result of diseases and cruel exploitations carried out by the rule of king leopold. after which news of the violation began to circulate. In 1904, roger casement a British consul who was in boma, congo, was instructed by the british government to investigate.
His report, referred to as a casement report, confirmed allegations of humanitarian misconduct. The belgian parliament forced leopold to set up an independent commission of inquiry. And his findings confirmed reports of casement violations, concluding that the congolese population had halved during this period.
In 1908, although initially unwilling, leopold ceded the so-called congo-free state to belgium, so the region became known as the belgian congo. The belgian rule in the congo was based on the colonial trinity that is, the interests of the state, missionaries and private enterprises. The privilege of the commercial interests of the Belgians meant that a large amount of capital flowed into the congo and each region became specialized.
The interests of the government and private enterprises became very close, with the state helping private companies stop the strikes and remove other barriers imposed by the indigenous population.
The country is divided into nested administrative subdivisions, which are hierarchically organized, and run uniformly according to the original established policies, this system is different from that of the British and French, who generally preferred an indirect system of government in which traditional leaders were retained in positions of authority under colonial supervision.
During the belgian congo period there was also high racial segregation. Where a large number of white immigrants who moved to the congo after the end of World War II who came from across the social spectrum, but were nevertheless treated higher than blacks. The period of colonization of the Belgians in the region lasted for the period from 1908 to 1960.
Following the riots that took place in leopoldville on January 4 to 7, 1959, and in stanleyville on October 31, 1959, the Belgians realized that they could not maintain control of such a vast country, in the face of increasing demands for independence. Political leaders in Belgium and congo held a roundtable conference in Brussels on January 18, 1960.
At the end of the conference, on January 27, 1960, it was announced that elections would be held in the congo on May 22, 1960, and full independence was granted on June 30, 1960. The election resulted in nationalist patrice lumumba as prime minister, and joseph kasavubu as president. After independence, the state adopted the name republique du congo or republic of the congo.
Meanwhile the French colony in the central congo or moyen congo also chose the name of the congo republic after its independence, so the two countries are better known as congo-leopoldville and congo-brazzaville, after the name of their capital.
In 1960, the country was very unstable, the tribal leaders in the regions held much greater power than the central government and with the departure of the administrators of belgium, there were almost no skilled bureaucrats left in the country.
On July 5, 1960, a military uprising by the congolese army against european officers erupted in the capital and rampant looting began. On July 11, 1960 the richest province of the country, namely katanga, seceded under the leadership of moise tshombe. The UN sent 20,000 peacekeepers to protect europeans in the country and try to restore order.
In this period, the second richest province in the congo, kasai province, also declared its independence on August 8, 1960. A referendum held in 1964, officially changed the country's constitution and renamed the country a democratic republic of the congo. On November 25, 1965, the army chief of staff joseph-desire mobutu, later renamed mobutu sese seko, officially came to power through a coup.
In 1971, he later changed the name of the country to zaire. The country is run as a dictatorial state through one party, with the popular movement of the revolution as the only legitimate party. The mobutu government had considerable support from the united states, due to its anti-communist stance during the cold war.
In the early 1990s, the mobutu government began to weaken. Destabilization in the eastern regions due to the 1994 rwandan genocide and disenfranchisement among rwandans from the tutsi tribes in the congo led to the 1996 invasion led by the rwanda controlled by tutsi people from the rwandan patriotic front, which then began the first congo war.
On May 17, 1997, Laurent-Désiré Kabila a leader of the Tutsi forces from the province of South Kivu , became President after Mobutu fled to Morocco returning the country's name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tensions between President Kabila and Rwandan and Tutsi's presence in the country led to the Second Congo War or the great african war from 1998 to 2003.
Finally, nine African countries and about twenty armed groups were involved in the war. President Laurent-desire kabila was assassinated by one of his bodyguards on January 16, 2001 and replaced eight days later by his son Joseph Kabila who called for multilateral peace talks. The UN peacekeeping force, now known as MONUSCO, arrived in April 2001.
By June 2003 all foreign soldiers except the Rwanda had been pulled out of the congo. A transitional government was formed until after the election. A constitution was approved by the voters, and on 30 July 2006 the RDK held its first multi-party election. The democratic republic of the congo is named after the songo river that flows throughout the country.
The congo river itself was named by the sailors of early Europe according to the kingdom of the congo with its auxiliary inhabitants, whom they called the Congolese, when they met the people in the 16th century. The word congo comes from the congo language which is also called kikongo.
According to the american writer samuel henry nelson, it is possible that the word 'Congo' itself implies a public gathering based on the root of the word konga meaning, 'to collect'.
The design of the RD congo flag consists of a blue background with a red diagonal stripe bordered yellow across it and a yellow star symbol in the upper left corner. A new constitution, ratified in December 2005 and entered into force in February 2006, promotes a flag design similar to that flown between 1963 and 1971, with a slight change in color from royal blue against a sky blue background.
Blue symbolizes peace. Red means the blood of the martyrs of the country, the yellow of the country's wealth and the star of a bright future for the country. The official currency of the democratic republic of the congo is the congo franc, with the cdf code.
This currency if converted to the currency of our country has a value of about 7.23 rupiah for 1 congo franc. The country used to have a very strange form of currency. The currency is called the katanga cross. The metal is made of copper and is formed in the form of an X.
One katanga cross, which was used for trade in the 19th and early 20th centuries, could buy 10 kilograms of flour and six chickens. The population of the RDK represents more than 200 ethnic groups, with nearly 250 languages and dialects spoken throughout the country. In addition to French which is the official language of the country, about 215 native languages are spoken in the democratic republic of the congo.
The democratic republic of the congo in central africa is often referred to as the RDK, the RD of the congo and sometimes with the congo-kinshasa it is done to distinguish it from the republic of the congo which is often referred to as the congo or congo-brazzaville.
Spearheads and some of the earliest instruments ever formed by modern humans using materials other than stone or wood found on the banks of the semliki river in the RD congo are more than 90,000 years old.
The belgian king leopold II established a private venture to colonize the congo from the 1870s onwards. The colony was the largest privately owned land ever acquired by a single person and likely caused the deaths of about 10 million local inhabitants.
The latest history of the congo RD has been plagued by civil wars, conflicts and political upheavals. The country has become the epicenter of africa's so-called world war, which directly or indirectly killed up to six million people.
War report In 2008, it had caused more than 5.4 million deaths, mainly due to disease and starvation, and another 2 million were displaced from their homes or sought asylum in neighboring countries.
Making the second congo war the deadliest conflict worldwide since world war II. Although the war officially ended in July 2003 and an agreement by former belligerent parties to form a national unity government, about 1,000 people died every day in 2004 due to cases of malnutrition and diseases that could actually be prevented easily.
Congo armed groups and elements of the congolese army have a long and 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.
The democratic republic of congo hosts the world's largest United Nations peacekeeping mission, with more than 21,000 troops coming from about 50 different countries.
Tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold are also referred to as conflict minerals. Armed groups use profits from the sale of such minerals for the benefit of violent or war campaigns. The democratic republic of the congo is one of the most resource-rich countries on the planet, with abundant gold, tantalum, tungsten and tin.
All of these minerals are materials used in electronics such as mobile phones and laptops. The democratic republic of the congo is very rich in natural resources. Similarly, this country has the potential to become one of the richest countries in the world. In addition, the RDK has $24 trillion in natural resources. These resources include gold, platinum, diamonds, iron ore, and uranium.
However, congo has political instability the country suffers from infrastructure shortages, and has problems with corruption. Therefore, resources are not well spread across the country. From 1881, kinshasa the capital of the RDK, was referred to by the name leopoldville in honor of king leopold II of belgium. In 1966, the town was renamed kinshasa, which was named after a village that once stood near the site.
With a population of more than 14 million inhabitants, the city of Kinshasa is the second largest French-speaking city in the world after the city of paris, france. The capital of the democratic republic of the congo, kinshasa, is located on the congo river opposite the city of brazzaville, the capital of the republic of the congo or congo. These two cities are less than 1.6 kilometers apart, making them the closest capital in the world.
Rome and the vatican city are closer, however the vatican city is not a member of the UN and since it is a city-state, it technically does not have a capital. The congo river, which has a length of 4700 kilometers, is the second longest river in africa after the nile. the river is also the deepest river in the world. As well as being the second largest river in the world by volume after the amazon river.
The second largest rainforest in the world, the congo rainforest, is partly located in the congo RD. Congo rainforests span six countries namely cameroon, central african republic, congo republic, equatorial guinea, and gabon.
The Congo Valley is one of the most important wilderness areas on earth. The valley is home to about 10,000 species of plants, 400 species of mammals, 1,000 species of birds, and 700 species of fish.
This makes the democratic republic of congo one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world. The megadiverse country is the most biodiversity-rich country in the world.
The democratic republic of congo is home to 5 world heritage sites by unseco, these sites include the unesco listed virunga national park is the oldest national park in africa and is home to a variety of wildlife including the endangered mountain gorillas and chimpanzees as well as the active volcano nyiragongo. Okapi is one of the rare endemic animals of the country.
Although it is known as a forest giraffe, the okapi looks more like a cross between a deer and a zebra. Okapi comes from the ituri rainforest in the congo, the only place where it can be found in the wild.