Portal:Democratic Republic of the Congo

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The Democratic Republic of the Congo Portal

Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Coat of Arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Zaire, or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country in Central Africa. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 105 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika), Zambia, Angola, the Cabinda exclave of Angola, and the South Atlantic Ocean.

Centered on the Congo Basin, the territory of the DRC was first inhabited by Central African foragers around 90,000 years ago and was reached by the Bantu expansion about 3,000 years ago. In the west, the Kingdom of Kongo ruled around the mouth of the Congo River from the 14th to 19th centuries. In the northeast, center, and east, the kingdoms of Azande, Luba, and Lunda ruled from the 16th and 17th centuries to the 19th century. King Leopold II of Belgium formally acquired rights to the Congo territory from the colonial nations of Europe in 1885 and declared the land his private property, naming it the Congo Free State. From 1885 to 1908, his colonial military forced the local population to produce rubber and committed widespread atrocities. In 1908, Leopold ceded the territory, which thus became a Belgian colony.

Congo achieved independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960 and was immediately confronted by a series of secessionist movements, the assassination of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, and the seizure of power by Mobutu Sese Seko in a 1965 coup d'état. Mobutu renamed the country Zaire in 1971 and imposed a harsh personalist dictatorship until his overthrow in 1997 by the First Congo War. The country then had its name changed back and was confronted by the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003, which resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people. The war ended under President Joseph Kabila, who governed the country from 2001 to 2019 and under whom human rights in the country remained poor and included frequent abuses such as forced disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment and restrictions on civil liberties. Following the 2018 general election, in the country's first peaceful transition of power since independence, Kabila was succeeded as president by Félix Tshisekedi, who has served as president since. Since 2015, eastern Congo has been the site of an ongoing military conflict.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is extremely rich in natural resources but has suffered from political instability, a lack of infrastructure, corruption, and centuries of both commercial and colonial extraction and exploitation, followed by more than 60 years of independence, with little widespread development. Besides the capital Kinshasa, the two next largest cities, Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi, are both mining communities. The DRC's largest export is raw minerals, with China accepting over 50% of its exports in 2019. In 2021, DR Congo's level of human development was ranked 179th out of 191 countries by the Human Development Index and is classed as a least developed country by the UN. , following two decades of various civil wars and continued internal conflicts, around 600,000 Congolese refugees were still living in neighbouring countries. Two million children risk starvation, and the fighting has displaced 4.5 million people. The country is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, African Union, COMESA, Southern African Development Community, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, and Economic Community of Central African States. (Full article...)

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Olomidé performing in 2024

Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba (born 13 July 1956), known professionally as Koffi Olomidé, is a Congolese singer-songwriter, dancer, producer, and founder of Quartier Latin International. Often referred to as the "King of Ndombolo", he is noted for his explosive high notes, deep baritone, and offbeat voice. Agbepa is considered one of the most significant figures in 20th-century Congolese and African popular music. His lyrics often explore themes of love, politics, technology, success, infidelity, religion, chicanery, and disillusionment. Through his music and stage performances, he introduced the slower style of soukous known as Tcha Tcho and popularized a flamboyant fashion subculture called La Sape, alongside Papa Wemba.

Emerging as a ghostwriter for various artists in the Zairean music industry, he gained prominence in 1977 with the song "Princesse ya Synza", which featured Papa Wemba and King Kester Emeneya. In 1986, he established the group Quartier Latin International, which accompanied him onstage and on his albums since 1992, serving as a launching pad for emerging artists, including Fally Ipupa, Jipson Butukondolo, Deo Brondo, Montana Kamenga, Bouro Mpela, Ferré Gola, Marie-Paul Kambulu, Eldorado Claude, Djuna Fa Makengele, Soleil Wanga, Laudy Demingongo Plus-Plus, Éric Tutsi, among others. His career experienced a resurgence in 1990, when he signed a record deal with SonoDisc. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Democratic Republic of the Congo-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Map of the Kingdom of Kongo (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 2Belligerents of the Second Congo War (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 3Collecting firewood in Basankusu. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 4President Félix Tshisekedi with the president of neighbouring Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso in 2020; both wear face masks due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 5Masque féminin Ngaady a mwaash, XIX-XXe siècles (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 6Patrice Lumumba, founding member and leader of the MNC (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 7DR Congo's Human Development Index scores, 1970–2010. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 8A map of the major Bantu languages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 9Force Publique soldiers in the Belgian Congo in 1918. At its peak, the Force Publique had around 19,000 Congolese soldiers, led by 420 Belgian officers. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 10The Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Lubumbashi (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 11View of Leopoldville Station and Port in 1884 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 12Government troops near Goma during the M23 rebellion in May 2013 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 13Patrice Lumumba, first democratically elected Prime Minister of the Congo-Léopoldville, was murdered by Belgian-supported Katangan separatists in 1961. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 14Democratic Republic of the Congo map of Köppen climate classification (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 15Joseph Kabila was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from January 2001 to January 2019. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 16Congolese soldiers being trained by UN personnel. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 17Memory Board (lukasa) - Luba Kingdom (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 18A group of demobilized child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 19The endangered mountain gorilla; half of its population live in the DRC's Virunga National Park, making the park a critical habitat for these animals. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 20Kasaï-Central province, where the Kamwina Nsapu militia clashes with security forces began. (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 21Franco Luambo and his OK Jazz orchestra performing live at Zaire 74 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 22The leader of ABAKO, Joseph Kasa-Vubu, first democratically elected President of Congo-Léopoldville (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 23A Congolese Christian. (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 24Mobutu Sese Seko (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 25The four Bantu languages with elevated "national" status. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 26Train from Lubumbashi arriving in Kindu on a newly refurbished line. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 27Breakdown of the largest ethnic groups in DRC (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 28Rough diamonds ≈1 to 1.5 mm in size from DR Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 29Ugandan President Idi Amin Visits Zaire and Meets Mobutu during The Shaba I Conflict (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 30Development of life expectancy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 31A classroom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 32Democratic Republic of the Congo's population between 1960 and 2017. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 33Branhamist worshippers in Kinshasa (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 34Arab slave raid on Nyangwe, circa 1870 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 351908 photograph of a married Christian couple. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 36Flag of CNDP (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 37Change in per capita GDP of Congo, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 38Mobutu with the Dutch Prince Bernhard in Kinshasa in 1973 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 39Children mutilated during King Leopold II's rule (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 40Found in the Congolian rainforests, the okapi was unknown to science until 1901 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 41Our Lady of Peace Cathedral in Bukavu (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 42Abeti Masikini in 1978 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 43Roman Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 44Map of rail network (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 45President Joseph Kabila with U.S. President Barack Obama in August 2014 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 46Mobutu Sese Seko and Richard Nixon in Washington, D.C., 1973. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 47A woman carrying bananas. (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 48Population fleeing their villages due to fighting between FARDC and rebels groups, Sake North Kivu 30 April 2012 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 49A Hemba male statue (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 50Refugees in the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 51People fleeing their villages due to fighting between FARDC and rebel groups, North Kivu, 2012 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 52Congo Free State official Camille Coquilhat with the Bangala chief Mata-Buiké in c. 1888 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 53Ndeemba Mask (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 54The map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 55Ituri Rainforest (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)

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The Speech at the Ceremony of the Proclamation of the Congo's Independence was a short political speech given by Patrice Lumumba on 30 June 1960 at the ceremonies marking the independence of the Republic of Congo (the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) from Belgium. It is best known for its outspoken criticism of colonialism.

Lumumba, the first Congolese Prime Minister, gave the address during the official independence commemorations at the Palais de la Nation in Léopoldville (modern-day Kinshasa). The ceremony was intended to mark the harmonious end of Belgian rule and was attended by both Congolese and Belgian dignitaries, including King Baudouin. Lumumba's speech, which was itself unscheduled, was in large part a response to Baudouin's speech which argued that the end of colonial rule in the Congo had been depicted as the culmination of the Belgian "civilising mission" begun by Leopold II in the Congo Free State. Lumumba's speech, broadcast live on the radio across the world, denounced colonialism and was interpreted as an affront to Belgium and Baudouin personally. While it was well-received within the Congo, it was widely condemned internationally as unnecessarily confrontational and for showing ingratitude at a time when Belgium had granted independence to the state. The speech nearly provoked a diplomatic incident between the Congo and Belgium, and Lumumba later gave further speeches attempting to adopt a more conciliatory tone. (Full article...)

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Swedish UN peacekeepers led by Major Sture Fagerström plan their attack on the town of Kamina during the operation

Operation Grandslam was an offensive undertaken by United Nations peacekeeping forces from 28 December 1962 to 15 January 1963 against the forces of the State of Katanga, a secessionist state rebelling against the Republic of the Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in Central Africa. The Katangese forces were decisively defeated and Katanga was forcibly reintegrated into the Congo.

The United Nations had tried several times to reconcile the government of the Congo with the State of Katanga, which had declared independence under Moïse Tshombe with Belgian support in 1960. Though initially limiting its actions, the United Nations Operation in the Congo became increasingly impatient towards Katanga and Tshombe, drawing up plans to resolve the situation through force. Tshombe continuously violated agreements he had made with the United Nations and the Congolese government by building up his forces and bringing foreign mercenaries into the conflict. The situation reached a breaking point in December 1962 when Katangese gendarmes attacked peacekeeping forces in Katanga. United Nations Secretary-General U Thant authorised a retaliatory offensive to eliminate secessionist opposition. (Full article...)