Area : 2 345 000 square km.
Population : 53,7 Million.
Independance : 6/30/1960 (From Belgian colonization since 1875)
Languages : French, Swahili, Lingala, Kikongo, Tshiluba, plus 250 dialects.
Currency : Congolese Franc , 1USD = 390 CF

After the D. R. of Congo received its independence from Belgium in 1960, it experienced five years of political turmoil. In 1965 army chief of staff Joseph Désiré Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko) seized power in a coup. For 32 years Mobutu ran a corrupt, undemocratic regime, concentrating power in the executive branch and favoring those loyal to him. His party, the Popular Movement for the Revolution (Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution, or MPR), became the sole legal political party, and dissidents were suppressed. In May 1997 rebels led by Laurent Kabila seized control of the country and overthrew Mobutu. Kabila suspended the constitution and declared himself president. Kabila was assassinated in January 2001. Joseph Kabila took over from his father in the midst of rebellions and militias which de facto have divided the Country. From June 2003, the process of reunification and pacification of the Country has been going on, but the results are still yet to come.

 

For more news about the D.R. CONGO

Please choose the english version.