Portal:Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo Portal

P:DRCP:DRC

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, or simply the Congo or less often Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is the second-largest country in Africa and the eleventh-largest in the world. With a population of around 124 million people, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the fourth-most populous country in Africa and the most populous Francophone country in the world. French is the official and most widely spoken language. There are over 200 indigenous languages, of which Lingala is the most widely spoken. The capital, largest city, and economic center is Kinshasa. The DRC is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, the Cabinda exclave of Angola, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the west; the Central African Republic and South Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika) to the east; and Zambia and Angola to the south. Centered on the Congo Basin, most of the DRC's terrain is covered by dense rainforests and is crossed by many rivers. The east and southeast are mountainous.

The territory of the Congo was first inhabited by Central African foragers around 90,000 years ago and was settled in the Bantu expansion about 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. In the west, the Kingdom of Kongo ruled around the mouth of the Congo River from the 14th to the 19th century. In the center and east, the empires of Mwene Muji, Luba, and Lunda ruled between the 15th and 19th centuries. These kingdoms were broken up by Europeans during the colonization of the Congo Basin. King Leopold II of Belgium acquired rights to the Congo territory in 1885 and called it the Congo Free State. In 1908, Leopold ceded the territory after international pressure in response to widespread atrocities, and it became a Belgian colony. Congo achieved independence from Belgium in 1960 and was immediately confronted by secessionist movements, the assassination of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, and the seizure of power by Mobutu Sese Seko in 1965. Mobutu renamed the country Zaire in 1971 and imposed a personalist dictatorship.

Instability caused by the influx of refugees from the Rwandan Civil War into the east of the country led to the First Congo War between 1996 and 1997, ending in Mobutu's overthrow. Its name was changed, and it was confronted by the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003, which resulted in an estimated several million deaths and the assassination of President Laurent-Désiré Kabila. The war ended under President Joseph Kabila, who restored relative stability, though fighting continued in the east. Human rights remained poor, and there were frequent abuses, such as forced disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment and restrictions on civil liberties. Kabila stepped down in 2019, the country's first peaceful transition of power since independence, after Félix Tshisekedi won the contentious 2018 election. Over 120 armed groups remain active, concentrated in the east. One of the region's largest cities, Goma, was occupied by the M23 rebels in 2012 and since 2025. The M23 uprising escalated in early 2025, with military support from Rwanda, which has caused a conflict between the two countries.

Despite being incredibly rich in natural resources, the DRC is one of the world's poorest and least developed countries, having suffered from political instability, lack of infrastructure, rampant corruption, centuries of commercial and colonial extraction and exploitation, with little widespread development. The nation is a prominent example of the "resource curse". Aside from Kinshasa, the next largest cities, Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi, are mining communities. DR Congo's main exports are raw minerals and metal, which were 80% of exports in 2023, with China being its largest trade partner. The DRC's level of human development was ranked 171 out of 193 countries by the Human Development Index in 2023. As of 2022^[update], following two decades of civil wars and internal conflicts, around one million Congolese refugees were still living in neighbouring countries. Two million children are at risk of starvation, and the fighting has displaced 7 million people. The DRC is a member of the UN, 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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Lumumba in 1960

Patrice Émery Lumumba (/pəˈtriːs lʊˈmʊmbə/ ^ⓘ pə-TREESS luu-MUUM-bə; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician, independence leader and revolutionary who served as the first prime minister of the First Congolese Republic (which is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) from June until September 1960, following the May 1960 election. Lumumba was the leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC) from 1958 until his assassination in 1961. Ideologically an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic.

Shortly after Congolese independence in June 1960, a mutiny broke out in the army, marking the beginning of the Congo Crisis. After a coup led by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, Lumumba attempted to escape to Stanleyville to join his supporters who had established a new anti-Mobutu state called the Free Republic of the Congo. Lumumba was captured en route by state authorities under Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, sent to the State of Katanga and, with the help of Belgian mercenaries, tortured and executed by the separatist Katangan authorities of Moïse Tshombe. His body was then dissolved in acid. In 2002, Belgium formally apologised for its role in the execution, admitting "moral responsibility", and in 2022, it returned Lumumba's tooth to his family. He is seen as a martyr for the pan-African movement. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Lake Kivu in North Kivu province (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 2The four Bantu languages with elevated "national" status (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 3Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 4A Roman Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 5President Joseph Kabila with U.S. President Barack Obama in August 2014 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 6Changes in life expectancy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1950 to 2021 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 7Congolese soldiers being trained by UN personnel (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 8Patrice Lumumba, the 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 9The Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Lubumbashi (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 10Ndeemba Mask (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 11A mining site in the Haut-Katanga Province (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 12Refugees in the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 13The Democratic Republic of the Congo speaks a variant of Belgian French (dark red), compared to other French speaking parts of Africa. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 14Force 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 History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 15Flag of CNDP (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 16Memory Board (lukasa) - Luba Kingdom (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 17The leader of ABAKO, Joseph Kasa-Vubu, the first democratically elected President of Congo-Léopoldville (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 18Our Lady of Peace Cathedral in Bukavu (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 19A Hemba male statue (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 20Mobutu Sese Seko and Richard Nixon in Washington, D.C., 1973 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 21States of the western Congo Basin, c. 1350 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 22Found in the Congolian rainforests, the okapi was unknown to science until 1901. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 23Mobutu with the Dutch Prince Bernhard in Kinshasa in 1973 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 24Children mutilated during King Leopold II's rule (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 25Mobutu Sese Seko (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 26A Köppen climate classification map of the DRC (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 27Brahmanist worshippers in Kinshasa (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 28The DRC's Human Development Index score, 1970–2010 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 29A section of National Road 1 between Boma and Moanda, Kongo Central (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 30States of the western Congo Basin, c. 1350 (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 311908 photograph of a married Christian couple (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 32Major states of the western Congo Basin, c. 1550 (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 33People fleeing their villages due to fighting between FARDC and rebel groups, North Kivu, 2012 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 34A map of the major Bantu languages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 35Ugandan President Idi Amin Visits Zaire and Meets Mobutu during The Shaba I Conflict (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 36People fleeing their villages due to fighting between FARDC and rebels groups, Sake, North Kivu, April 2012 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 37A group of demobilized child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 38Kasaï-Central province, where the Kamwina Nsapu militia clashes with security forces began. (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 39Per capita GDP in the DRC, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 international dollars. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 40The Democratic Republic of the Congo's population between 1960 and 2017 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 41A classroom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 42Belligerents of the Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 43President Félix Tshisekedi with the president of neighbouring Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso in 2020; both wear face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 44Abeti Masikini in 1978 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 45A map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 46A Congolese Christian. (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 47A satellite image of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 48A woman carrying bananas. (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 49Ituri Rainforest (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 50The largest ethnic groups in the DRC (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 51The Matadi railway station, part of the Matadi–Kinshasa Railway (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 52Masque féminin Ngaady a mwaash, XIX-XXe siècles (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 53Rough diamonds ≈1 to 1.5 mm in size from the DR Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 54Patrice Lumumba, founding member and leader of the MNC (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 55Electricity generation in Congo (DRC) in terawatt-hours, 2026 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 56Franco Luambo and his OK Jazz orchestra performing live at Zaire 74 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 57The endangered mountain gorilla; half of its population live in the DRC's Virunga National Park, making the park a critical habitat for those animals. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 58Government troops near Goma during the M23 rebellion in May 2013 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)

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Sheppard in c. 1917

William Henry Sheppard (March 8, 1865 – November 25, 1927) was one of the earliest African Americans to become a missionary for the Presbyterian Church. He spent 20 years in Africa, primarily in and around the Congo Free State, and is best known for his efforts to publicize the atrocities committed against the Kuba and other Congolese peoples by King Leopold II's Force Publique.

Sheppard's efforts contributed to the contemporary debate on European colonialism and imperialism in the region, particularly among those of the African-American community. However, it has been noted that he traditionally received little attention in literature on the subject. (Full article...)

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Jason Sendwe (1917 – 19 June 1964) was a Congolese politician and the founder and leader of the General Association of the Baluba of the Katanga (BALUBAKAT) party. He later served as Second Deputy Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from August 1961 until January 1963, and as President of the Province of North Katanga from September 1963 until his death, with a brief interruption.

Sendwe was born in 1917 in Mwanya, Kabongo Territory, Belgian Congo, to an ethnic Baluba family. He was educated in Methodist schools and nursing institutions. Unable to become a doctor due to a lack of medical schools in the Congo, he found work as a minister, teacher, and nurse. He became involved in several cultural organisations, and in 1957 founded BALUBAKAT to fight for the interests of the Baluba. He espoused Congolese nationalism and believed that the Congo should remain a united country after Belgian rule. In May 1960, shortly before the country's independence, he was elected to the newly constituted Chamber of Deputies. Sendwe sought to obtain control over the government of Katanga Province, but lost to a power struggle against his rival, Moïse Tshombe, and the Confederation of Tribal Associations of Katanga (CONAKAT) party. Regardless, Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba nominated him for the office of State Commissioner for Katanga. (Full article...)