The Democratic Republic of Congo (or DRC) is the third largest country on the African continent. The DRC borders the Central African Republic and Sudan to the North, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in the East, Zambia and Angola to the South, the Republic of the Congo to the West and is separated from Tanzania by Lake Tanganyika in the East.
Here are 10 facts about the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
1. The Democratic Republic of the Congo was formerly known as the Congo Free State, the Belgian Congo, Congo-Leopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa and Zaire. The current name came into effect in 1997.
2. To distinguish it from the neighboring Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is often referred to as the DRC.
3. French is the only official language in the DRC. Lingala, Kikongo, Swahili and Tshiluba are recognized as regional languages (although there are an estimated total of 242 languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
4. The DRC has an estimated population of 89.56 million people.
5. The capital city of the DRC is Kinshasa (founded in 1881 and formerly known as Leopoldville). The city has an estimated population of 17 million people.
6. In 1974, Kinshasa hosted the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, in which Ali defeated Foreman to regain the World Heavyweight title.
7. The country was a Belgian colony (Leopoldville was named after King Leopold of Belgium) and gained independence from Belgium in 1960.
8. Félix Tshisekedi is the current president of the DRC. He has been president of the country since January 2019.
9. Mobutu Sese Seko was the president of Zaire (now known as the DRC) from 1965 until 1997 and was a US Cold War ally. Mobutu institutionalized corruption to prevent political rivals from challenging his control, leading to an economic collapse in 1996.
10. Although the country is located in the Central African UN subregion, the nation is economically and regionally affiliated with Southern Africa as a member of the Southern African Development Community (or SADC).
There you have it. I’m sure that I might have left something important out.
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