View source for Democratic Republic of the Congo

{{Short description|Country in Central Africa}}
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{{About|the larger country|the smaller neighbouring country|Republic of the Congo|entities with similar names|Republic of the Congo (disambiguation)}}
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{{Pp-move}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Democratic  Republic {{nowrap|of the Congo}}
| native_name            = {{resize|100%|{{native name|fr|République démocratique {{nowrap|du Congo}}}}}}
| image_flag             = Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg
| flag_type              = [[Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Flag]]
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (black spear).svg
| coa_size               = 90
| symbol_type            = [[Emblem of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Emblem]]
| national_motto         = ''Justice{{snd}}Paix{{snd}}Travail''<br/>("Justice{{snd}}Peace{{snd}}Work")
| national_anthem        = ''[[Debout Congolais]]''<br/>("Arise, Congolese"){{parabr}}{{center|[[File:Democratic Republic of the Congo%27s national anthem.ogg]]}}
| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:Democratic Republic of the Congo (orthographic projection).svg|frameless]]|Show globe|[[File:Location Democratic Republic of the Congo AU Africa.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show map of Africa|default=1}}
| capital                = [[Kinshasa]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|4|19|S|15|19|E|type:city}}
| largest_city           = Kinshasa
| official_languages     = [[French language|French]]
| national_languages     = {{unbulleted list |[[Kituba language|Kikongo ya leta]]{{efn|The term "Kikongo" in the Constitution is actually referring to the Kituba language – which is known as ''Kikongo ya leta'' by its speakers – not the [[Kongo language]] proper. The confusion arises from the fact that the government of the DRC officially recognizes and refers to the language as "Kikongo".}}|[[Lingala]]|[[Swahili language|Swahili]]|[[Luba-Kasai language|Luba-Kasai]]}}
| religion               = {{ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap;
 |95.4% [[Christianity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Christianity]]
 |2.6% [[African Traditional Religion|traditional faiths]]
 |1.5% [[Islam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Islam]]
 |0.5% [[Religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|others]] / [[Irreligion|none]]
}}
| religion_year          = 2021
| religion_ref           = <ref name="United States Department of State 2022">{{cite web |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo |website=United States Department of State |date=2 June 2022 |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/ |access-date=23 March 2023 |archive-date=29 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129154709/https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
| demonym                = <span class="nowikilink">[[Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese]]</span>
| government_type        = Unitary [[semi-presidential republic]]
| leader_title1          = [[President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Félix Tshisekedi]]
| leader_title2          = [[Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Prime Minister]]
<!--Do not change Prime Minister until government is approved by National Assembly, see footnote-->| leader_name2           = [[Judith Suminwa]]
| leader_title3          = 
| leader_name3           = 
| leader_title4          = 
| leader_name4           = 
| leader_title5          = 
| leader_name5           = 
| legislature            = [[Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Parliament]]
| upper_house            = [[Senate (Democratic Republic of the Congo)|Senate]]
| lower_house            = [[National Assembly (Democratic Republic of the Congo)|National Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Formation]]
| established_event1     = [[International Association of the Congo|Colonised]] by [[Leopold II of Belgium]]
| established_date1      = 17 November 1879
| established_event2     = [[Congo Free State]]
| established_date2      = 1 July 1885
| established_event3     = [[Belgian Congo]]
| established_date3      = 15 November 1908
| established_event4     = [[Congo Crisis|Independence]] from [[Belgium]]
| established_date4      = 30 June 1960<ref name="cia.gov">{{cite web |author=Central Intelligence Agency |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo |website=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |location=Langley, Virginia |year=2014 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the/ |access-date=29 April 2014 |archive-date=22 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222023329/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
| established_event5     = [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 142|Admitted to the United Nations]]
| established_date5      = 20 September 1960
| established_event6     = Democratic Republic
| established_date6      = 1 August 1964
| established_event7     = [[Zaire|Republic of Zaire]]
| established_date7      = 27 October 1971
| established_event8     = [[First Congo War]]
| established_date8      = 17 May 1997
| established_event9     = [[Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Current constitution]]
| established_date9      = 18 February 2006
| area_km2               = 2,345,409
| area_rank              = 11th
| area_sq_mi             = 905,355 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| percent_water          = 3.32
| population_estimate    = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 114,388,160<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/democratic-republic-of-the-congo-population/|title=DR Congo Population (2025)|website=Worldometer|access-date=30 April 2024|archive-date=18 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175204/https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/democratic-republic-of-the-congo-population/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2025
| population_estimate_rank = 15th
| population_density_km2 = 48
| population_density_sq_mi = 104 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| population_density_rank = 168th
| GDP_PPP                = {{Increase}} $200.76 billion<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april |language=en |access-date=25 July 2025 |archive-date=28 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250428212902/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/April |url-status=live }}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2025
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 79th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{Increase}} $1,881<ref name="auto"/>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 180th
| GDP_nominal            = {{Increase}} $79.120	billion<ref name="auto"/>
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2025
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 83rd
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{Increase}} $742<ref name="auto"/>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 182nd
| Gini                   = 42.1
| Gini_year              = 2012
| Gini_change            = decrease <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref               = <ref name=gini>{{cite web |title=GINI index coefficient |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/gini-index-coefficient-distribution-of-family-income/country-comparison |publisher=CIA Factbook |access-date=16 July 2021 |archive-date=7 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707032440/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/gini-index-coefficient-distribution-of-family-income/country-comparison |url-status=live}}</ref>
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI                    = 0.522 <!--number only-->
| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 171st
| currency               = [[Congolese franc]]
| date_format            = dd/mm/yyyy
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|+243]]
| currency_code          = CDF
| time_zone              = [[West Africa Time|WAT]] and [[Central Africa Time|CAT]]
| utc_offset             = {{nowrap|+1 to +2}}
| utc_offset_DST         = 
| time_zone_DST          = 
| iso3166code            = CD
| cctld                  = [[.cd]]
| today                  = 
}}

The '''Democratic Republic of the Congo'''{{efn|{{langx|fr|République démocratique du Congo, RDC}}, {{IPA|fr|ʁepyblik demɔkʁatik dy kɔŋɡo|pron}}}} ('''DRC'''), also known as the '''DR Congo''', '''Congo-Kinshasa''', or simply the '''Congo''',{{efn|"Congo" ambiguously also refers to the neighbouring [[Republic of the Congo]].}} or more infrequently '''Zaire''' ([[Zaire|its official name from 1971 to 1997]]), is a country in [[Central Africa]]. By land area, it is the [[List of African countries by area|second-largest country in Africa]] and the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|11th-largest in the world]]. With a population of around 112 million, the DR Congo is the [[List of African countries by population|fourth-most populous]] in Africa and most populous nominally [[List of countries and territories where French is an official language|Francophone country]] in the world. [[Belgian French|French]] is the official and most widely spoken language, though there are [[Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|over 200 indigenous languages]]. The capital and largest city is [[Kinshasa]], which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the [[Republic of the Congo]], the [[Cabinda Province|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 [[Angola–Democratic Republic of the Congo border|south]]. Centered on the [[Congo Basin]], most of the country's [[Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|terrain]] is covered by [[Congolian rainforests|dense rainforests]] and is crossed by many rivers, while the east and southeast are mountainous.

The territory of the Congo was first inhabited by [[African Pygmies|Central African foragers]] around 90,000 years ago and was settled in the [[Bantu expansion]] about 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Van Reybrouck |first=David |title=Congo: the epic history of a people |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-06-220012-9 |location=New York, NY |pages=Chapter 1 and 2}}</ref> 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]], [[Kingdom of Luba|Luba]], and [[Kingdom of Lunda|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 [[Leopold II of Belgium#Relinquishment of the Congo|ceded]] the territory after international pressure in response to [[Atrocities in the Congo Free State|widespread atrocities]], and it became a [[Belgian Congo|Belgian colony]]. Congo achieved [[Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)|independence]] from [[Belgium]] in 1960 and was immediately confronted by [[Congo Crisis|secessionist movements]], the assassination of Prime Minister [[Patrice Lumumba]], and the [[1965 Democratic Republic of the Congo coup d'état|seizure of power]] by [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] in 1965. Mobutu renamed the country [[Zaire]] in 1971 and imposed a [[personalist dictatorship]].{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="Introduction"}}

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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2019 |title='I Will Not Leave This Place' |url=https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/will-not-leave-place/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=Global Press Journal |language=en-US |archive-date=24 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250424023157/https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/will-not-leave-place/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Its name was changed back to the DRC and it was confronted by the [[Second Congo War]] from 1998 to 2003, which resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people and the assassination of President [[Laurent-Désiré Kabila]].<ref name="IRC2007fullreport">{{cite report |url=http://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/resource-file/2006-7_congoMortalitySurvey.pdf |title=Mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo: An ongoing crisis: Full 26-page report |page=26 |author=Coghlan, Benjamin |access-date=21 March 2013 |year=2007 |display-authors=etal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908204131/http://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/resource-file/2006-7_congoMortalitySurvey.pdf |archive-date=8 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The deadliest war in the world">{{cite news |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1198921,00.html |title=The deadliest war in the world |last=Robinson |first=Simon |date=28 May 2006 |magazine=Time |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911082009/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1198921,00.html |archive-date=11 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-democratic-death-idUSL2280201220080122 |title=Congo War driven crisis kills 45,000 a month |last=Bavier |first=Joe |date=22 January 2008 |work=Reuters |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110414093820/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/22/us-congo-democratic-death-idUSL2280201220080122 |archive-date=14 April 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="IRC2007Facts">{{cite web |url=http://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/resource-file/IRC_DRCMortalityFacts.pdf |title=Measuring Mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo |year=2007 |publisher=[[International Rescue Committee]] |access-date=2 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811153815/http://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/resource-file/IRC_DRCMortalityFacts.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The war, described as the deadliest conflict since World War II,<ref name="CFR2025" /> ended under President [[Joseph Kabila]], who restored relative stability, though fighting continued in the east. [[Human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Human rights]] remained poor, and there were frequent abuses, such as [[Enforced disappearance|forced disappearances]], torture, arbitrary imprisonment and restrictions on civil liberties.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/blog-feed/democratic-republic-congo-crisis |title=Democratic Republic of Congo in Crisis &#124; Human Rights Watch |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-date=13 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513223749/https://www.hrw.org/blog-feed/democratic-republic-congo-crisis |url-status=live}}</ref> Kabila stepped down in 2019, the country's first [[peaceful transition of power]] since independence, after [[Félix Tshisekedi]] won the contentious [[2018 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election|2018 general election]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mwanamilongo |first1=Saleh |last2=Anna |first2=Cara |date=24 January 2019 |title=Congo's surprise new leader in 1st peaceful power transfer |website=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://apnews.com/article/2d0729b681354355a2b2903c93c59a2f |access-date=29 May 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518102037/https://apnews.com/article/2d0729b681354355a2b2903c93c59a2f}}</ref> Since the early 2000s, there have been [[List of armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|over 100 armed groups]] active in the DRC, [[Kivu conflict|concentrated in the Kivu region]]. One of its largest cities, [[Goma]], was occupied by the [[March 23 Movement]] (M23) rebels [[M23 rebellion (2012–2013)|in 2012]] and [[2025 Goma offensive|2025]]. The [[M23 campaign (2022–present)|M23 uprising]] escalated in early 2025 after the capture of cities in the east, with military support from [[Rwanda]], which has caused a [[Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda tensions (2022–present)|conflict between the two countries]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Congo rebels reach centre of eastern city in major escalation |date=27 January 2025 |access-date=27 January 2025 |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/rebels-enter-centre-congos-goma-after-claiming-capture-city-2025-01-27/ |archive-date=30 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130233201/https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/rebels-enter-centre-congos-goma-after-claiming-capture-city-2025-01-27/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Congo's M23 rebels reach Goma: what is behind the insurgency? |date=27 January 2025 |access-date=27 January 2025 |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/why-is-eastern-congos-m23-conflict-escalating-2025-01-26/}}</ref><ref name="Reuters1">{{Cite web |last=Rolley |first=Sonia |title=Army disarray hobbles Congo's fight with Rwanda-backed rebels, officers say |date=4 July 2024 |access-date=27 January 2025 |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/army-disarray-hobbles-congos-fight-with-rwanda-backed-rebels-officers-say-2024-07-04/}}</ref> A [[2025 Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda peace agreement|peace agreement]] brokered by the US was signed by Rwanda and the DRC in June 2025.<ref name="France24-27062025" />

Despite being incredibly rich in [[natural resource]]s, the DRC is one of the world's poorest, having suffered from political instability, lack of infrastructure, rampant corruption, centuries of commercial and colonial extraction and exploitation, with little widespread development.<ref name=":9">BBC. (9 October 2013). "DR Congo: Cursed by its natural wealth".
[https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24396390 BBC News website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531054859/http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24396390 |date=31 May 2018 }} Retrieved 9 December 2017.
</ref><ref>Tshinu, G. M. (2022). [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Innocent-Nojiyeza/publication/384065079_Mending_Malawi%27s_Water_Institutions_and_IWRM_Solutions/links/675981e28a2601629917782a/Mending-Malawis-Water-Institutions-and-IWRM-Solutions.pdf#page=345 Unpacking the resource curse and realism challenges on economic development in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Case of gecamines] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250609005422/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Innocent-Nojiyeza/publication/384065079_Mending_Malawi%27s_Water_Institutions_and_IWRM_Solutions/links/675981e28a2601629917782a/Mending-Malawis-Water-Institutions-and-IWRM-Solutions.pdf#page=345 |date=9 June 2025 }}. In ''Handbook of research on resource management and the struggle for water sustainability in Africa'' (pp. 318–336). IGI Global Scientific Publishing.</ref> The nation is a prominent example of the "[[resource curse]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Neil|first=Patrick|title=Essentials of Comparative Politics|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780393976540|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Norton|location=New York, London|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780393976540/page/147 147]|isbn=978-0-393-97654-0}}</ref> Besides Kinshasa, the next largest cities, [[Lubumbashi]] and [[Mbuji-Mayi]], are [[Mining community|mining communities]]. The largest exports are raw [[mineral]]s and [[metal]], which accounted for 80% of exports in 2023, with China being its largest trade partner.<ref name="UNCTAD" />{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="Economy"}} For 2023, DR Congo's level of human development was ranked 171 out of 193 countries by the [[Human Development Index]].<ref name="UNHDR" /> It is classified one of the [[least developed countries]] by the UN.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UN list of least developed countries |publisher=[[UN Trade and Development]] |access-date=4 March 2025 |url=https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/list |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801215744/https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/list |url-status=live }}</ref> {{as of|2022}}, following two decades of [[#Continental and civil wars (1996–2007)|civil wars]] and [[#Continued conflicts (2008–2018)|internal conflicts]], around one million Congolese refugees were still living in neighbouring countries.{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc=People and Society}} Two million children are at risk of starvation, and the fighting has displaced 7&nbsp;million people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-congo-crisis-20180412-story.html |title=Violence is roiling the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some say it's a strategy to keep the president in power |author=Robyn Dixon |date=12 April 2018 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180608045928/http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-congo-crisis-20180412-story.html |archive-date=8 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 May 2024 |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo: Internally displaced persons and returnees, April 2024 {{!}} OCHA |url=https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/democratic-republic-congo/democratic-republic-congo-internally-displaced-persons-and-returnees-april-2024 |access-date=2 March 2025 |website=www.unocha.org |language=en}}</ref> The country is a member of the UN, [[Non-Aligned Movement]], [[African Union]], [[COMESA]], [[Southern African Development Community]], {{Lang|fr|[[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie]]}}, and [[Economic Community of Central African States]].

==Etymology==
{{further|Congo River|Kongo people}}
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is named after the [[Congo River]], which flows through the country. The Congo River is the world's deepest river and the world's third-largest river [[List of rivers by discharge|by discharge]]. The ''Comité d'études du haut Congo'' ("Committee for the Study of the Upper Congo"), established by King [[Leopold II of Belgium]] in 1876, and the [[International Association of the Congo]], established by him in 1879, were also named after the river.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FmadDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |title=The Democratic Republic of the Congo. La République Démocratique du Congo |last1=Bobineau |first1=Julien |last2=Gieg |first2=Philipp |date=2016 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-643-13473-8 |page=32 |language=en}}</ref>

The Congo River was named by early European sailors after the [[Kingdom of Kongo]] and its [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] inhabitants, the [[Kongo people]], when they encountered them in the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sj9mDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA158 |title=Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo |last=Kisangani |first=Emizet Francois |year=2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-7316-0 |page=158 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IwMwBVfr0sC&pg=PA79 |title=Africa's Urban Past |last=Anderson |first=David |date=2000 |publisher=James Currey Publishers |isbn=978-0-85255-761-7 |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-date=1 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201133106/https://books.google.com/books?id=0IwMwBVfr0sC&pg=PA79 |url-status=live}}</ref> The word ''Kongo'' comes from the [[Kongo language]] (also called ''Kikongo''). According to American writer Samuel Henry Nelson: "It is probable that the word 'Kongo' itself implies a public gathering and that it is based on the root ''konga'', 'to gather' (trans[itive])."<ref>Nelson, Samuel Henry. Colonialism In The Congo Basin, 1880–1940. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1994</ref> The modern name of the Kongo people, ''Bakongo'', was introduced in the early 20th century.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been known in the past as, in chronological order, the [[Congo Free State]], [[Belgian Congo]], the [[Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)|Republic of the Congo-Léopoldville]], the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the [[Republic of Zaire]], before returning to its current name the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<ref name="cia.gov"/>

At the time of independence, the country was named the Republic of the Congo-Léopoldville to distinguish it from its neighbour [[Republic of the Congo|Congo]], officially the [[Republic of the Congo]]. With the promulgation of the [[Luluabourg Constitution]] on 1 August 1964, the country became the DRC but was renamed [[Zaire]] (a past name for the Congo River) on 27 October 1971 by President [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] as part of his ''[[Authenticité (Zaire)|Authenticité]]'' initiative.<ref name="kisanganibobb">{{Cite book |author1=Emizet Francois Kisangani |author2=Scott F. Bobb |title=Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvAWPTaRvFYC&pg=PR51 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |access-date=29 April 2016 |date=2010 |page=i |isbn=978-0-8108-6325-5 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311161025/https://books.google.com/books?id=FvAWPTaRvFYC&pg=PR51 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The word ''Zaire'' is from a [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] adaptation of a Kikongo word ''nzadi'' ("river"), a truncation of ''nzadi o nzere'' ("river swallowing rivers").<ref>Forbath, Peter. ''The River Congo'' (1977), p. 19.</ref><ref>Ghislain C. Kabwit, ''Zaïre: the Roots of the Continuing Crisis'', Cambridge University Press, 1979</ref><ref>Jean-Jacques Arthur Malu-Malu, ''Le Congo Kinshasa'', KARTHALA Editions, 2014, {{p.|171}}</ref> The river was known as ''Zaire'' during the 16th and 17th centuries. ''Congo'' seems to have replaced ''Zaire'' gradually in English usage during the 18th century, and ''Congo'' is the preferred English name in 19th-century literature, although references to ''Zaire'' as the name used by the natives (i.e., derived from Portuguese usage) remained common.<ref>James Barbot, ''An Abstract of a Voyage to Congo River, Or the Zair and to Cabinde in the Year 1700'' (1746). James Hingston Tuckey, ''Narrative of an Expedition to Explore the River Zaire, Usually Called the Congo, in South Africa, in 1816'' (1818). "Congo River, called ''Zahir'' or ''Zaire'' by the natives" John Purdy, ''Memoir, Descriptive and Explanatory, to Accompany the New Chart of the Ethiopic or Southern Atlantic Ocean'', 1822, p. 112.</ref>

In 1992, the Sovereign National Conference voted to change the name of the country to the "Democratic Republic of the Congo", but the change was not made.<ref>{{cite book |author=Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cvjNXc0tsyEC&pg=PA5 |title=From Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo |publisher=Nordic Africa Institute |year=2004 |isbn=978-91-7106-538-4 |pages=5– |author-link=Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505033037/https://books.google.com/books?id=cvjNXc0tsyEC&pg=PA5 |archive-date=5 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The country's name was later restored by President [[Laurent-Désiré Kabila]] when he overthrew Mobutu in 1997.<ref>{{cite book |author=Yusuf, A.A. |title=African Yearbook of International Law, 1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iVd1jaPmtl0C&pg=PA49 |year=1998 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=978-90-411-1055-8 |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510111059/https://books.google.com/books?id=iVd1jaPmtl0C&pg=PA49 |archive-date=10 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> To distinguish it from the neighboring Republic of the Congo, it is sometimes referred to as ''Congo (Kinshasa)'', ''Congo-Kinshasa'', or ''Big Congo''.<ref name="little congo">{{cite web |last=Gjelten |first=Tom |url=https://www.npr.org/2007/04/28/9896339/a-visit-to-the-other-congo-the-forgotten-congo |title=A Visit to the Other Congo, the Forgotten Congo |website=[[NPR]] |access-date=8 August 2023 |date=28 April 2007 |archive-date=18 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175033/https://www.npr.org/2007/04/28/9896339/a-visit-to-the-other-congo-the-forgotten-congo |url-status=live}}</ref> Its name is sometimes also abbreviated as ''Congo DR'', ''DR Congo'',<ref name=DR-Congo/> ''DRC'',<ref name=DRCabb>{{cite web |url=https://dlca.logcluster.org/51-democratic-republic-congo-acronyms-and-abbreviations |title=5.1 Democratic Republic of Congo Acronyms and Abbreviations &#124; Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508184028/https://dlca.logcluster.org/51-democratic-republic-congo-acronyms-and-abbreviations |url-status=live}}</ref> ''the DROC'',<ref name=DROC/> and ''RDC'' (in French).<ref name=DRCabb/>

==History==
{{Main|History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

===Early history===
{{Main|Early Congolese history|Kingdom of Kongo}}
The area of the present day Democratic Republic of the Congo was inhabited as early as 90,000 years ago, and later underwent major demographic and technological change with the expansion of [[Bantu peoples]] during the first millennium BC.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Development of States in West Central Africa to 1540 |date=2020 |work=A History of West Central Africa to 1850 |pages=16–55 |editor-last=Thornton |editor-first=John K. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/history-of-west-central-africa-to-1850/development-of-states-in-west-central-africa-to-1540/CE71122CF8DFD7B4B188BA34F8F65BFC |access-date=21 September 2024 |series=New Approaches to African History |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-56593-7 |archive-date=8 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008080246/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/history-of-west-central-africa-to-1850/development-of-states-in-west-central-africa-to-1540/CE71122CF8DFD7B4B188BA34F8F65BFC |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Rp|page=|pages=17–18}} From this process emerged organised states and empires, including early confederations around Pool Malebo and later the [[Kingdom of Kongo]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Thornton |first=John |date=2024 |title=Mwene Muji: A Medieval Empire in Central Africa? |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/mwene-muji-a-medieval-empire-in-central-africa/2F2D9F46069847DC655F171B75636D27 |journal=The Journal of African History |language=en |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=30–46 |doi=10.1017/S0021853724000161 |issn=0021-8537 |url-access=subscription |doi-access=free |archive-date=4 October 2024 |access-date=13 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241004042845/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/mwene-muji-a-medieval-empire-in-central-africa/2F2D9F46069847DC655F171B75636D27 |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as the [[Luba Empire|Luba]] and [[Lunda Empire]]s.

===Congo Free State (1877–1908)===
From the 1870s to 1908, King [[Leopold II of Belgium|Leopold II]] of Belgium established and ruled the [[Congo Free State]] as his personal possession, using forced labour and concessionary companies to extract rubber, while violence, disease and exploitation caused catastrophic population loss.<ref>Hochschild, A. (1999). King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. ''The Wilson Quarterly'', ''23''(1).</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sanderson |first1=Jean-Paul |editor1-last=Goddeeris |editor1-first=Idesbald |editor2-last=Lauro |editor2-first=Amandine |editor3-last=Vanthemsche |editor3-first=Guy |title=Le Congo colonial: Une histoire en questions |date=2020 |publisher=Renaissance du Livre |isbn=978-2-507-05788-6 |language=fr |chapter=Du reflux à la croissance démographique : comment la démographie congolaise a-t-elle été influencée par la colonisation ? |page=124 |doi=10.14375/NP.9782369439875}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Histoire générale du Congo: De l'héritage ancien à la République Démocratique |language=fr |trans-title=General History of the Congo: From Ancient Heritage to the Democratic Republic |first=Isidore |last=Ndaywel è Nziem |author-link=Isidore Ndaywel è Nziem }}</ref><ref>"'[https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/will-not-leave-place/ I Will Not Leave This Place] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250424023157/https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/will-not-leave-place/ |date=24 April 2025 }}'". Global Press Journal, Merveille Kavira Luneghe. 7 October 2019.</ref> International exposure of the abuses, notably through the 1904 [[Casement Report]] and growing diplomatic pressure, led to Leopold's loss of control and the annexation of the territory as the Belgian Congo in 1908.

===Belgian Congo (1908–1960)===
{{Main|Belgian Congo}}
The Belgian Congo was governed directly from [[Brussels]], and although this change in administration ended the most extreme abuses of the Congo Free State, Belgian rule largely continued earlier patterns of direct control, racial segregation, forced labour, and repression, while prioritising economic exploitation through close cooperation between the state, missionaries, and private companies. After the [[Second World War]], urbanisation, development programmes, and limited social improvements fostered a small African middle class, but political exclusion persisted, contributing to the rise of nationalist movements and escalating demands for independence in the late 1950s.

===Independence and political crisis (1960–1965)===
{{Main|Congo Crisis|Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)}}

[[File:Joseph Kasa-Vubu in Israel.png|thumb|upright|right|The leader of [[ABAKO]], [[Joseph Kasa-Vubu]], first democratically elected [[President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|President]] of [[Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)|Congo-Léopoldville]]]]
[[File:Patrice Lumumba official portrait.jpg|thumb|[[Patrice Lumumba]], first democratically elected [[Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Prime Minister]] of the [[Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)|Congo-Léopoldville]], was murdered by Belgian-supported [[State of Katanga|Katangan separatists]] in 1961.]]
In May 1960, a growing nationalist movement, the [[Mouvement National Congolais]] led by [[Patrice Lumumba]], won the [[1960 Belgian Congo general election|parliamentary elections]]. Lumumba became the first [[Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Prime Minister]] of the Republic of the Congo, on 24 June 1960. The parliament elected [[Joseph Kasa-Vubu]] as [[President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|president]] of the Alliance des Bakongo ([[ABAKO]]) party. Other parties that emerged included the [[Parti Solidaire Africain]] led by [[Antoine Gizenga]], and the Parti National du Peuple led by Albert Delvaux and [[Laurent Mbariko]].<ref>Congo 1960, dossiers du CRISP, Belgium</ref>

The Belgian Congo achieved independence on 30 June 1960 under the name "République du Congo" ("Republic of Congo" or "Republic of the Congo" in English). Shortly after, on 15 August 1960, the neighboring French colony of [[French Congo|Middle Congo]] also gained independence and adopted the same name, '[[Republic of the Congo|Republic of Congo]].' To avoid confusion between the two, the former Belgian Congo became known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo ('''DR Congo'''), while the former French colony retained the name 'Republic of the Congo' ('''Congo''').

Shortly after independence the ''Force Publique'' mutinied, and on 11 July the [[Katanga Province|province of Katanga]] (led by [[Moïse Tshombe]]) and [[South Kasai]] [[Congo Crisis|engaged in secessionist struggles]] against the new leadership.<ref>"[http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826488-4,00.html Jungle Shipwreck] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216231712/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826488-4,00.html |date=16 December 2014 }}", ''Time'', 25 July 1960.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=- HeinOnline.org |url=https://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Welcome?message=Please%20log%20in&url=%2FHOL%2FPage%3Fhandle%3Dhein.cow%2Fcowcs0092%26size%3D2%26collection%3Dcow%26id%3D1 |website=www.heinonline.org |language=en |access-date=16 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116131729/https://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Welcome?message=Please%20log%20in&url=%2FHOL%2FPage%3Fhandle%3Dhein.cow%2Fcowcs0092%26size%3D2%26collection%3Dcow%26id%3D1 |archive-date=16 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Most of the 100,000 [[White people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Europeans]] who had remained behind after independence fled the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/united_nations_congo.htm |title=The United Nations and the Congo |publisher=Historylearningsite.co.uk |date=30 March 2007 |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601233005/http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/united_nations_congo.htm |archive-date=1 June 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> After the United Nations rejected Lumumba's call for help to put down the secessionist movements, Lumumba asked for assistance from the Soviet Union, who accepted and sent military supplies and advisers. On 23 August, the Congolese armed forces [[Invasion of South Kasai|invaded South Kasai]]. Lumumba was dismissed from office on 5 September 1960 by Kasa-Vubu who publicly blamed him for massacres by the armed forces in South Kasai and for involving Soviets in the country.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nzongola-Ntalaja |first=Georges |author-link=Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja |title=The Congo, From Leopold to Kabila: A People's History |url=https://archive.org/details/congofromleopold00geor |url-access=registration |page=108 |date=2007 |publisher=Palgrave |location=New York |isbn=978-1-84277-053-5 |edition=3rd}}</ref> On 7 September, Lumumba made a speech to the Congolese House of Representatives, arguing his dismissal was illegal under the nation's laws. Congolese law gave parliament, not the president, the authority to dismiss a government minister. The House and Senate both rejected the dismissal of Lumumba, but the removal proceeded unconstitutionally.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Assassination of Lumumba |url=https://www.versobooks.com/products/1754-the-assassination-of-lumumba |access-date=1 September 2024 |website=Verso |language=en}}</ref>

On 14 September, Colonel [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Joseph Mobutu]], with the backing of the US and Belgium, removed Lumumba from office. On 17 January 1961, Lumumba was handed over to Katangan authorities and executed by Belgian-led Katangan troops.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2011/1/21/patrice_lumumba_50_years_later_remembering |title=Patrice Lumumba: 50 Years Later, Remembering the U.S.-Backed Assassination of Congo's First Democratically Elected Leader |website=Democracy Now! |date=21 January 2011 |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310085021/http://www.democracynow.org/2011/1/21/patrice_lumumba_50_years_later_remembering |archive-date=10 March 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> A 2001 investigation by Belgium's Parliament found Belgium "morally responsible" for the murder of Lumumba, and the country has since officially apologised for its role in his death.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgians-accused-of-war-crimes-in-killing-of-congo-leader-lumumba-2007587.html |title=Belgians accused of war crimes in killing of Congo leader Lumumba |date=23 June 2010 |work=The Independent |access-date=21 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003225243/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgians-accused-of-war-crimes-in-killing-of-congo-leader-lumumba-2007587.html |archive-date=3 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 18 September 1961, in ongoing negotiations of a ceasefire, a [[1961 Ndola United Nations DC-6 crash|plane crash near Ndola]] resulted in the death of [[Dag Hammarskjöld]], the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]], along with all 15 passengers, setting off a succession crisis. Amidst widespread confusion and chaos, a temporary government was led by technicians (the [[College of Commissioners-General|Collège des commissaires généraux]]). Katangan secession ended in January 1963 with the [[United Nations Operation in the Congo|assistance of UN forces]]. Several short-lived governments of [[Joseph Iléo|Joseph Ileo]], [[Cyrille Adoula]], and Moise Kapenda Tshombe took over in quick succession.

Meanwhile, in the east of the country, Soviet and Cuban-backed rebels called the [[Simba rebellion|Simbas]] rose up, taking a significant amount of territory and proclaiming a communist "People's Republic of the Congo" in Stanleyville. The Simbas were pushed out of Stanleyville in November 1964 during [[Operation Dragon Rouge]], a military operation conducted by Belgian and American forces to rescue hundreds of hostages. Congolese government forces fully defeated the Simba rebels by November 1965.<ref>{{cite book |last=Abbott |first=Peter |year=2014 |title=Modern African Wars (4): The Congo 1960–2002 |location=Oxford; New York City |publisher=Osprey Publishing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j6ajCwAAQBAJ |pages=14–18 |isbn=978-1-78200-076-1 |access-date=26 June 2022 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111170046/https://books.google.com/books?id=j6ajCwAAQBAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Lumumba had previously appointed Mobutu chief of staff of the new Congo army, [[Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Armée Nationale Congolaise]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Kanza |first=Thomas R. |title=The Rise and Fall of Patrice Lumumba: Conflict in the Congo |date=1994 |publisher=Schenkman Books, Inc. |isbn=978-0-87073-901-9 |edition=expanded |location=Rochester, Vermont |author-link=Thomas Kanza}}</ref> Taking advantage of the leadership crisis between Kasavubu and Tshombe, Mobutu garnered enough support within the army to launch a coup. A [[1964 Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum]] the year before [[Second Mobutu coup d'état|Mobutu's coup of 1965]] resulted in the country's official name being changed to the "Democratic Republic of the Congo".<ref name="cia.gov"/> In 1971 Mobutu changed the name again, this time to "Republic of Zaire".<ref name=britannica>{{cite web |last=Payanzo |first=Ntsomo |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo |website=britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009021241/https://www.britannica.com/place/Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo |archive-date=9 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="kisanganibobb"/>

===Mobutu autocracy and Zaire (1965–1997)===
{{Main|Zaire}}

[[File:Mobutu Nixon.jpg|thumb|[[Mobutu Sese Seko]] and Richard Nixon in Washington, D.C., 1973]]
Mobutu had the staunch support of the United States because of his [[Anti-communism|opposition to communism]]; the U.S. believed that his administration would serve as an effective counter to communist movements in Africa.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/08/13/rape-of-the-congo/ |title=Rape of the Congo |author=Adam Hochschild |date=13 August 2009 |magazine=New York Review of Books |access-date=1 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164520/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/08/13/rape-of-the-congo/ |archive-date=1 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> A [[One-party state|single-party system]] was established, and Mobutu declared himself [[List of heads of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|head of state]]. He periodically held elections in which he was the only candidate. Although relative peace and stability were achieved, Mobutu's government was guilty of severe [[human rights]] violations, [[political repression]], a [[cult of personality]] and [[Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|corruption]].

By late 1967, Mobutu had successfully neutralized his political opponents and rivals, either through co-opting them into his regime, arresting them, or rendering them otherwise politically impotent.{{sfn|Young|Turner|2013|p=58}} Throughout the late 1960s, Mobutu continued to shuffle his governments and cycle officials in and out of the office to maintain control. Joseph Kasa-Vubu's death in April 1969 ensured that no person with First Republic credentials could challenge his rule.{{sfn|Young|Turner|2013|pp=61–62}} By the early 1970s, Mobutu was attempting to assert Zaire as a leading African nation. He traveled frequently across the continent while the government became more vocal about African issues, particularly those relating to the southern region. Zaire established semi-clientelist relationships with several smaller African states, especially Burundi, Chad, and Togo.{{sfn|Young|Turner|2013|p=64}}

Corruption became so common the term "''le mal Zairois''" or "Zairian sickness",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cycad.com/cgi-bin/Aida/203/203_zaire.html |title="Zaire: The Hoax of Independence", The Aida Parker Newsletter #203, 4 August 1997 |publisher=cycad.com |access-date=4 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511093917/http://www.cycad.com/cgi-bin/Aida/203/203_zaire.html |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> meaning gross corruption, theft and mismanagement, was coined, reportedly by Mobutu.{{sfn|Young|Turner|2013|p=74}} International aid, most often in the form of loans, enriched Mobutu while he allowed national infrastructure such as roads to deteriorate to as little as one-quarter of what had existed in 1960. Zaire became a [[kleptocracy]] as Mobutu and his associates embezzled government funds.

[[File:Prince Bernhard and Mobutu Sese Seko 1973.jpg|thumb|Mobutu with the Dutch [[Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld|Prince Bernhard]] in Kinshasa in 1973]]
In a campaign to identify himself with African nationalism, starting on 1 June 1966, Mobutu renamed the nation's cities: Léopoldville became Kinshasa (the country was known as Congo-Kinshasa), Stanleyville became [[Kisangani]], Elisabethville became [[Lubumbashi]], and Coquilhatville became [[Mbandaka]]. In 1971, Mobutu renamed the country the ''Republic of Zaire'',<ref name="kisanganibobb"/> its fourth name change in eleven years and its sixth overall. The Congo River was renamed the Zaire River.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Mobutu was invited to visit the United States on several occasions, meeting with U.S. Presidents [[Richard Nixon]], [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref>Johns, Michael (29 June 1989) {{unfit|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060721174238/http://www.heritage.org/Research/Africa/upload/91612_1.pdf "Zaire's Mobutu Visits America"]}}, Heritage Foundation Executive Memorandum #239.<!-- date?? --></ref> Following the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] U.S. relations with Mobutu cooled, as he was no longer deemed necessary as a [[Cold War]] ally. Opponents within Zaire stepped up demands for reform. This atmosphere contributed to Mobutu's declaring the Third Republic in 1990, whose constitution was supposed to pave the way for democratic reform. The reforms turned out to be largely cosmetic. Mobutu continued in power until armed forces forced him to flee in 1997. "From 1990 to 1993, the United States facilitated Mobutu's attempts to hijack political change", one academic wrote, and "also assisted the rebellion of Laurent-Desire Kabila that overthrew the Mobutu regime."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icla.up.ac.za/images/country_reports/drc_country_report.pdf |title=The 2006 Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo |website=Icla.up.ac.za |access-date=23 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303225109/http://www.icla.up.ac.za/images/country_reports/drc_country_report.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 1997, Mobutu died in exile in Morocco.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mobutu dies in exile in Morocco – Sept. 7, 1997 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9709/07/mobutu.wrap/ |website=CNN |access-date=25 January 2022 |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331204911/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9709/07/mobutu.wrap/ }}</ref>

===Continental and civil wars (1996–2007)===
{{Main|First Congo War|Second Congo War}}

[[File:Second Congo War Africa map en.png|thumb|Belligerents of the [[Second Congo War]]]]
By 1996, following the [[Rwandan Civil War]] and [[Rwandan genocide|genocide]] and the ascension of a [[Tutsi]]-led government in Rwanda, Rwandan [[Hutu]] militia forces ([[Interahamwe]]) fled to eastern Zaire and used refugee camps as bases for incursions against Rwanda. They allied with the Zairian Armed Forces to launch a campaign against Congolese ethnic Tutsis in eastern Zaire.<ref>Thom, William G. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060821184303/http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get5.cgi?directory=fall99%2F&filename=THOM.htm "Congo-Zaire's 1996–97 civil war in the context of evolving patterns of military conflict in Africa in the era of independence"], ''Conflict Studies Journal at the University of New Brunswick'', Vol. XIX No. 2, Fall 1999.<!-- ISBN needed --></ref>

A coalition of Rwandan and Ugandan armies invaded Zaire to overthrow the government of Mobutu, launching the First Congo War. The coalition allied with some opposition figures, led by [[Laurent-Désiré Kabila]], becoming the [[Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo]]. In 1997 Mobutu fled and Kabila marched into Kinshasa, naming himself as president and reverting the name of the country to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<ref>{{cite web |title=Capture of Zaire's capital complete – May 18, 1997 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9705/18/zaire/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=25 January 2022 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408041331/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9705/18/zaire/index.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Zaire Chooses Confusing New Name {{!}} The Spokesman-Review |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/may/20/zaire-chooses-confusing-new-name/ |website=www.spokesman.com |date=20 May 1997 |access-date=25 January 2022 |archive-date=25 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125131604/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/may/20/zaire-chooses-confusing-new-name/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Kabila later requested that foreign military forces return to their own countries. Rwandan troops retreated to [[Goma]] and launched a new Tutsi-led rebel military movement called the [[Rally for Congolese Democracy|Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie]] to fight Kabila, while Uganda instigated the creation of a rebel movement called the [[Movement for the Liberation of the Congo]], led by Congolese warlord [[Jean-Pierre Bemba]].{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} The two rebel movements, along with Rwandan and Ugandan troops, started the Second Congo War by attacking the DRC army in 1998. Angolan, Zimbabwean, and Namibian militaries entered the hostilities on the side of the government.

Kabila was assassinated in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |author=Guardian Staff |title=Revealed: how Africa's dictator died at the hands of his boy soldiers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/feb/11/theobserver |website=the Guardian |language=en |date=11 February 2001 |access-date=25 January 2022 |archive-date=9 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209051620/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/feb/11/theobserver |url-status=live}}</ref> His son [[Joseph Kabila]] succeeded him<ref>{{cite web |title=Kabila's son to be sworn in as president |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jan/19/4 |website=the Guardian |language=en |date=19 January 2001 |access-date=25 January 2022 |archive-date=25 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125130720/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jan/19/4 |url-status=live}}</ref> and called for multilateral peace talks. UN peacekeepers, MONUC, now known as [[MONUSCO]], arrived in April 2001. In 2002–03, Bemba intervened in the Central African Republic on behalf of its former president, [[Ange-Félix Patassé]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ijrcenter.org/2016/03/29/icc-convicts-bemba-of-war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity/ |title=ICC Convicts Bemba of War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity |date=29 March 2016 |access-date=30 July 2016 |publisher=International Justice Resource Center |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911194742/http://www.ijrcenter.org/2016/03/29/icc-convicts-bemba-of-war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity/ |archive-date=11 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Talks led to a peace accord under which Kabila would share power with former rebels, implemented between 2002 and 2003.<ref name="CFR2025">{{Cite web |title=Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo |date=11 February 2025 |publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]] |url=https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo |access-date=6 March 2025 |archive-date=11 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250211125117/https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo |url-status=live }}</ref> The most widely reported estimate for the death toll during the Second Congo War is 5.4 million people, though other estimates put it at three million. It has been described as the deadliest conflict since [[World War II]].<ref name="CFR2025" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Review of Congo war halves death toll |date=20 January 2010 |work=[[NBC News]] |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34958903 |access-date=6 March 2025 |archive-date=23 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023150043/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34958903/ns/world_news-africa/t/review-congo-war-halves-death-toll/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By June 2003 all foreign armies except those of Rwanda had pulled out of Congo. A [[Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|transitional government]] was set up until an election was held. A constitution was approved by voters; further, on 30 July 2006, DRC held its [[2006 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election|first multi-party elections]]. These were the first free national elections since 1960, which many believed would mark the end to violence in the region.<ref name="Oxford University Press">{{Cite book |last1=Autesserre |first1=Séverine |url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780197530351.001.0001/oso-9780197530351 |title=The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider's Guide to Changing the World |last2=Gbowee |first2=Leymah |date=3 May 2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-753035-1 |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197530351.001.0001 |access-date=4 November 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104172256/https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780197530351.001.0001/oso-9780197530351 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, an election-result dispute between Kabila and Bemba turned into a skirmish between their supporters in Kinshasa. MONUC took control of the city. The second round of the election took place in October 2006, which Kabila won, and in December 2006 he was sworn in as president.
[[File:Refugees in Congo.jpeg|thumb|Refugees in the Congo]]

=== Continued conflicts (2008–2018) ===
{{main|Kivu conflict|Ituri conflict|2018 Yumbi violence}}

[[File:Opening ceremony of new PNC headquarters in Goma (6988913212).jpg|thumb|People fleeing their villages due to fighting between [[Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|FARDC]] and rebel groups, [[North Kivu]], 2012]] [[File:FARDC and MONUSCO reinforce their presence in and around Goma following a second day (21 May 2013) of clashes between M23 and National troops. (8782972992).jpg|thumb|Government troops near [[Goma]] during the [[M23 rebellion (2012–2013)|M23 rebellion]] in May 2013]] [[Laurent Nkunda]], a member of [[Rally for Congolese Democracy–Goma]], defected along with troops loyal to him and formed the [[National Congress for the Defence of the People]] (CNDP), which began an armed rebellion against the government. In March 2009, after a deal between the DRC and Rwanda, Rwandan troops entered the DRC and arrested Nkunda and were allowed to pursue FDLR militants. The CNDP signed a peace treaty with the government in which it agreed to become a political party and to have its soldiers integrated into the national army in exchange for the release of its imprisoned members.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j-U_1NZdVdXyssb9DPt47IHx7j7Q |title=DR Congo government, CNDP rebels 'sign peace deal' |date=23 March 2012 |agency=Agence France-Presse |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=30 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130053138/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j-U_1NZdVdXyssb9DPt47IHx7j7Q }}</ref> In 2012 [[Bosco Ntaganda]], the leader of the CNDP, and troops loyal to him, [[M23 rebellion (2012–2013)|mutinied]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201204040870.html |title=Congo-Kinshasa: General Ntaganda and Loyalists Desert Armed Forces |first=Melanie |last=Gouby |date=4 April 2012 |publisher=allafrica.com |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=21 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061859/http://allafrica.com/stories/201204040870.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and briefly captured the provincial capital of Goma in November 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20565711 |title=Rebels in DR Congo withdraw from Goma |date=1 December 2012 |work=BBC News |access-date=10 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206190239/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20565711 |archive-date=6 December 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20405739 |title=Goma: M23 rebels capture DR Congo city |date=20 November 2012 |work=BBC News |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120103234/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20405739 |archive-date=20 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Neighboring countries have been accused of arming rebel groups and using them as proxies to gain control of the resource-rich country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19973366 |title=Rwanda defence chief leads DR Congo rebels, UN report says |work=BBC News |access-date=21 November 2012 |date=17 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103170522/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19973366 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18320288 |title=Rwanda military aiding DRC mutiny, report says |work=BBC News |access-date=21 November 2012 |date=4 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926222613/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18320288 |archive-date=26 September 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2013, the [[United Nations Security Council]] authorized the [[United Nations Force Intervention Brigade]] to neutralize armed groups.<ref name="UN1">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44876 |title=Tanzanian troops arrive in eastern DR Congo as part of UN intervention brigade |publisher=United Nations |access-date=8 September 2013 |date=10 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928085644/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44876 |archive-date=28 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2013, the [[Mai-Mai]] created by Laurent Kabila briefly invaded the provincial capital of [[Lubumbashi]] and 400,000 people are displaced in the province {{As of|2013|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23422038 |title=Katanga: Fighting for DR Congo's cash cow to secede |work=BBC News |access-date=12 September 2013 |date=11 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910232832/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23422038 |archive-date=10 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> On and off fighting in the [[Ituri conflict]] occurred between the [[Nationalist and Integrationist Front]] and the [[Union of Congolese Patriots]]. In the northeast, [[Joseph Kony]]'s [[Lord's Resistance Army]] moved from their original bases in Uganda and South Sudan to DR Congo in 2005 and set up camps in the [[Garamba National Park]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Fessy |first=Thomas |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7685235.stm |title=Congo terror after LRA rebel raids |work=BBC News |date=23 October 2008 |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530032022/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7685235.stm |archive-date=30 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7635719.stm |title=thousands flee LRA in DR Congo |work=BBC News |date=25 September 2008 |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930003655/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7635719.stm |archive-date=30 September 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015, [[19 January 2015 DRC protests|major protests]] broke out across the country and protesters demanded that Kabila step down as president.<ref name="The DRC">{{cite web |title=The Democratic Republic of the Congo: Hurdle After Hurdle |url=http://www.pgwglobal.com/democratic-republic-of-congo-hurdle-hurdle/ |website=PGW Global Risk Management |publisher=PGW Global Risk Management LLP |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003225531/http://www.pgwglobal.com/democratic-republic-of-congo-hurdle-hurdle/ |archive-date=3 October 2017 }}</ref> On 27 November 2016 Congolese foreign minister [[Raymond Tshibanda]] told the press no elections would be held in 2016: "it has been decided that the voter registration operation will end on July 31, 2017, and that election will take place in April 2018."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.modernghana.com/news/739195/no-elections-in-dr-congo-before-april-2018-minister.html |title=No elections in DR Congo before April 2018: minister |work=modernghana.com |date=27 November 2016 |access-date=27 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128133421/https://www.modernghana.com/news/739195/no-elections-in-dr-congo-before-april-2018-minister.html |archive-date=28 November 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[December 2016 Congolese protests|Protests broke out in the country on 20 December]] when Kabila's term in office ended. Across the country, dozens of protesters were killed and hundreds were arrested.

Human Rights Watch said in 2017 that Kabila recruited former 23 March Movement fighters to put down country-wide protests over his refusal to step down from office at the end of his term. "M23 fighters patrolled the streets of Congo's main cities, firing on or arresting protesters or anyone else deemed to be a threat to the president," they said.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/12/04/dr-congo-rebels-were-recruited-crush-protests |title=DR Congo: Rebels Were Recruited to Crush Protests |date=4 December 2017 |website=Hrw.org |access-date=23 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422143713/https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/12/04/dr-congo-rebels-were-recruited-crush-protests |archive-date=22 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Fierce fighting has erupted in Masisi between government forces and a powerful local warlord, General Delta. The United Nations mission in the DRC is its largest and most expensive peacekeeping effort, but it shut down five UN bases near Masisi in 2017, after the U.S. led a push to cut costs.<ref>{{cite web |title='The wars will never stop' – millions flee bloodshed as Congo falls apart: Starving and sick, people living in the Democratic Republic of Congo are caught in a bloody cycle of violence and political turmoil |author=Jason Burke |website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=3 April 2018 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/03/millions-flee-bloodshed-as-congos-army-steps-up-fight-with-rebels-in-east |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605034707/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/03/millions-flee-bloodshed-as-congos-army-steps-up-fight-with-rebels-in-east |archive-date=5 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 2018 election and Tshisekedi presidency (2018–present) ===
{{Main|M23 campaign (2022–present)}}

[[File:Félix Tshisekedi & Denis Sassou-Nguesso.jpg|thumb|President [[Félix Tshisekedi]] with the president of neighbouring [[Republic of the Congo]] [[Denis Sassou Nguesso]] in 2020; both wear [[Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic|face masks]] due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].]]
On 30 December 2018, a [[2018 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election|general election]] was held. The election was originally scheduled for 23 December, but was postponed after a warehouse fire destroyed several electronic voting machines, prompting concerns about potential tampering.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 December 2018 |title=As DRC Prepares for Historic Election, Voters Remain Skeptical of Voting Machines |url=https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/drc-prepares-historic-election-voters-remain-skeptical-voting-machines/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=Global Press Journal |language=en-US |archive-date=18 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218185404/https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/drc-prepares-historic-election-voters-remain-skeptical-voting-machines/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Polling eventually opened on 30 December across most of the country, though voting remained suspended in certain areas—a measure officials said was intended to protect residents from an ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern provinces.<ref name="globalpressjournal.com">{{Cite web |date=6 January 2019 |title=Elections in DRC: What Happens Next? |url=https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/elections-drc-happens-next/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=Global Press Journal |language=en-US |archive-date=15 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250715220627/https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/elections-drc-happens-next/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

After polls closed, the government imposed an internet blackout in some regions, announcing that service would be restored following the release of results, which had been slated for 6 January.<ref name="globalpressjournal.com"/>

On 10 January 2019, the electoral commission announced opposition candidate [[Félix Tshisekedi]] as the winner of the presidential vote,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/01/09/683830171/surprise-winner-of-congolese-election-is-an-opposition-leader |title=Surprise Winner Of Congolese Election Is An Opposition Leader |newspaper=NPR |date=9 January 2019 |access-date=11 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110183540/https://www.npr.org/2019/01/09/683830171/surprise-winner-of-congolese-election-is-an-opposition-leader |archive-date=10 January 2019 |url-status=live |last1=Gonzales |first1=Richard |last2=Schwartz |first2=Matthew S.}}</ref> and he was officially sworn in as president on 24 January.<ref name="inaug">{{Cite news |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/drcNews/idAFL8N1ZN4X9 |title=REFILE-Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi sworn in as Congo president |newspaper=Reuters |date=24 January 2019 |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214040201/https://af.reuters.com/article/drcNews/idAFL8N1ZN4X9 |archive-date=14 February 2019 }}</ref> However, there were widespread suspicions that the results were rigged and that a deal had been made between Tshisekedi and Kabila,<ref>{{cite news |title=DR Congo presidential election: Outcry as Tshisekedi named winner |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46819303 |agency=BBC |date=10 January 2019 |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211103511/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46819303 |archive-date=11 February 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> as professional election polls carried out on election day found that Martin Fayulu, the leading opposition candidate, was expected to take 47% of the vote, compared to 23% for Felix Tshisekedi and 19% for Emmanuel Shadary, Kabila's hand-picked successor.<ref name="globalpressjournal.com"/><ref>Bureau d'Études, de Recherche et de Consulting International (BERCI), Congo Research Group, and Ipsos South Africa. ''[https://www.congoresearchgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/VF-BERCI-GEC-IPSOS-December-2018-FINAL3.pdf Democratic Republic of Congo Opinion Poll: Elections 2018: An Anxious Electorate Demands Change]''. Report no. 6, Congo Research Group, Center on International Cooperation, New York University, Dec. 2018. Accessed 25 April 2025.</ref>

In August 2019, six months after the inauguration of Félix Tshisekedi, a coalition government was announced.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.journalducameroun.com/en/dr-congo-announces-new-govt-7-months-after-president-inaugurated/ |title=DR Congo announces new govt 7 months after president inaugurated |date=26 August 2019 |website=Journal du Cameroun |language=fr |access-date=26 August 2019 |archive-date=17 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417093738/https://www.journalducameroun.com/en/dr-congo-announces-new-govt-7-months-after-president-inaugurated/ }}</ref> Tshisekedi succeeded in strengthening his hold on power, gaining the support of almost 400 out of 500 members of the National Assembly, the pro-Kabila speakers of both houses of parliament being forced out. In April 2021, the [[Lukonde cabinet|new government]] was formed without the supporters of Kabila.<ref>{{cite web |title=DR Congo names new cabinet, cements president's power |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/12/dr-congos-tshisekedi-in-full-control-of-new-govt-official |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518111810/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/12/dr-congos-tshisekedi-in-full-control-of-new-govt-official |archive-date=18 May 2021 |access-date=18 May 2021}}</ref>

A [[2019–2020 measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|major measles outbreak]] in the country left nearly 5,000 dead in 2019.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50506743 "DR Congo measles: Nearly 5,000 dead in major outbreak"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211233419/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50506743 |date=11 February 2020 }} (21 November 2019). ''[[BBC]]''. Retrieved 20 November 2020.</ref> The [[2018 Équateur province Ebola outbreak|Ebola outbreak]] ended in June 2020, after causing 2,280 deaths over 2 years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dahir |first=Abdi Latif |date=25 June 2020 |title=Congo's Deadliest Ebola Outbreak Is Declared Over |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/world/africa/ebola-congo-who.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625123005/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/world/africa/ebola-congo-who.html |archive-date=25 June 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=30 April 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The [[COVID-19 pandemic]] also [[COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|reached the DRC]] in March 2020, with a [[COVID-19 vaccination in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|vaccination campaign]] beginning on 19 April 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 May 2021 |title=Covid: DR Congo in race against time to vaccinate people |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57028747 |access-date=7 July 2021 |archive-date=5 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705080921/https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57028747 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dahir |first=Abdi Latif |date=16 April 2021 |title=Vaccine hesitancy runs high in some African countries, in some cases leaving unused doses to expire. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/world/vaccine-hesitancy-africa.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/world/vaccine-hesitancy-africa.html |archive-date=28 December 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=30 April 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The [[List of ambassadors of Italy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Italian ambassador]] to the DRC, [[Luca Attanasio]], and his bodyguard were [[Killing of Luca Attanasio|killed in North Kivu on 22 February 2021]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pianigiani |first=Gaia |date=23 February 2021 |title=Italy Mourns an Ambassador and His Bodyguard, Killed in Congo |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/world/europe/italy-mourns-ambassador-bodyguard-congo.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/world/europe/italy-mourns-ambassador-bodyguard-congo.html |archive-date=28 December 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=30 April 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On 22 April 2021, meetings between Kenyan President [[Uhuru Kenyatta]] and Tshisekedi resulted in new agreements increasing international trade and security (counterterrorism, immigration, cyber security, and customs) between the two countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kenya, DRC sign deals on security, trade and transport |url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/kenya-drc-sign-deals-on-security-trade-and-transport--3372046 |access-date=30 April 2021 |website=The East African |date=22 April 2021 |language=en |archive-date=30 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430173432/https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/kenya-drc-sign-deals-on-security-trade-and-transport--3372046 |url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2022, [[2022 Democratic Republic of the Congo coup d'état allegations|allegations of a coup d'état]] in the country led to uncertainty,<ref>{{cite web |last=AfricaNews |date=9 February 2022 |title=RDC failed coup plot: president's security adviser in detention |url=https://www.africanews.com/2022/02/09/rdc-failed-coup-plot-president-s-security-adviser-in-detention/ |access-date=13 February 2022 |website=Africanews |language=en |archive-date=10 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210004602/https://www.africanews.com/2022/02/09/rdc-failed-coup-plot-president-s-security-adviser-in-detention// |url-status=live}}</ref> but the coup attempt failed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Combat troops patrol in Kinshasa after failed coup attempt |url=https://www.africanews.com/2022/02/13/combat-troops-patrol-in-kinshasa-after-failed-coup-attempt/ |work=Africanews |date=13 February 2022 |language=en |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310163536/https://www.africanews.com/2022/02/13/combat-troops-patrol-in-kinshasa-after-failed-coup-attempt// |url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2023, President Felix Tshisekedi won [[2023 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election|reelection]] with more than 70% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tshisekedi re-elected DR Congo president as opposition calls vote a 'farce' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/31/felix-tshisekedi-re-elected-dr-congo-president-election-commission-says |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

The M23 Movement had a [[M23 campaign (2022–present)|resurgence in 2022]] and [[Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict (2022–present)|received military assistance from Rwanda]], which accused the Congolese government of supporting the [[Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda|FDLR]] Hutu militia. In early 2025, the conflict escalated with the M23 capture of [[2025 Goma offensive|Goma]] and [[2025 Bukavu offensive|Bukavu]], involving thousands of Rwandan troops. Peace negotiations between Rwanda and the DRC brokered by the United States took place in the spring of 2025, and culminated in the signing of a peace deal on 27 June 2025. The [[2025 Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda peace agreement|peace agreement]] calls for the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from eastern Congo within 90 days and the end of the DRC's support for the FDLR, along with the creation of a regional economic integration framework for the two countries.<ref name="France24-27062025">{{Cite web |title=Rwanda and DR Congo sign US-brokered peace agreement in Washington, DC |date=27 June 2025 |access-date=29 June 2025 |work=[[France 24]] |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250627-rwanda-and-dr-congo-sign-us-brokered-peace-agreement-in-washington-dc }}</ref> Despite the treaty, the [[United Nations Human Rights Office|United Nations Humans Rights Office (UNHRO)]] found that hostilities in the provinces where Goma and Bukavu are located, increased during the period from January to July 2025. UNHRO found that M23, along with the occupying [[Rwandan Defence Force|Rwandan Defense Force (RDF)]] soldiers allegedly massacred hundreds of civilians in four villages within [[Rutshuru]], a region within [[North Kivu]] province.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Madowo |first=Sarah Dean, Larry |date=22 September 2025 |title=Two countries signed a peace deal in Washington. On the ground, little has changed |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/22/africa/dr-congo-rwanda-peace-deal-trump-fighting-intl-cmd |access-date=22 September 2025 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> In July 2025, a Declaration of Principles was signed in [[Doha]] as a first agreement on shared objectives for a ceasefire, and to limit future violence in the conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 July 2025 |title=Doha agreement brings DR Congo government and M23 rebels a step closer to peace {{!}} UN News |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165441 |access-date=22 September 2025 |website=news.un.org |language=en}}</ref> In October 2025, former president Joseph Kabila was sentenced to death in absentia for alleged collaboration with the rebel group M23.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lawal |first1=Shola |title=Kabila sentenced to death: What it means for DRC and what’s next |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/2/kabila-sentenced-to-death-what-it-means-for-drc-and-whats-next |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Geology of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{more citations needed section|date=June 2017}}
[[File:Cg-map.png|thumb|The map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map COD present.svg|thumb|Democratic Republic of the Congo map of Köppen climate classification]]The DRC is located in central [[sub-Saharan Africa]], bordered to the northwest by the [[Republic of the Congo]], to the north by the [[Central African Republic]], to the northeast by [[South Sudan]], to the east by [[Uganda]], [[Rwanda]] and [[Burundi]], and by [[Tanzania]] (across Lake Tanganyika), to the south and southeast by [[Zambia]], to the southwest by [[Angola]], and to the west by the South Atlantic Ocean and the [[Cabinda Province|Cabinda Province exclave of Angola]]. The country lies between latitudes [[6th parallel north|6°N]] and [[14th parallel south|14°S]], and longitudes [[12th meridian east|12°E]] and [[32nd meridian east|32°E]]. It straddles the [[Equator]], with one-third to the north and two-thirds to the south. With an area of {{convert|2345408|km2}}, it is the second-largest country in Africa by area, after [[Algeria]].

As a result of its equatorial location, the DRC experiences high precipitation and has the highest frequency of thunderstorms in the world. The annual rainfall can total upwards of {{convert|2000|mm|round=5}} in some places, and the area sustains the [[Congolian rainforests|Congo rainforest]], the second-largest rainforest in the world after the [[Amazon rainforest]]. This massive expanse of lush jungle covers most of the vast, low-lying central [[drainage basin|basin]] of the river, which slopes toward the Atlantic Ocean in the west. This area is surrounded by [[plateau]]s merging into [[savanna]]s in the south and southwest, by mountainous terraces in the west, and dense [[grassland]]s extending beyond the Congo River in the north. The glaciated [[Rwenzori Mountains]] are found in the extreme eastern region.

[[File:Rainforest - Ituri (20874628148).jpg|thumb|left|[[Ituri Rainforest]]]]
The [[tropical climate]] produced the Congo River system which dominates the region topographically along with the rainforest it flows through. The [[Congo Basin]] occupies nearly the entire country and an area of nearly {{cvt|1000000|km2}}. The river and its tributaries form the backbone of Congolese economics and transportation. Major tributaries include the [[Kasai River|Kasai]], [[Sangha River|Sangha]], [[Ubangi River|Ubangi]], [[Ruzizi River|Ruzizi]], [[Aruwimi River|Aruwimi]], and [[Lulonga River|Lulonga]].

{{MapLibrary|dem_congo_sat.jpg|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

The Congo River has the second-largest flow and the second-largest [[drainage basin|watershed]] of any river in the world (trailing the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] in both respects). The sources of the Congo River are in the [[Albertine Rift]] Mountains that flank the western branch of the [[East African Rift]], as well as [[Lake Tanganyika]] and [[Lake Mweru]]. The river flows generally west from Kisangani just below [[Boyoma Falls]], then gradually bends southwest, passing by [[Mbandaka]], joining with the Ubangi River, and running into the [[Pool Malebo]] (Stanley Pool). Kinshasa and [[Brazzaville]] are on opposite sides of the river at the Pool. Then the river narrows and falls through a number of cataracts in deep canyons, collectively known as the [[Livingstone Falls]], and runs past [[Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo|Boma]] into the Atlantic Ocean. The river and a {{convert|37|km|mi|adj=mid|-wide}} strip of coastline on its north bank provide the country's only outlet to the Atlantic.
[[File:Nord-Kivu, RD Congo - Vue sur un cratère aux abords de la ville de Goma. (22722760943).jpg|thumb|[[Lake Kivu]] in [[North Kivu]] province]]
The Albertine Rift plays a key role in shaping the Congo's geography. Not only is the northeastern section of the country much more mountainous, but tectonic movement results in [[Volcanism|volcanic]] activity, occasionally with loss of life. The geologic activity in this area also created the [[African Great Lakes]], four of which lie on the Congo's eastern frontier: [[Lake Albert (Africa)|Lake Albert]], [[Lake Kivu]], [[Lake Edward]], and Lake Tanganyika.

The [[rift valley]] has exposed an enormous amount of mineral wealth throughout the south and east of the Congo, making it accessible to mining. [[Cobalt]], copper, [[cadmium]], industrial and gem-quality [[diamonds]], gold, silver, [[zinc]], [[manganese]], [[tin]], [[germanium]], [[uranium]], [[radium]], [[bauxite]], iron ore, and coal are all found in plentiful supply, especially in the Congo's southeastern Katanga region.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pamojasolutions.org/home/about-katanga/ |title=About Katanga {{!}} Pamoja Tujenge |website=pamojasolutions.org |language=en-US |access-date=29 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029174110/http://pamojasolutions.org/home/about-katanga/ |archive-date=29 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The gold production in 2015 is 37 metric tonnes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gold-production?tab=table|title=Gold production – Our World in Data|access-date=18 December 2024|archive-date=29 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129233804/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gold-production?tab=table|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 17 January 2002, [[Mount Nyiragongo]] [[Volcanic eruption|erupted]], with three streams of extremely fluid [[magma|lava]] running out at {{cvt|64|kph}} and {{cvt|46|m|yd}} wide. One of the three streams flowed directly through Goma, killing 45 people and leaving 120,000 homeless. Over 400,000 people were evacuated from the city during the eruption. The lava flowed into and poisoned the water of [[Lake Kivu]] killing its plants, animals and fish. Only two planes left the local airport because of the possibility of the explosion of stored petrol. The lava flowed through and past the airport, destroying a runway and trapping several parked airplanes. Six months after the event, nearby [[Nyamuragira|Mount Nyamuragira]] also erupted. The mountain subsequently erupted again in 2006, and once again in January 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.volcanolive.com/nyamuragira.html |title=Nyamuragira Volcano, Democratic Republic of Congo {{!}} John Seach |website=Volcanolive.com |access-date=29 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114120624/http://www.volcanolive.com/nyamuragira.html |archive-date=14 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Climate change ===
{{Excerpt|Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Climate change}}

===Biodiversity and conservation===
{{Main|Wildlife of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature|Environmental issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{Further|List of ecoregions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
[[File:Mountain Gorilla (Humba family) – Virunga National Park (29).jpg|thumb|The endangered [[mountain gorilla]]; half of its population live in the DRC's [[Virunga National Park]], making the park a critical habitat for those animals.]]
[[File:Okapi2.jpg|thumb|Found in the [[Congolian rainforests]], the [[okapi]] was unknown to science until 1901.]]

The rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo contain great [[biodiversity]], including many rare and [[Endemism|endemic]] species, such as the common [[chimpanzee]] and the [[bonobo]] (or pygmy chimpanzee), the [[African forest elephant]], [[mountain gorilla]], [[okapi]], [[forest buffalo]], [[African leopard|leopard]] and, further south in the country, the [[southern white rhinoceros]]. Five of the country's national parks are listed as [[World Heritage Site]]s: the [[Garamba National Park|Garumba]], [[Kahuzi-Biéga National Park|Kahuzi-Biega]], [[Salonga National Park|Salonga]] and [[Virunga National Park]]s, and the [[Okapi Wildlife Reserve]]. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of 17 [[Megadiverse countries]] and is the most biodiverse African country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/468283.html |title=Lambertini, A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics, excerpt |access-date=30 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516181308/http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/468283.html |archive-date=16 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Conservationists have particularly worried about [[primate]]s. The Congo is inhabited by several [[Hominidae|great ape]] species: the common chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), the bonobo (''Pan paniscus''), the [[eastern gorilla]] (''Gorilla beringei''), and possibly a population of the [[western gorilla]] (''Gorilla gorilla'').<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Maisels, F. |author2=Bergl, R.A. |author3=Williamson, E.A. |year=2018 |amends=2016 |title=''Gorilla gorilla'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T9404A136250858 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T9404A136250858.en |access-date=27 December 2024}}</ref> It is the only country in the world in which bonobos are found in the wild. Much concern has been raised about great ape extinction. Because of hunting and habitat destruction, the numbers of chimpanzee, bonobo and gorilla (each of whose populations once numbered in the millions) have now dwindled down to only about 200,000 gorillas, 100,000 chimpanzees and possibly only about 10,000 bonobos.<ref name="gorillas">
{{cite web |url=http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=556&ArticleID=6033&l=en&t=long |title=Gorillas on Thin Ice |date=15 January 2009 |publisher=[[United Nations Environment Programme]] |access-date=19 May 2010 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160518164244/http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=556&ArticleID=6033&l=en&t=long |archive-date=18 May 2016 }}
</ref><ref name="chimpanzees">
{{cite journal |author=Vigilant, Linda |year=2004 |title=Chimpanzees |journal=Current Biology |volume=14 |issue=10 |pages=R369–R371 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2004.05.006 |pmid=15186757 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2004CBio...14.R369V}}
</ref> The gorillas, chimpanzee, bonobo, and okapi are all classified as [[Conservation status|endangered]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|World Conservation Union]].

Major environmental issues in DRC include [[deforestation]], [[poaching]], which threatens wildlife populations, water pollution and mining. From 2015 to 2019, the rate of [[deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]] doubled.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49679883 |title=World 'losing battle against deforestation' |last=Kinver |first=Mark |date=12 September 2019 |work=BBC News |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618175810/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49679883 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, deforestation of the [[Congolian rainforests]] increased by 5%.<ref>{{cite news |title=Analysis: The next Amazon? Congo Basin faces rising deforestation threat |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/next-amazon-congo-basin-faces-rising-deforestation-threat-2022-11-11/ |work=Reuters |date=11 November 2022 |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422203453/https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/next-amazon-congo-basin-faces-rising-deforestation-threat-2022-11-11/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==Government and politics==
{{Main|Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 320
| image1            = Félix Tshisekedi in 2021.jpg
| alt1              = Félix Tshisekedi
| caption1          = [[Félix Tshisekedi]],<br />[[President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|president]] since 2019
| image2            = Judith Suminwa Tuluka 2023.jpg
| alt2              = Judith Suminwa
| caption2          = [[Judith Suminwa]],<br />[[Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|prime minister]] since 2024
}}

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is, constitutionally, a [[semi-presidential republic]]{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="Government"}} in which the [[President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|president]] is the head of state,{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 69}} elected by [[universal suffrage]] to a term of five years,{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 70}} while the [[Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|prime minister]] is the head of government{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 90}} appointed by the president with the support of the majority party or coalition of parties in the [[Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|parliament]].{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 78}} The prime minister and the [[Cabinet of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|cabinet]], known as the government, are responsible to the legislature rather than to the president.{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 90}} The parliament is a [[bicameral legislature]] consisting of the [[Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Senate]] and the [[National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|National Assembly]].{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 90}} Deputies of the National Assembly are directly elected for a term of five years,{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Articles 101, 103}} while senators are elected indirectly by provincial legislatures, also for a term of five years.{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Articles 104, 105}} The president is the [[commander-in-chief]] of the armed forces{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc= Article 83}} and appoints government and military officials.{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 81}} The [[Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|constitution]] is the basis for an independent judiciary,{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 149}} consisting of the [[Constitutional Court of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Constitutional Court]] to evaluate the constitutionality of laws and to settle disputes regarding elections or the separation of powers;{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Articles 160, 161}} the [[Court of Cassation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Court of Cassation]] as the [[court of last resort]] in the civil and military judicial system;{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 153}} and the Council of State as the highest administrative court.{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 155}}

The DRC's political system is considered to be [[authoritarianism|authoritarian]] and scores low on rankings of democracy, political rights, and civil liberties. Despite the constitution providing for the separation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers, in practice the president and his associates have dominated the political system.<ref name="BTI">{{Citation |title=Congo, DR Country Report 2024 |access-date=2 March 2025 |work=[[Bertelsmann Transformation Index]] |url=https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/COD }}</ref> [[Freedom House]] rates the country as "not free" in 2025, citing endemic corruption, the manipulation of the political system, and human rights abuses, including by security forces.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo |publisher=[[Freedom House]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/democratic-republic-congo |archive-date=6 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250306082717/https://freedomhouse.org/country/democratic-republic-congo |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The Economist Democracy Index]]'' described the DRC as an "authoritarian regime" in 2024, ranking it 156 out of the 167 countries that it evaluated.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lotz |first=Avery |title=Global democracy score hits historic low: report |date=27 February 2025 |publisher=[[Axios (website)|Axios]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/02/27/global-democracy-score-record-low-report |archive-date=6 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250306115758/https://www.axios.com/2025/02/27/global-democracy-score-record-low-report |url-status=live }}</ref> The DRC was also ranked 163 out of 180 countries in the [[Corruption Perceptions Index]] for 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo |date=11 February 2025 |publisher=[[Transparency International]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |url=https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024/index/cod |archive-date=31 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250731110740/https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024/index/cod |url-status=live }}</ref> Administrative institutions remain weak, especially in rural areas, undermining the ability of government to provide basic services to the population. The state has also struggled to extend its administration over the country's entire territory.<ref name="BTI" /> The [[Fragile States Index]] ranked the DRC the 5th most fragile country in the world, out of 179 countries, as of 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Country Dashboard – Congo Democratic Republic |access-date=2 March 2025 |publisher=[[Fund for Peace]] |url=https://fragilestatesindex.org/country-data/ |archive-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213004353/https://fragilestatesindex.org/country-data/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the presidency of [[Joseph Kabila]] from 2001 to 2019, the government was marked by corruption, a lack of transparency, and human rights violations.<ref name="BTI" /> Kabila remained in office beyond his constitutional mandate, which ended in 2016, by delaying an election.<ref name="JSTOR-2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Berwouts |first1=Kris |last2=Reyntjens |first2=Filip |title=The Democratic Republic of Congo: The Great Electoral Robbery (and How and Why Kabila Got Away with It) |journal=[[Egmont Institute]] |date=2019 |jstor=resrep21375 }}</ref> After it was [[2018 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election|held in late 2018]] Kabila was succeeded by [[Félix Tshisekedi]] in the DRC's first [[peaceful transition of power]] since independence,<ref name="BTI" /> but the election is widely seen as having been rigged in a deal made between Kabila and Tshisekedi.<ref name="JSTOR-2019" /><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Tom |last2=Blood |first2=David |last3=Pilling |first3=David |title=Congo voting data reveal huge fraud in poll to replace Kabila |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=15 January 2019 |access-date=2 March 2025 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2b97f6e6-189d-11e9-b93e-f4351a53f1c3 |archive-date=31 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331203406/https://www.ft.com/content/2b97f6e6-189d-11e9-b93e-f4351a53f1c3 |url-status=live }}</ref> Tshisekedi was [[2023 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election|reelected in late 2023]], and after negotiations appointed [[Judith Suminwa]] as prime minister in 2024, the first woman to hold the post.<ref name="WorldBank2024" />

The current political system is known as the Third Republic, declared by [[Laurent-Désiré Kabila]] at his presidential inauguration on 29 May 1997.{{sfn|Gondola|2002|page=163}} Apart from changing the country's name from Zaire back to the DR Congo and restoring its previous symbols, Kabila's government made few changes from the dictatorship of [[Mobutu Sese Seko]].{{sfn|Gondola|2002|pages=163–164}} After the Second Congo War (1998–2003), during which Laurent-Désiré Kabila was assassinated,<ref name="BTI" /> a transitional constitution was adopted on 4 April 2003{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 228}} as part of the peace process.<ref name="BTI" /> It was replaced by the current constitution,{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Article 228}} the Constitution of the Third Republic, which went into effect on 18 February 2006. The current [[flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|flag]] was also adopted.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smitall |first=Michel |title=DR Congo adopts new constitution |work=[[ReliefWeb]] |date=18 February 2006 |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/dr-congo-adopts-new-constitution |access-date=2 March 2025 |archive-date=17 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240717233348/https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/dr-congo-adopts-new-constitution |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Transitional Government]], led by Joseph Kabila, oversaw the creation of the current system: the first cabinet took office in June 2003, the two chambers of the parliament were organized in July 2003, a constitution was adopted by a [[2005 Democratic Republic of the Congo constitutional referendum|referendum]] in December 2005, and the country's [[2006 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election|first free election]] in over four decades was held in July 2006.{{sfn|Reyntjens|2009|pages=261–274}} Since the process of democratization began in 1990, more than 600 registered political parties emerged in the DRC, though only four of them—the [[Union for Democracy and Social Progress (Democratic Republic of the Congo)|UDPS]], [[People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy|PPRD]], [[Union for the Congolese Nation|UNC]], and [[Movement for the Liberation of the Congo|MLC]]—successfully operate across the entire country.<ref name="BTI" />

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Territories of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{Further|Administrative divisions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
The country is currently divided into the city-province of Kinshasa and 25 other [[Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|provinces]].<ref name="cia.gov"/> The provinces are subdivided into 145 [[Territories of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|territories]] and 33 [[Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|cities]]. Before 2015, the country had 11 provinces.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 January 2015 |title=The National Assembly adopts the laws regarding the limits of the provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (in French) |url=http://www.assemblee-nationale.cd/v2/?p=4551 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150127065041/http://www.assemblee-nationale.cd/v2/?p=4551 |archive-date=27 January 2015 |access-date=27 February 2024 |website=National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}</ref>

{| style="border-spacing: 20px 1px;"
| rowspan="13" | [[File:Provinces de la République démocratique du Congo - 2005.svg|thumb|upright=1.25]]
| 1. [[Kinshasa]] || 14. [[Ituri Province]]
|-
| 2. [[Kongo Central]] || 15. [[Haut-Uele]]
|-
| 3. [[Kwango]] || 16. [[Tshopo]]
|-
| 4. [[Kwilu Province]] || 17. [[Bas-Uele]]
|-
| 5. [[Mai-Ndombe Province]] || 18. [[Nord-Ubangi]]
|-
| 6. [[Kasaï Province]] || 19. [[Mongala]]
|-
| 7. [[Kasaï-Central]] || 20. [[Sud-Ubangi]]
|-
| 8. [[Kasaï-Oriental]] || 21. [[Province of Équateur|Équateur]]
|-
| 9. [[Lomami Province]] || 22. [[Tshuapa]]
|-
| 10. [[Sankuru]] || 23. [[Tanganyika Province]]
|-
| 11. [[Maniema]] || 24. [[Haut-Lomami]]
|-
| 12. [[South Kivu]] || 25. [[Lualaba Province]]
|-
| 13. [[North Kivu]] || 26. [[Haut-Katanga Province]]
|}

===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

[[File:Joseph Kabila with Obamas 2014.jpg|thumb|President [[Joseph Kabila]] with U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] in August 2014]]

The global growth in demand for scarce raw materials and the industrial surges in China, India, Russia, Brazil and other [[Developing country|developing countries]] require that [[Developed country|developed countries]] employ new, integrated and responsive strategies for identifying and ensuring, on a continual basis, an adequate supply of strategic and critical materials required for their security needs.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Overland |first=Indra |date=1 March 2019 |title=The geopolitics of renewable energy: Debunking four emerging myths |journal=Energy Research & Social Science |volume=49 |pages=36–40 |doi=10.1016/j.erss.2018.10.018 |issn=2214-6296 |url=https://nupi.brage.unit.no/nupi-xmlui/bitstream/11250/2579292/2/2019%2b-%2bThe%2bgeopolitics%2bof%2brenewable%2benergy%252C%2bdebunking%2bfour%2bemerging%2bmyths.pdf |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019ERSS...49...36O |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313170552/https://nupi.brage.unit.no/nupi-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2579292/2019±+The+geopolitics+of+renewable+energy%2C+debunking+four+emerging+myths.pdf?sequence=2 |url-status=live}}</ref> Highlighting the DR Congo's importance to United States national security, the effort to establish an elite Congolese unit is the latest push by the U.S. to professionalize armed forces in this "strategically important" region.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vandiver |first=John |url=https://www.stripes.com/news/gis-retrain-congo-troops-known-for-being-violent-1.101774 |website=Stars and Stripes |access-date=29 September 2017 |title=GIs retrain Congo troops known for being violent |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010184659/https://www.stripes.com/news/gis-retrain-congo-troops-known-for-being-violent-1.101774 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

There are economic and strategic incentives (for external countries) to bring more "security" to the Congo, which is rich in natural resources such as [[cobalt]], a metal used in many industrial and military applications.<ref name=":8"/> The largest use of cobalt is in [[superalloy]]s, used to make [[jet engine]] parts for high speed war planes. Cobalt is also used in [[magnetic alloy]]s and in cutting and wear-resistant materials such as cemented [[carbide]]s. The [[chemical industry]] consumes significant quantities of cobalt in a variety of applications including [[catalyst]]s for petroleum and chemical processing; drying agents for paints and inks; ground coats for porcelain enamels; decolorant for ceramics and glass; and pigments for ceramics, paints, and plastics. The country possesses 80% of the world's cobalt reserves.<ref>
{{cite web |author=Vandiver, John |url=http://www.stripes.com/news/gis-retrain-congo-troops-known-for-being-violent-1.101774 |title=An April 2009 report to Congress by the National Defense Stockpile Center |publisher=Stripes.com |access-date=22 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810152611/http://www.stripes.com/news/gis-retrain-congo-troops-known-for-being-violent-1.101774 |archive-date=10 August 2010 |url-status=live}}
</ref>

It is thought that due to the importance of cobalt for batteries for electric vehicles and stabilization of electric grids with large proportions of intermittent renewables in the electricity mix, the DRC could become an object of increased geopolitical competition.<ref name=":8"/>

In the 21st century, [[China–Democratic Republic of the Congo relations#Present economic relations|Chinese investment]] in the DRC and Congolese exports to China have grown rapidly. In July 2019, UN ambassadors of 37 countries, including DRC, have signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China's [[Xinjiang re-education camps|treatment of Uyghurs]] and other Muslim ethnic minorities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Which Countries Are For or Against China's Xinjiang Policies? |url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/07/which-countries-are-for-or-against-chinas-xinjiang-policies/ |work=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] |date=15 July 2019 |access-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716160658/https://thediplomat.com/2019/07/which-countries-are-for-or-against-chinas-xinjiang-policies/ |archive-date=16 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, President [[Félix Tshisekedi]] called for a review of mining contracts signed with [[China]] by his predecessor [[Joseph Kabila]],<ref>{{cite news |title=DRC's Tshisekedi has secured his power base: now it's time to deliver |url=https://theconversation.com/drcs-tshisekedi-has-secured-his-power-base-now-its-time-to-deliver-170282 |work=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |date=27 October 2021 |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207205828/https://theconversation.com/drcs-tshisekedi-has-secured-his-power-base-now-its-time-to-deliver-170282 |url-status=live}}</ref> in particular the Sicomines multibillion [[China–Democratic Republic of the Congo relations#Sicomines|'minerals-for-infrastructure' deal]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Congo Reviews $6.2 Billion China Mining Deal as Criticism Grows |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-28/congo-reviews-6-2-billion-china-mining-deal-as-criticism-grows |work=Bloomberg |date=28 September 2021 |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207205823/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-28/congo-reviews-6-2-billion-china-mining-deal-as-criticism-grows |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=China Cash Flowed Through Congo Bank to Former President's Cronies |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-11-28/africa-s-biggest-data-leak-reveals-china-money-role-in-kabila-s-congo-looting |work=Bloomberg |date=28 November 2021 |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207205825/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-11-28/africa-s-biggest-data-leak-reveals-china-money-role-in-kabila-s-congo-looting |url-status=live}}</ref>

Although located in the Central African [[United Nations geoscheme|UN subregion]], the nation is also economically and regionally affiliated with Southern Africa as a member of the [[Southern African Development Community]] (SADC).<ref>{{cite web |title=Member States |website=Southern African Development Community: Towards a common future |url=http://www.sadc.int/member-states |access-date=25 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422060429/http://www.sadc.int/member-states |archive-date=22 April 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Military===
{{Main|Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

[[File:Dungu, Haut-Uélé Province, DR Congo As part of operation "RED KITE", Moroccan soldiers of MONUSCO train FARDC soldiers (38702370071).jpg|thumb|Congolese soldiers being trained by UN personnel]]
The military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as the {{abbr|FARDC|Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo}}, consists of the [[Land Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Land Forces]], the [[Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Air Force]], and the [[Navy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Navy]]. There is also a separate [[Republican Guard (Democratic Republic of the Congo)|Republican Guard]] that is outside of the FARDC command structure, being directly responsible to the president.<ref name="iiss2023">{{Cite book |author=IISS |author-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies |date=2023 |title=The Military Balance 2023 |publisher=International Institute for Strategic Studies |pages=446–447}}</ref><ref name="ACSS">{{Cite web |title=Security Sector Institutions and the DRC's Political Crisis |date=20 December 2016 |access-date=27 January 2025 |publisher=Africa Center for Strategic Studies |url=https://africacenter.org/spotlight/drc-congo-security-sector-institutions-helping-impeding-political-reform/ |archive-date=12 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250112214946/https://africacenter.org/spotlight/drc-congo-security-sector-institutions-helping-impeding-political-reform/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2023 there were 103,000 soldiers in the Land Forces, 6,700 in the Navy, 2,550 in the Air Force, 14,000 in the central command, and 8,000 in the Republican Guard. All services together numbered 134,250 personnel, nominally making the FARDC the largest military in Central Africa.<ref name="iiss2023" /> However, the FARDC has been undermined by low levels of professionalism, training, morale, pay, and equipment, along with rampant corruption, and its lack of vehicles and aircraft makes it difficult to move troops across the country's large territory.<ref name="Reuters1" /><ref name="iiss2023" /><ref name="ACSS" />

The FARDC was established in 2003 after the end of the Second Congo War with the integration of many former rebel groups into its ranks,<ref name="ACSS" /> and it still also works with pro-government militias.<ref name="Reuters1" /> Since then it has been a diverse combination of the former Zairian armed forces, rebel groups from the Congo Wars, and other militias that were integrated more recently. President Félix Tshisekedi announced the beginning of military reforms in 2022 to create a more cohesive national army.<ref name="EA22">{{Cite web |last=Ilunga |first=Patrick |title=Congo's Tshisekedi names new army chief in military reforms |work=[[EastAfrican]] |date=4 October 2022 |access-date=29 January 2025 |url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/congo-tshisekedi-names-new-army-chief-in-military-reforms-3972842 |archive-date=3 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603074356/https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/congo-tshisekedi-names-new-army-chief-in-military-reforms-3972842 |url-status=live }}</ref> This effort included replacing most of the high command with younger officers that had a record of success and providing more military spending for the years between 2022 and 2024.<ref name="iiss2023" /><ref name="EA22" /> Despite this, the FARDC continues to be disorganized and has systematic corruption, preventing it from fulfilling its mission to effectively defend the country's entire territory.<ref name="BTI" />

The armed forces are organized on the basis of geographic joint commands known as defense zones, one each for the western, south-central, and eastern DRC,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wondo |first=Jean-Jacques |title=Army command reshuffle by Félix Tshisekedi: expectations and disillusions – JJ Wondo |work=Afridesk |date=7 August 2020 |access-date=27 January 2025 |url=https://afridesk.org/en/fardc-command-reshuffle-by-felix-tshisekedi-expectations-and-disillusions-jj-wondo/}}</ref> which are further divided into military regions.<ref name="iiss2023" /> The Land Forces consist of brigades, and in 2011, those in Eastern Congo were reorganized into regiments. It was estimated in 2023 that in total there are nine brigades, 27 regiments, one artillery battalion, and one military police battalion.<ref name="iiss2023" /> Many units are reported to be at half of their official strength or less because of combat losses and desertions.<ref name="Reuters1" /> The FARDC has spent decades fighting against over 100 armed groups in Eastern Congo and the [[Kasaï region]], including local [[Mai-Mai]] militias, the Rwandan-backed 23 March Movement (M23), [[Nduma Defense of Congo-Renovated]] (NDC-R), the [[Allied Democratic Forces]] (which has become part of the [[Islamic State]]), and the [[Lord's Resistance Army]].{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="Military and Security"}}

===Law enforcement, crime, and corruption===
{{Main|Crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

The [[Congolese National Police]], known as the {{abbr|PNC|Police nationale congolaise}}, are the primary police force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.{{sfn|Constitution of the DRC|loc=Articles 182, 183, 184}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper-Progress Report (EPub) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c57UNFOGOwwC&pg=PT56 |year=2010 |publisher=International Monetary Fund |isbn=978-1-4552-2241-4 |pages=56– |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509161750/https://books.google.com/books?id=c57UNFOGOwwC&pg=PT56 |archive-date=9 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The DRC has a [[civil law system]] primarily based on [[Belgian law]], but also customary and tribal law.{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="Government"}} The country accepts the jurisdiction of the [[International Criminal Court]],{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="Government"}} having ratified the [[Rome Statute]] on 11 April 2002. The Criminal Code, the Military Criminal Code, and the Code of Criminal Procedure were modified by the DRC's parliament on 31 December 2015 to be in compliance with the Rome Statute.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Rome Statute |date=19 February 2025 |publisher=[[Parliamentarians for Global Action]] |access-date=3 March 2025 |url=https://www.pgaction.org/ilhr/rome-statute/drc.html }}</ref>

A relative of Mobutu explained how the government illicitly collected revenue during his rule: "Mobutu would ask one of us to go to the bank and take out a million. We'd go to an intermediary and tell him to get five million. He would go to the bank with Mobutu's authority and take out ten. Mobutu got one, and we took the other nine."<ref name=a>{{cite book |last=Ludwig |first=Arnold M. |year=2002 |title=King of the Mountain: The Nature of Political Leadership |page=[https://archive.org/details/kingofmountain00arno_0/page/72 72] |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0-8131-2233-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/kingofmountain00arno_0/page/72}}</ref> Mobutu institutionalized corruption to prevent political rivals from challenging his control, leading to an [[Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo#1990s|economic collapse in 1996]].<ref name=b>{{cite book |last=Nafziger |first=E. Wayne |author2=Raimo Frances Stewart |year=2000 |title=War, Hunger, and Displacement: The Origins of Humanitarian Emergencies |page=261 |publisher=Faculty of Philosophy Columbia University |isbn=978-0-19-829739-0}}</ref>

Mobutu allegedly amassed between US$50 million and $125 million during his rule.<ref>Washington Post, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/10/03/mobutu-a-rich-man-in-poor-standing/49e66628-3149-47b8-827f-159dff8ac1cd/ "Mobutu: A Rich man In Poor Standing".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925132512/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/10/03/mobutu-a-rich-man-in-poor-standing/49e66628-3149-47b8-827f-159dff8ac1cd/ |date=25 September 2022 }} 2 October 1991.</ref><ref>The New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/29/world/mobutu-s-village-basks-in-his-glory.html/ "Mobutu's village basks in his glory".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240327121638/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/29/world/mobutu-s-village-basks-in-his-glory.html/ |date=27 March 2024 }} 29 September 1988.</ref> He was not the first corrupt Congolese leader by any means: "Government as a system of organized theft goes back to King Leopold II," noted [[Adam Hochschild]] in 2009.<ref name=AH>{{cite magazine |title=Rape of the Congo |author=Adam Hochschild |magazine=New York Review of Books |date=13 August 2009 |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/08/13/rape-of-the-congo/ |access-date=1 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164520/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/08/13/rape-of-the-congo/ |archive-date=1 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2009, a Swiss court determined that the [[statute of limitations]] had run out on an [[international asset recovery]] case of about $6.7&nbsp;million of deposits of Mobutu's in a Swiss bank, and therefore the assets should be returned to Mobutu's family.<ref>[http://www.assetrecovery.org/kc/node/f00029e9-7084-11de-aa2f-77980ee7d563.11 "Court agrees to release Mobutu assets"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923175440/http://www.assetrecovery.org/kc/node/f00029e9-7084-11de-aa2f-77980ee7d563.11 |date=23 September 2015 }}. Swissinfo, Basel Institute of Governance, 14 July 2009.</ref>

President Kabila established the Commission of Repression of Economic Crimes upon his ascension to power in 2001.<ref name=d>{{cite book |last=Werve |first=Jonathan |year=2006 |title=The Corruption Notebooks 2006 |page=57}}</ref> However, in 2016 the [[Enough Project]] issued a report claiming that the Congo is run as a violent [[kleptocracy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=New Study Shows Congo is Run as Violent Kleptocracy |url=https://enoughproject.org/press-releases/new-study-shows-congo-run-violent-kleptocracy |website=enough |date=27 October 2016 |publisher=Enough Project |access-date=6 November 2019 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303113321/https://enoughproject.org/press-releases/new-study-shows-congo-run-violent-kleptocracy |url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2020, a court in the Democratic Republic of Congo found President Tshisekedi's chief of staff [[Vital Kamerhe]] guilty of corruption. He was sentenced to 20 years' hard labour, after facing charges of embezzling almost $50m (£39m) of public funds. He was the most high-profile figure to be convicted of corruption in the DRC.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vital Kamerhe: DRC president's chief of staff found guilty of corruption |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53121994 |work=BBC News |date=20 June 2020 |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207104756/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53121994 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, Kamerhe was released already in December 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=DRC: Under what conditions has Vital Kamerhe been released? |url=https://www.theafricareport.com/154150/drc-under-what-conditions-has-vital-kamerhe-been-released/ |work=The Africa Report.com |date=7 December 2021 |access-date=11 November 2022 |archive-date=11 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111204217/https://www.theafricareport.com/154150/drc-under-what-conditions-has-vital-kamerhe-been-released/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2021, a judicial investigation targeting Kabila and his associates was opened in Kinshasa after revelations of alleged embezzlement of $138 million.<ref>{{cite news |title=DRC: Investigation opens on Joseph Kabila over $138 million embezzlement |url=https://www.africanews.com/2021/11/24/drc-investigation-opens-on-joseph-kabila-over-138-million-embezzlement/ |work=Africanews |date=24 November 2021 |language=en |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207102746/https://www.africanews.com/2021/11/24/drc-investigation-opens-on-joseph-kabila-over-138-million-embezzlement/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Human rights===
{{Main|Human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{Further|Sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Military macho-violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|International Criminal Court investigation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
[[File:DRC- Child Soldiers.jpg|thumb|A group of demobilized [[child soldiers]] in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]

The [[International Criminal Court investigation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]] was initiated by Kabila in April 2004. The International Criminal Court prosecutor opened the case in June 2004. [[Children in the military|Child soldiers]] have been used on a large scale in DRC, and in 2011 it was estimated that 30,000 children were still operating with armed groups.<ref>{{cite book |last=Drumbl |first=Mark A. |title=Reimagining Child Soldiers in International Law and Policy |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-959265-4 |page=32 |author-link=Mark A. Drumbl}}</ref> Instances of child labor and [[Forced labour|forced labor]] have been observed and reported in the [[United States Department of Labor|U.S. Department of Labor]]'s ''Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor'' in the DRC in 2013<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/congo_democratic_republic.htm |title=Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor&nbsp;– Democratic Republic of the Congo |website=United States Department of Labor |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303052150/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/congo_democratic_republic.htm |archive-date=3 March 2015 }}
</ref> and six goods produced by the country's mining industry appear on the department's December 2014 ''[[List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor]]''.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has prohibited [[same-sex marriage]] since 2006,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.presidentrdc.cd/constitution.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060812032926/http://www.presidentrdc.cd/constitution.html |title=Constitution de la République Démocratique du Congo |archive-date=12 August 2006}}</ref> and attitudes towards the [[LGBT rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|LGBT community]] are generally negative throughout the nation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Foreign travel advice – Democratic Republic of the Congo |url=https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/local-laws-and-customs |website=Gov.uk |access-date=8 August 2023 |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810231903/https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/local-laws-and-customs |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Violence against women]] is perceived by large sectors of society to be normal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.onug.ch/__80256edd006b9c2e.nsf/%28httpNewsByYear_en%29/a4f381eea9d4ab63c12573280031fbf3?OpenDocument&Click= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217035544/http://www.onug.ch/__80256edd006b9c2e.nsf/%28httpNewsByYear_en%29/a4f381eea9d4ab63c12573280031fbf3?OpenDocument&Click= |archive-date=17 February 2008 |title=UN expert on violence against women expresses serious concerns following visit to Democratic Republic of Congo |date=30 July 2007 |publisher=UNOG.ch}}</ref> 
The United Nations [[Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women|Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women]] in 2006 expressed concern that in the post-war transition period, the promotion of women's human rights and gender equality is not seen as a priority.<ref>
{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw36/cc/DRC/0647846E.pdf |title=Concluding comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Democratic Republic of the Congo |publisher=United Nations |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084538/http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw36/cc/DRC/0647846E.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.peacewomen.org/un/ecosoc/CEDAW/36th_session/DRC/NGO_report.pdf |title=Violence Against Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) |publisher=peacewomen.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925192704/http://www.peacewomen.org/un/ecosoc/CEDAW/36th_session/DRC/NGO_report.pdf |archive-date=25 September 2007}}
</ref> Mass rapes, sexual violence and sexual slavery are used as a weapon of war by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and armed groups in the eastern part of the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/CDIndex.aspx |title=OHCHR {{!}} Africa Region |website=Ohchr.org |language=en-US |access-date=20 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517224508/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/CDIndex.aspx |archive-date=17 May 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The eastern part of the country in particular has been described as the "rape capital of the world" and the prevalence of sexual violence there described as the worst in the world.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">
{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/08/AR2007090801194.html |title=Prevalence of Rape in E. Congo Described as Worst in World |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=9 September 2007 |access-date=2 May 2010 |first=Stephanie |last=McCrummen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516092502/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/08/AR2007090801194.html |archive-date=16 May 2011 |url-status=live}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8650112.stm |title=UN official calls DR Congo 'rape capital of the world.' |date=28 April 2010 |publisher=BBC |access-date=23 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122182050/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8650112.stm |archive-date=22 November 2012 |url-status=live}}
</ref> The prevalence of [[Female genital mutilation]] is estimated at 5% of women<ref>
{{cite web |last1=Matundu Mbambi |first1=Annie |last2=Faray-Kele |first2=Marie-Claire |date=April–December 2010 |url=http://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/NGO/hrinst_genderinequalityinthedrc_wilpf_december2010english.pdf |title=Gender Inequality and Social Institutions in the D.R.Congo |website=peacewomen.org |access-date=12 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031190906/http://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/NGO/hrinst_genderinequalityinthedrc_wilpf_december2010english.pdf |archive-date=31 October 2014 |url-status=live}}
</ref><ref>[http://www.brighamandwomens.org/Departments_and_Services/obgyn/services/africanwomenscenter/FGCprevalence.aspx "Female Genital Cutting Rates {{!}} African Women's Health Center at BWH"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129052427/http://www.brighamandwomens.org/Departments_and_Services/obgyn/services/africanwomenscenter/FGCprevalence.aspx |date=29 November 2014 }}. brighamandwomens.org.</ref> and is illegal.<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/country/canada_coi/dem%20rep%20of%20congo/COD104024.E.pdf RESPONSES TO INFORMATION REQUESTS (RIRs)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414042910/http://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/country/canada_coi/dem%20rep%20of%20congo/COD104024.E.pdf |date=14 April 2014 }}. justice.gov. 17 April 2012.</ref><ref>The law on sexual violence, DRC 2006 (Les lois sur les violences sexuelles) reads (in French): ''"Article 3, Paragraphe 7: De la mutilation sexuelle; Article 174g; Sera puni d'une peine de servitude pénale de deux à cinq ans et d'une amende de deux cent mille francs congolais constants, quiconque aura posé un acte qui porte atteinte à l'intégrité physique ou fonctionnelle des organes génitaux d'une personne. Lorsque la mutilation a entraîné la mort, la peine est de servitude pénale à perpétuité."''{{cite web |url=http://monusco.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=aXFfmf5vsm8%3D&tabid=11245&mid=14386&language=en-US |title=Les lois sur les violences sexuelles |trans-title=The laws against sexual violence |access-date=12 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819085226/http://monusco.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=aXFfmf5vsm8%3D&tabid=11245&mid=14386&language=en-US |archive-date=19 August 2014}}</ref>

==Health==

{{See also|Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

In the Kasai province, health authorities declared an ebola disease outbreak with 28 suspected cases as of 4 September 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo declares Ebola virus disease outbreak in Kasai Province {{!}} WHO {{!}} Regional Office for Africa |url=https://www.afro.who.int/countries/democratic-republic-of-congo/news/democratic-republic-congo-declares-ebola-virus-disease-outbreak-kasai-province |website=www.afro.who.int |language=en |date=4 September 2025}}</ref>
  
The Democratic Republic of the Congo face several issues related to healthcare. Many of this is attributed to factors such as conflicts and political instabilities.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Democratic Republic of Congo |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/drc/overview#:~:text=DRC's%20health%20care%20systems%20have,be%20catastrophic%20for%20the%20DRC. |website=World Bank |publisher=The World Bank Group |access-date=22 August 2025 |archive-date=21 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821123745/https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/drc/overview#:~:text=DRC's%20health%20care%20systems%20have,be%20catastrophic%20for%20the%20DRC. |url-status=live }}</ref> 

The result is difficulty in providing transportation for medical treatment and supplies. In addition, financial inequalities prevent access to services as well in North and South Kivu.<ref>{{cite news |title=DRC: Health-care system on verge of collapse in North and South Kivu |url=https://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/drc-health-care-system-verge-collapse-north-south-kivu |publisher=International Committee of The Red Cross |date=17 June 2025 |archive-date=22 July 2025 |access-date=23 August 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250722184546/https://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/drc-health-care-system-verge-collapse-north-south-kivu |url-status=live }}</ref> Medical supplies and equipment have also been looted from healthcare facilities.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Luneghe |first1=Merveille Kuvira |title=Closed Clinics, Empty Shelves: Patients Struggle as War Unravels Lubero's Health Care System |url=https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/closed-clinics-empty-shelves-patients-struggle-war-unravels-luberos-health-care-system/ |publisher=Global Press Journal |date=10 June 2025 |archive-date=17 June 2025 |access-date=23 August 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250617050622/https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/closed-clinics-empty-shelves-patients-struggle-war-unravels-luberos-health-care-system/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the beginning of the 2025 quarter, there was a drop in 50% of children under the age of five years old visiting medical facilities, compared to the same quarter from last year. Also, the number of vaccinated children dropped from 67,000 to 29,000 when comparing the first quarter of 2023 to that of 2025.<ref>{{cite news |title=DRC: Health-care system on verge of collapse |url=https://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/drc-health-care-system-verge-collapse-north-south-kivu |work=www.icrc.org |publisher=International Committee of The Red Cross |date=17 June 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{See also|Poverty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
[[File:GDP per capita in the Democratic Republic of Congo.svg|thumb|Change in per capita GDP of Congo, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 [[international dollar]]s.]]
[[File:Democratic Republic of Congo, Trends in the Human Development Index 1970-2010.png|thumb|DR Congo's [[Human Development Index]] scores, 1970–2010]]
The economy of the DR Congo has grown from US$9.02 billion at the end of the Second Congo War in 2003 to US$72.48 billion in 2024 by [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|nominal GDP]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=GDP, current prices (nominal) |access-date=5 March 2025 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPGDP@WEO/COD |archive-date=7 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250307000956/https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPGDP@WEO/COD |url-status=live }}</ref> and from [[International dollar|$]]29.23 billion to $190.13 billion by [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|PPP-adjusted GDP]] during the same time period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GDP, current prices (PPP) |access-date=5 March 2025 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPD@WEO/COD }}</ref> Minerals and metal, specifically [[cobalt]] and [[copper]], made up 80% of the country's exports in 2023.<ref name="UNCTAD">{{Cite web |title=General Profile: Dem. Rep. of the Congo |publisher=[[UN Trade and Development]] |year=2023 |url=https://unctadstat.unctad.org/CountryProfile/GeneralProfile/en-GB/180/GeneralProfile180.pdf }}</ref><ref name="WorldBank2023" /> Its largest trade partner by a significant margin is [[China]], which represented 41% of its exports in 2024, followed by [[Zambia]], [[South Africa]], [[Singapore]], and the [[United Arab Emirates]].<ref name="Trade.gov">{{Cite web |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo – Market Overview |publisher=[[International Trade Administration]] |date=14 March 2024 |access-date=4 March 2025 |url=https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/democratic-republic-congo-market-overview |archive-date=2 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250302041535/https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/democratic-republic-congo-market-overview |url-status=live }}</ref> The DRC's economy, especially its mining sector, received significant foreign investment, and after the early 2000s it experienced high GDP growth rates that were above the average for sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name="AfricaRenewal2016">{{Cite web |last=Kuwonu |first=Franck |title=DRC economy: The giant awakens |date=August–November 2016 |work=Africa Renewal |publisher=United Nations |url=https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/august-2016/drc-economy-giant-awakens |archive-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223040341/https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/august-2016/drc-economy-giant-awakens }}</ref> This led to improvements in infrastructure,<ref name="AfricaRenewal2016" /> but the growth has not alleviated poverty for the population, the majority of which (65%) is involved in [[subsistence agriculture]].<ref name="WorldBank2023">{{Cite web |title=Democratic Rep. of Congo |publisher=[[World Bank]] |url=https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/bae48ff2fefc5a869546775b3f010735-0500062021/related/mpo-cod.pdf |access-date=5 March 2025 |archive-date=22 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250422002341/https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/bae48ff2fefc5a869546775b3f010735-0500062021/related/mpo-cod.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Most jobs are informal and there is also very high youth unemployment.<ref name="WorldBank2023" /> An estimated 73.5% of people in the DRC lived below the [[international poverty line]] of US$2.15 per day as of 2024, making the it among the five poorest countries in the world.<ref name="WorldBank2024">{{Cite web |title=The World Bank in DRC |publisher=[[World Bank Group]] |access-date=1 March 2025 |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/drc/overview |archive-date=21 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821123745/https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/drc/overview |url-status=live }}</ref> The DRC had the lowest [[Human Development Index]] of the 187 ranked countries through 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=UN human development rankings place Norway at the top and DR Congo last |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2011/11/393922 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=3 December 2021 |date=2 November 2011 |archive-date=3 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203210458/https://news.un.org/en/story/2011/11/393922 |url-status=live}}</ref> Agriculture is also a large sector of the economy,{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="Economy"}} though its output has declined over the past several decades{{sfn|Damania|Barra|Burnouf|Russ|2016|page=17}} and the country is dependent on food imports.<ref name="WorldBank2023" /> As of 2023 [[Food price inflation|food-price inflation]] had reached 173%.<ref name=":1" />

At independence in 1960, the DRC was the second-most-industrialized country in Africa after South Africa; it boasted a thriving mining sector and a relatively productive agriculture sector.<ref>{{cite web |title=Province orientale: le diamant et l'or quelle part dans la reconstruction socio&nbsp;– économique de la Province? |language=fr |website=societecivile.cd |date=23 October 2009 |url=http://www.societecivile.cd/node/4243 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125042436/http://www.societecivile.cd/node/4243 |archive-date=25 November 2009}}</ref> It is widely considered one of the world's richest countries in natural resources; its untapped deposits of raw minerals are estimated to be worth in excess of US$24&nbsp;trillion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DR+Congo's+$24+trillion+fortune.-a0193800184 |title=DR Congo's $24 trillion fortune |publisher=Thefreelibrary.com |access-date=22 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221202108/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/403.htm |archive-date=21 February 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsaboutcongo.com/2009/03/congo-with-24-trillion-in-mineral-wealth-but-still-poor.html |title=Congo with $24 Trillion in Mineral Wealth BUT still Poor |publisher=News About Congo |date=15 March 2009 |access-date=22 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514063014/http://www.newsaboutcongo.com/2009/03/congo-with-24-trillion-in-mineral-wealth-but-still-poor.html |archive-date=14 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kuepper |first=Justin |url=http://theotcinvestor.com/mining-companies-could-see-big-profits-in-congo-855 |title=Mining Companies Could See Big Profits in Congo |publisher=Theotcinvestor.com |date=26 October 2010 |access-date=22 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717022430/http://theotcinvestor.com/mining-companies-could-see-big-profits-in-congo-855/ |archive-date=17 July 2011 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> Despite such vast mineral wealth, the economy of the DRC has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The country generated up to 70% of its export revenue from minerals in the 1970s and 1980s and was particularly hit when resource prices deteriorated at that time.<ref name=ExenbergerHartmann2007>{{cite web |url=http://eeecon.uibk.ac.at/wopec2/repec/inn/wpaper/2007-31.pdf |title=The Dark Side of Globalization. The Vicious Cycle of Exploitation from World Market Integration: Lesson from the Congo |author1=Exenberger, Andreas |author2=Hartmann, Simon |year=2007 |website=Working Papers in Economics and Statistics |publisher=University of Innsbruck |access-date=11 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815122645/http://eeecon.uibk.ac.at/wopec2/repec/inn/wpaper/2007-31.pdf |archive-date=15 August 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Due to the fall in commodity prices, widespread corruption, and the collapse of [[Zaire (currency)|the currency]] from [[hyperinflation]], by the early 1990s the formal economy had nearly ceased to exist, with much of the population depending on subsistence agriculture or informal bartering.{{sfn|Meditz|Merrill|1994|pages=137—138}} The new government tried to implement a currency reform in 1997 after the First Congo War, but was disrupted by outbreak of the Second Congo War in 1998,{{sfn|CIA World Factbook III|loc="Economy"}} which worsened all of the problems, along with infrastructure breakdown and the lack of a clear legal system. Economic stability improved in 2003 with assistance from international donors following the withdrawal of foreign troops,{{sfn|CIA World Factbook II|loc="Economy"}} though continuing conflicts and the resulting humanitarian crisis still undermine economic development.<ref name="WorldBank2023" /><ref name="WorldBank2024" />

===Mining===
{{main|Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

[[File:Diamonds- Zaire, (DR Congo) (8458935824).jpg|thumb|Rough diamonds ≈1 to 1.5 mm in size from the DR Congo]]
The mining sector has been responsible for much of the DRC's economic growth since the Second Congo War.{{sfn|Damania|Barra|Burnouf|Russ|2016|pages=17—18}} The DRC is the world's largest producer of cobalt ore, accounting for 70% of global production in 2023,<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=18 December 2023 |title=Why Congo's chaotic election matters |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/12/18/why-congos-chaotic-election-matters |access-date=3 January 2024 |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103214140/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/12/18/why-congos-chaotic-election-matters |url-status=live}}</ref> and a major producer of copper and [[diamond]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indexmundi.com/en/commodities/minerals/cobalt/cobalt_t8.html |title=Cobalt: World Mine Production, By Country |access-date=30 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327044418/http://www.indexmundi.com/en/commodities/minerals/cobalt/cobalt_t8.html |archive-date=27 March 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> It has 70% of the world's [[coltan]], a third of its cobalt, more than 30% of its diamond reserves, and a tenth of its copper.<ref>[[Coltan]] is a major source of [[tantalum]] which is used in the fabrication of electronic components in computers and mobile phones. The coltan mines are small, and non-mechanized. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5209428.stm DR Congo poll crucial for Africa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202153903/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5209428.stm |date=2 December 2010 }}, BBC News. 16 November 2006.</ref><ref>Bream, Rebecca (8 November 2007). [https://www.ft.com/content/eec69b16-8d6e-11dc-a398-0000779fd2ac "A bid for front-line command in Africa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317112641/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/eec69b16-8d6e-11dc-a398-0000779fd2ac.html |date=17 March 2008 }}. ''Financial Times''.</ref> In February 2018, global asset management firm [[AllianceBernstein]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bernsteinresearch.com/brweb/Conference/GeneralInfo.aspx?nid=12331 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122051711/https://www.bernsteinresearch.com/brweb/Conference/GeneralInfo.aspx?nid=12331 |archive-date=22 November 2018 |title=10th Annual Pan-European Conference Strategic Decisions 2013 |website=Bernstein Research |publisher=Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. |access-date=21 November 2018}}</ref> defined the DRC as economically "the Saudi Arabia of the electric vehicle age," because of its cobalt resources, cobalt being essential in the production of the [[lithium-ion battery|lithium-ion batteries]] that power many [[electric vehicle]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mining-journal.com/capital-markets/news/1311386/-ivanhoe-pullback-investors-waiting |website=Mining Journal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122005748/https://www.mining-journal.com/capital-markets/news/1311386/-ivanhoe-pullback-investors-waiting |archive-date=22 November 2018 |title=The [Ivanhoe] pullback investors have been waiting for |publisher=Aspermont Ltd. |location=London, UK |date=22 February 2018 |access-date=21 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Diamonds come from [[Kasaï Province]] in the central DRC, though by far the largest mines are located in southern [[Katanga Province]] and are highly mechanized, with a capacity of several million tons per year of copper and cobalt ore, and refining capability for metal ore. The DRC is the second-largest diamond-producing nation in the world,{{efn|In terms of annual carats produced}} and artisanal and small-scale miners account for most of its production.

[[File:Site Maniema Mining Corporation.jpg|thumb|A mining site in the [[Haut-Katanga Province]]]]
Smaller-scale economic activity from [[artisanal mining]] occurs in the [[Informal economy|informal sector]] and is not reflected in GDP data.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/e074e9/democratic_republi |title=Economic activity in DRC |publisher=Research and Markets |access-date=22 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703114124/http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/e074e9/democratic_republi |archive-date=3 July 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> A third of the DRC's diamonds are believed to be smuggled out of the country, making it difficult to quantify diamond production levels.<ref name="Kitco">[http://www.kitco.com/ind/Zimnisky/2013-08-20-Ranking-Of-The-World-s-Diamond-Mines-By-Estimated-2013-Production.html "Ranking Of The World's Diamond Mines By Estimated 2013 Production"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053511/http://www.kitco.com/ind/Zimnisky/2013-08-20-Ranking-Of-The-World-s-Diamond-Mines-By-Estimated-2013-Production.html|date=21 September 2013}}, ''[[Kitco]]'', 20 August 2013.</ref> In 2002, tin was discovered in the east of the country but to date has only been mined on a small scale.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/world/africa/16congo.html |title=Congo's Riches, Looted by Renegade Troops |work=The New York Times |first=Lydia |last=Polgreen |date=16 November 2008 |access-date=27 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416194014/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/world/africa/16congo.html |archive-date=16 April 2009 |url-status=live}}
</ref> Smuggling of [[Conflict resource|conflict minerals]] such as coltan and [[cassiterite]], ores of [[tantalum]] and tin, respectively, helped to fuel the war in the eastern Congo.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unwatchable.cc/the-true-story/what-is-happening-in-the-congo/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930123653/http://www.unwatchable.cc/the-true-story/what-is-happening-in-the-congo/ |archive-date=30 September 2011 |title=What is happening in the Congo}}</ref> Open-pit cobalt mining has led to [[Deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|deforestation]] and habitat destruction.<ref>{{cite news |title=How 'modern-day slavery' in the Congo powers the rechargeable battery economy |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara |work=[[NPR]] |date=1 February 2023 |archive-date=22 November 2024 |access-date=26 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241122054959/https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Katanga Mining|Katanga Mining Limited]], a Swiss-owned company, owns the [[Luilu]] Metallurgical Plant, which has a capacity of 175,000 tonnes of copper and 8,000 tonnes of cobalt per year, making it the largest cobalt refinery in the world. After a major rehabilitation program, the company resumed copper production operations in December 2007 and cobalt production in May 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.katangamining.com/media/news-releases/2008/2008-08-12.aspx |title=Katanga Project Update and 2Q 2008 Financials, Katanga Mining Limited, 12 August 2008 |access-date=11 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622112815/http://www.katangamining.com/media/news-releases/2008/2008-08-12.aspx |archive-date=22 June 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

During 2007–08, Joseph Kabila's administration entered a 'resources-for-infrastructure' deal with China, creating the [[joint venture]] [[Sicomines]] (''Sino-Congolais des Mines''), with the majority of the shares owned by the [[China Railway Engineering Corporation]] (CREC) while the DRC's [[Gécamines]] owned the rest. The company received mining rights in exchanged for investing US$3 billion into building infrastructure.{{sfn|Landry|2018|pages=9–11}} Sicomines began production in 2015.{{sfn|Landry|2018|page=14}} The deal has received criticism for terms that appeared to be disproportionately favorable to China at the expense of the DRC.{{sfn|Landry|2018|pages=15–17}} Félix Tshisekedi's administration ordered an investigation into the deal, which concluded that less than US$1 billion had been spent on infrastructure. Tshisekedi renegotiated the agreement to add new terms, and in 2024 this led to the infrastructure investment being increased to US$7 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rakotoseheno |first=Solofo |title=Sicomines: How the EITI in DRC helped secure 4 billion in additional revenue |date=25 March 2024 |publisher=[[Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative]] |url=https://eiti.org/blog-post/sicomines-how-eiti-drc-helped-secure-4-billion-additional-revenue }}</ref>

In April 2013, anti-corruption NGOs revealed that Congolese tax authorities had failed to account for $88&nbsp;million from the mining sector, despite booming production and positive industrial performance. The missing funds date from 2010 and tax bodies should have paid them into the central bank.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.miningweekly.com/article/watchdog-says-88m-missing-in-congolese-mining-taxes-2013-04-16 |title=Watchdog says $88m missing in Congolese mining taxes |year=2013 |work=[[Mining Weekly]] |location=South Africa |access-date=16 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054130/http://www.miningweekly.com/article/watchdog-says-88m-missing-in-congolese-mining-taxes-2013-04-16 |archive-date=21 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Later in 2013, the [[Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative]] suspended the country's candidacy for membership due to insufficient reporting, monitoring and independent audits, but in July 2013 the country improved its accounting and transparency practices to the point where the EITI gave the country full membership.

===Transportation===
{{Main|Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{further|Rail transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
[[File:Congo Transport Map.PNG|thumb|Map of the transport network in the DRC, including major rail, road, and water routes]]
[[File:Matadi train station (21236934082).jpg|thumb|The Matadi railway station, part of the [[Matadi–Kinshasa Railway]]]]
[[File:Route Boma Moanda.jpg|thumb|Section of National Road 1 between [[Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo|Boma]] and [[Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo|Moanda]], Kongo Central]]
The DRC has {{convert|152,373|km|mi}} of roads, out of which only {{convert|3,047|km|mi}} are paved. It also has {{convert|4,007|km|mi}} of railways, with most being [[narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]].{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="Transportation"}} The infrastructure is in a state of disrepair, and the national highway system is very limited; reaching the capital by road is not possible from many parts of the country.{{sfn|Damania|Barra|Burnouf|Russ|2016|page=16}} Since the early 2000s there have been improvements to the road network, but the dense forests and numerous rivers in the DRC make construction and maintenance difficult.{{sfn|Foster|Benitez|2010|pages=10–11}} Air and river transportation have an important role, due to the terrain and the poor state of the road and rail networks.<ref>Dobbins, James, et al. (2013). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt3fgzrv.16 Democratic Republic of the Congo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250715221152/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt3fgzrv.16 |date=15 July 2025 }}. Overcoming Obstacles to Peace: Local Factors in Nation-Building, [[RAND Corporation]], pp. 179–204. JSTOR.</ref> Air travel has seen an increase since the early 2000s, with 24 city pairs having airline service as of 2007, although it has a poor safety record.{{sfn|Foster|Benitez|2010|pages=15–16}} All air carriers certified by the DRC have been banned from European Union airports because of inadequate safety standards.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110430124922/http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban/doc/list_en.pdf List of airlines banned within the EU], Official EC list, updated 20 April 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.</ref> Despite this, airlines are seen as the most reliable form of domestic travel.{{sfn|Damania|Barra|Burnouf|Russ|2016|page=16}}<ref name="EAC" /> There are eight airlines in the country,{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="Transportation"}} including the [[flag carrier]] [[Congo Airways]], and several international airlines service [[N'djili Airport|Kinshasa's international airport]]. Besides Kinshasa there are three other international airports in the DRC, which are at [[Lubumbashi International Airport|Lubumbashi]], [[Kisangani Bangoka International Airport|Kisangani]], and [[Goma International Airport|Goma]].<ref name="EAC" />

The DRC has about {{convert|15,000|km|mi}} of [[navigable]] [[waterway]]s,{{sfn|Foster|Benitez|2010|page=12}} with the Congo River serving as the spine. Water transport has traditionally been the dominant means of moving around in the DRC and is also used to fill gaps between roads. Around two million tons of cargo pass through the port of Kinshasa on the Congo River every year, more than triple the volume moved by the national railroad company, ''[[Société nationale des chemins de fer du Congo]]'' (SNCC). River transports are owned by many private operators.{{sfn|Damania|Barra|Burnouf|Russ|2016|page=21}} The country's three economic hubs—Kinshasa in the west, Lubumbashi in the south, and Kinsangani in the northeast—are not connected by roads or rail.{{sfn|Foster|Benitez|2010|page=4}} The rail system is concentrated in the southeast, and Kinshasa is connected by river ferry to [[Ilebo]], where the rail line to Lubumbashi begins. This line is also critical for the movement of metal and minerals from the southern DRC to ports in Angola or South Africa (via Zambia) to be exported overseas.{{sfn|Foster|Benitez|2010|page=12}}<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Gunia |first1=Amy |last2=Prager |first2=Jackelyn |title=A rejuvenated railway could change how minerals move in Africa – and globally |date=4 November 2024 |work=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/world/africa/angola-lobito-corridor-railway-impact-spc/index.html }}</ref> There is an electrified line between Kinshasa and the Atlantic seaport of Matadi. The track and [[rolling stock]] of the SNCC system is in poor condition, though the more recently built Matadi–Kinshasa line has better track.{{sfn|Foster|Benitez|2010|pages=12—13}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kavanagh |first=Michael J. |title=Russian Railways, DR Congo to Discuss Possible $500m Rail Deal |date=26 October 2019 |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-26/russian-railways-dr-congo-to-discuss-possible-500m-rail-deal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811040835/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-26/russian-railways-dr-congo-to-discuss-possible-500m-rail-deal |archive-date=11 August 2024 }}</ref>

There are 44 [[List of roads in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|national roads]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Réseau Routier National de la RDC / DRC National Roads Network |publisher=[[Humanitarian Data Exchange]] |date=2023 |url=https://data.humdata.org/dataset/0d5bfe48-d13b-414b-b582-531314ae77cb }}</ref> with a total of {{convert|58,358|km|mi}},<ref name="EAC">{{Cite web |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo |publisher=[[East African Community]] |access-date=7 March 2025 |url=https://www.eac.int/eac-partner-states/drcongo |archive-date=13 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313180847/https://www.eac.int/eac-partner-states/drcongo |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="DE-2024" /> but three of them are considered the most important. [[National Road 1 (Democratic Republic of the Congo)|National Road No. 1]] (RN1) is the main highway of the road system, connecting seaports in Kongo Central with Kinshasa and cities in the interior, such as Lubumbashi. RN1 reaches the border with Zambia in the south.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Democratic Republic of Congo – National Road No.1 Rehabilitation Project: Kinshasa/Ndjili – Batshamba Section |publisher=[[African Development Bank]] |date=2019 |url=https://mapafrica.afdb.org/en/projects/46002-P-CD-DB0-012 |access-date=7 March 2025 |archive-date=9 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250409172903/https://mapafrica.afdb.org/en/projects/46002-P-CD-DB0-012 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[National Road 2 (Democratic Republic of the Congo)|National Road 2]] (RN2) connects the central city of Mbuji-Mayi with Goma in the east, with most of it outside of the Kivu region being in a bad condition, and [[National Road 3 (Democratic Republic of the Congo)|National Road 3]] (RN3) connects Goma to Kisangani, from where a river boat can be taken to Kinshasa.{{sfn|Damania|Barra|Burnouf|Russ|2016|page=21}}<ref name="DE-2024">{{Cite web |last=Fisk |first=Robert |title=The country in Africa without a single motorway despite being absolutely massive |date=27 October 2024 |work=[[Daily Express]] |url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1963561/country-without-a-motorway-congo-africa }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=République Démocratique du Congo: Sectionnement de la Route Nationale 3 (au 3 Dec 2007) |language=fr |work=[[ReliefWeb]] |date=3 December 2007|url=https://reliefweb.int/map/democratic-republic-congo/r%C3%A9publique-d%C3%A9mocratique-du-congo-sectionnement-de-la-route-nationale-3 }}</ref>

===Energy===
{{Main|Energy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{further|Renewable energy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
The generation and distribution of electricity is controlled by [[Société Nationale d'Électricité|Société nationale d'électricité]] (SNEL), but only 15% of the country has access to electricity.<ref>{{cite news |last=Yee |first=Amy |title=The Power Plants That May Save a Park, and Aid a Country |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/business/congo-power-plants-poaching.html |access-date=4 September 2017 |work=The New York Times |date=30 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904001314/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/business/congo-power-plants-poaching.html |archive-date=4 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The DRC has the infrastructure for hydro-electricity from the Congo River at the [[Inga dams]]. Both coal and crude oil resources were mainly used domestically up to 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.suedwind-institut.de/fileadmin/fuerSuedwind/Publikationen/Publikationen_Franz%C3%B6sisch/2004-15_Energi%C3%A9_hydraulique_de_barrage_d_Inga.pdf |title=Energie hydraulique des barrages d'Inga: Grands potentiels pour le développement de la République Démocratique du Congo et de l'Afrique |trans-title=Technical Study preparing lobby-work on energy-resources and conflict prevention&nbsp;– Hydroelectric power dams at Inga: Great potential for the development of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Africa |language=fr |publisher=suedwind-institut.de |access-date=27 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055519/http://www.suedwind-institut.de/fileadmin/fuerSuedwind/Publikationen/Publikationen_Franz%C3%B6sisch/2004-15_Energi%C3%A9_hydraulique_de_barrage_d_Inga.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2013}}</ref> As of 2010, the country had 2,400 [[megawatt]]s of [[installed capacity]], with only 1,000 MW functioning, and the only interconnected part of the power grid is the high voltage transmission line between the Inga dams in Kongo Central and the southern DRC.{{sfn|Foster|Benitez|2010|pages=4, 8}} This line runs to the Zambian border and is also used to export electricity to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.{{sfn|Foster|Benitez|2010|pages=6, 8}} Almost half of companies in the DRC have their own generators due to blackouts and the limitations of the power grid.{{sfn|Foster|Benitez|2010|page=8}} The country has a river system that could provide hydro-electric power to the entire continent, according to a UN report on the country's strategic significance and its potential role as an economic power in central Africa.<ref>{{cite web |author=Vandiver, John |url=http://www.stripes.com/news/gis-retrain-congo-troops-known-for-being-violent-1.101774 |title=DR Congo economic and strategic significance |publisher=Stripes.com |access-date=22 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810152611/http://www.stripes.com/news/gis-retrain-congo-troops-known-for-being-violent-1.101774 |archive-date=10 August 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The DRC's electricity generation potential from hydro-power is estimated at 100,000 MW.{{sfn|Foster|Benitez|2010|page=8}} The DRC is a member of three electrical power pools. These are Southern African Power Pool, East African Power Pool, and Central African Power Pool.

Because of abundant sunlight, the potential for solar development is very high in the DRC. There are already about 836 solar power systems in the DRC, with a total power of 83&nbsp;MW, located in [[Province of Équateur|Équateur]] (167), Katanga (159), Nord-Kivu (170), the two Kasaï provinces (170), and Bas-Congo (170). Also, the 148 Caritas network system has a total power of 6.31&nbsp;MW.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reegle.info/countries/congo-dem-rep-energy-profile/CD |title=Energy Profile Congo, Dem. Rep |website=Reegle.info |access-date=21 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725214348/http://www.reegle.info/countries/congo-dem-rep-energy-profile/CD |archive-date=25 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{further|Poverty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Child marriage in Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

===Population===
[[File:Democratic Republic of the Congo population.svg|thumb|Democratic Republic of the Congo's population between 1960 and 2017]]
The [[The World Factbook|CIA World Factbook]] estimated the population to be over 115 million as of 2024.{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="People and Society"}} Between 1950 and 2000, the country's population nearly quadrupled from 12.2 million to 46.9 million.<ref>{{cite web |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo Demographic Trends |url=https://drcongo.opendataforafrica.org/debdbhd/democratic-republic-of-the-congo-demographic-trends |website=Open Data for Africa |publisher=UN, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730141148/https://drcongo.opendataforafrica.org/debdbhd/democratic-republic-of-the-congo-demographic-trends |url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2000, it has maintained a high growth rate of about 3&ndash;3.5% per year, growing from 47 million to an estimated 112 million.

===Ethnic groups===
Over 250 ethnic groups and 450 tribes (ethnic subgroups) populate the DRC. They are in the [[Bantu languages|Bantu]], [[Sudanic languages|Sudanic]], [[Nilotic languages|Nilotic]], [[Adamawa–Ubangi languages|Ubangian]] and [[Classification of Pygmy languages|Pygmy]] linguistic groups. Because of this diversity, there is no dominant ethnic group in the Congo, however the following ethnic groups account for 51.5% of the population:<ref name=":0"/>

[[File:DRC Ethnic Groups.png|thumb|245x245px|Breakdown of the largest ethnic groups in DRC]]

* [[Luba-Kasai language|Luba-Kasaï]]
*[[Kongo people|Kongo]]
*[[Mongo people|Mongo]]
*[[Luba-Katanga language|Lubakat]]
*[[Lulua people|Lulua]]
*[[Tetela people|Tetela]]
*[[Nande language|Nande]]
*[[Ngbandi people|Ngbandi]]
*[[Ngombe language|Ngombe]]
*[[Yaka people|Yaka]]
*[[Ngbaka languages|Ngbaka]]

In {{UN_Population|Year}}, the UN estimated the country's population to be {{#expr:{{formatnum:{{UN_Population|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}|R}}/1e6 round 0}} million,{{UN_Population|ref}} a rapid increase from 39.1&nbsp;million in 1992 despite the ongoing war.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 November 2004 |title=Zaire – Population |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+zr0053%29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628105720/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+zr0053%29 |archive-date=28 June 2017 |access-date=27 February 2024 |website=Library of Congress Country Studies}}</ref> As many as 250 ethnic groups have been identified and named. About 600,000 [[Congo Pygmies|Pygmies]] live in the DRC.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 May 2003 |title=Pygmies want UN tribunal to address cannibalism |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/22/1053585643490.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121110837/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/22/1053585643490.html |archive-date=21 January 2010 |access-date=27 February 2024 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

===Largest cities===
{{Largest cities
 | country  = the Democratic Republic of the Congo
 | stat_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=The World Factbook: Africa – Congo, Democratic Republic of the |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] |access-date=13 April 2016 |archive-date=11 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511000300/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://populationstat.com/africa/ |title=Africa Population (2022) |website=populationstat.com |access-date=19 July 2022 |archive-date=19 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719032905/https://populationstat.com/africa/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
 | div_name = Province

| city_1  = Kinshasa
 | div_1   = Kinshasa
 | pop_1   = 15,628,000
 | city_2  = Mbuji-Mayi
 | div_2   = Kasai-Oriental
 | pop_2   = 2,765,000
 | city_3  = Lubumbashi
 | div_3   = Haut-Katanga Province{{!}}Haut-Katanga
 | pop_3   = 2,695,000
 | city_4  = Kisangani
 | div_4   = Tshopo
 | pop_4   = 1,640,000

| city_5  = Kananga
 | div_5   = Kasaï-Central
 | pop_5   = 1,593,000
 | city_6  = Mbandaka
 | div_6   = Province of Équateur{{!}}Équateur
 | pop_6   = 1,188,000

| city_7  = Bukavu
 | div_7   = South Kivu
 | pop_7   = 1,190,000

| city_8  = Tshikapa
 | div_8   = Kasaï Province{{!}}Kasaï
 | pop_8   = 1,024,000

| city_9  = Bunia
 | div_9   = Ituri Province{{!}}Ituri
 | pop_9   = 768,000

| city_10  = Goma
 | div_10   = North Kivu
 | pop_10  = 707,000

}}

===Migration===
[[File:Opening ceremony of new PNC headquarters in Goma (7134901927).jpg|thumb|Population fleeing their villages due to fighting between FARDC and rebels groups, Sake North Kivu 30 April 2012]]
Given the often unstable situation in the country and the condition of state structures, it is extremely difficult to obtain reliable migration data. However, evidence suggests that DRC continues to be a destination country for immigrants, in spite of recent declines in their numbers. Immigration is very diverse in nature; refugees and asylum-seekers&nbsp;– products of the numerous and violent conflicts in the [[African Great Lakes|Great Lakes Region]]&nbsp;– constitute an important subset of the population. Additionally, the country's large mine operations attract migrant workers from Africa and beyond. There is also considerable migration for commercial activities from other African countries and the rest of the world, but these movements are not well studied.<ref name="IOMProfile"/> Transit migration towards South Africa and Europe also plays a role.

Immigration to the DRC has decreased steadily over the past two decades, most likely as a result of the armed violence that the country has experienced. According to the [[International Organization for Migration]], the number of immigrants in the DRC has fallen from just over one million in 1960, to 754,000 in 1990, to 480,000 in 2005, to an estimated 445,000 in 2010. Official figures are unavailable, partly due to the predominance of the [[informal economy]] in the DRC. Data are also lacking on irregular immigrants, however given neighbouring countries' ethnic links to DRC nationals, irregular migration is assumed to be a significant phenomenon.<ref name="IOMProfile">
{{Cite book |url=http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=41_42&products_id=592 |publisher=International Organization for Migration |title=Migration en République Démocratique du Congo: Profil national 2009 |year=2010 |isbn=978-92-9068-567-8 |language=fr |access-date=17 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511092512/http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=41_42&products_id=592 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=live}}
</ref>

Figures for Congolese nationals abroad vary greatly depending on the source; sources believe there are between three and six million Congolese living abroad. This discrepancy is due to a lack of official, reliable data. Emigrants from the DRC are above all long-term emigrants, the majority of whom live in Africa and to a lesser extent in Europe; 79.7% and 15.3% respectively, according to estimated 2000 data. New destination countries include South Africa and various points en route to Europe. The DRC has produced a considerable number of [[refugees]] and [[asylum-seekers]] located in the region and beyond. These numbers peaked in 2004 when, according to [[UNHCR]], there were more than 460,000 refugees from the DRC; in 2008, Congolese refugees numbered 367,995 in total, 68% of whom were living in other African countries.<ref name="IOMProfile"/>

Since 2003, more than 400,000 Congolese migrants have been expelled from [[Angola]].<ref>"[http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/05/calls-for-angola-to-investigate-abuse-of-congolese-migrants "Calls for Angola to Investigate Abuse of Congolese Migrants"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525172019/http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/05/calls-for-angola-to-investigate-abuse-of-congolese-migrants/ |date=25 May 2013 }}, Inter Press Service. 21 May 2012.</ref>

[[White people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Europeans]] and Asians makeup a significant part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's migrant population. Most Europeans and Asians went to the country for temporary employment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo/People|title=Democratic Republic of the Congo – Ethnic Groups, Languages, Religion &#124; Britannica|date=25 September 2025|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref>

====Forced displacement and refugees====
{{Main|Internally displaced persons in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Refugees of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has around 6.9 million people displaced within its borders, more than five million of whom are in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri. In addition, over 990,000 Congolese refugees and asylum seekers live elsewhere on the African continent.<ref>{{cite web | title=Democratic Republic of the Congo  | url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/74694 |website= UNHCR| access-date=2025-12-02}}</ref>

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

[[File:Variantes du français originaires de Belgique utilisées en Afrique.jpg|thumb|right|The Democratic Republic of the Congo speaks a variant of [[Belgian French]] (dark red), compared to other parts of Africa.]]
[[French language|French]] is the [[official language]] of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=IDRC CRDI |access-date=21 December 2024 |title=Evidence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo |url=https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/KIX-Strengthening-Bilingual-Education-DRC-Brief-May-2024.pdf}}</ref> It is culturally accepted as the ''[[lingua franca]]'', facilitating communication among the many different ethnic groups of the Congo. According to a 2018 [[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|OIF]] report, 49&nbsp;million Congolese people (51% of the population) could read and write French.<ref>[https://www.francophonie.org/sites/default/files/2021-04/LFDM-20Edition-2019-La-langue-fran%C3%A7aise-dans-le-monde.pdf La langue française dans le monde] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216232912/https://www.francophonie.org/sites/default/files/2021-04/LFDM-20Edition-2019-La-langue-fran%C3%A7aise-dans-le-monde.pdf |date=16 December 2021 }}, [[Éditions Gallimard]], [[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie]]</ref> A 2021 survey found that 74% of the population could speak French, making it the most widely spoken language in the country.<ref name="lingala">{{cite web |url=https://www.target-sarl.cd/en/content/target-survey-french-most-spoken-language-drc-far-ahead-lingala |title=Target Survey: French, the most spoken language in DRC, far ahead of Lingala |date=10 July 2021 |access-date=7 September 2022 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023160328/https://www.target-sarl.cd/en/content/target-survey-french-most-spoken-language-drc-far-ahead-lingala }}</ref>

In Kinshasa, 67% of the population in 2014 could read and write French, and 68.5% could speak and understand it.<ref>{{cite book |author=Organisation internationale de la Francophonie |title=La langue française dans le monde 2014 |url=http://www.francophonie.org/Langue-Francaise-2014/ |location=Paris |publisher=Éditions Nathan |page=30 |date=2014 |isbn=978-2-09-882654-0 |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702202909/http://www.francophonie.org/Langue-Francaise-2014/ |archive-date=2 July 2015 |author-link=Organisation internationale de la Francophonie}}</ref>

In 2024, there were around 12 million native French speakers in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lu |first=Marcus |date=31 August 2024 |title=Mapped: Top 15 Countries by Native French Speakers |url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-top-15-countries-by-native-french-speakers/ |access-date=6 September 2024 |archive-date=9 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909055645/https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-top-15-countries-by-native-french-speakers/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Map - DR Congo, major languages.svg|thumb|The four [[Bantu languages]] with elevated "national" status]]
Approximately 242 languages are spoken in the country, of which four have the status of national languages: [[Kituba language|Kituba]] (Kikongo), [[Lingala]], [[Luba-Kasai language|Tshiluba]], and [[Swahili language|Swahili]] ([[Congo Swahili]]). Although some limited number of people speak these as first languages, most of the population speak them as a second language, after the native language of their own ethnic group. Lingala was the official language of the ''Force Publique'' under Belgian colonial rule and remains to this day the predominant language of the armed forces. Since the recent rebellions, a good part of the army in the east also uses Swahili, where it competes to be the regional ''lingua franca''.

Under [[Belgian colonial empire|Belgian rule]], the Belgians instituted the teaching and use of the four Bantu languages in primary schools, making it one of the few African nations to have literacy in local languages during the European colonial period. This trend was reversed after independence, when French became the sole language of education at all levels.<ref name=lang_educ>{{cite book |author=Organisation internationale de la Francophonie |title=La langue française dans le monde 2014 |url=http://www.francophonie.org/Langue-Francaise-2014/ |location=Paris |publisher=Éditions Nathan |page=117 |date=2014 |isbn=978-2-09-882654-0 |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702202909/http://www.francophonie.org/Langue-Francaise-2014/ |archive-date=2 July 2015 |author-link=Organisation internationale de la Francophonie}}</ref> Since 1975, the four national languages have been reintroduced in the first two years of primary education, with French becoming the sole language of education from the third year onward, but in practice many primary schools in urban areas solely use French from the first year of school onward.<ref name=lang_educ/>

[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] is taught in public schools as a foreign language due to the [[Angola]]n, and to a lesser extent [[Mozambique|Mozambican]] immigrant and refugee communities. Brazil has also been promoting the language in Africa.<ref>[[TSF (radio station)|TSF]]. ''[https://tsf.sapo.pt/PaginaInicial/Portugal/Interior.aspx?content_id=1585824 Português adoptado como língua opcional nas escolas da RD Congo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100912020825/http://tsf.sapo.pt/PaginaInicial/Portugal/Interior.aspx?content_id=1585824 |date=12 September 2010 }}''</ref> The [[lexical similarity]] and comparable phonology of French to Portuguese makes it a relatively easy language for people to learn. Many of the roughly 175,000 Portuguese speakers in the DRC are Angolans who fled violence during the [[Angolan War of Independence]] and [[Angolan Civil War]] of the late 20th century.<ref>{{cite book|url-access=limited|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/protestant-missionaries-and-humanitarianism-in-the-drc/cpra-and-angolan-refugees-in-the-drc-19611967/193720716E2FB8A239DFC3DE20C44EF3|date=11 September 2020|title=Protestant Missionaries and Humanitarianism in the DRC: The Politics of Aid in Cold War Africa|last=Rich|first=Jeremy|publisher=Boydell & Brewer|doi=10.1017/9781787449350|isbn=978-1-78744-935-0|access-date=22 July 2025|pages=83–107}}</ref> Most of them have been repatriated back since the war ended in 2002.<ref>Azad Essa. [https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/3/13/angolans-in-drc-have-mixed-feelings-on-home "Angolans in DRC have mixed feelings on home"]  (13 March 2014). ''Al Jazeera''</ref>

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

[[File:Lubumbashi Cathedral.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Lubumbashi|The Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral]], [[Lubumbashi]]]]
[[File:Cathedrale notre dame de la victoire bukavu.png|thumb|right|[[Our Lady of Peace Cathedral, Bukavu|Our Lady of Peace Cathedral]] in [[Bukavu]]]]

Christianity is the predominant religion of the DRC. A 2013–14 survey, conducted by the [[Demographic and Health Surveys]] Program in 2013–2014 indicated that Christians constituted 93.7% of the population (with Catholics making up 29.7%, Protestants 26.8%, and other Christians 37.2%). A new Christian religious movement, [[Kimbanguism]], had the adherence of 2.8%, while Muslims made up 1%.<ref name="DHS 2013-14">{{cite web |url=https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR300/FR300.pdf |title=Enquête Démographique et de Santé (EDS-RDC) 2013–2014 |publisher=Ministère du Plan et Suivi de la Mise en œuvre de la Révolution de la Modernité, Ministère de la Santé Publique |language=fr |page=36 |access-date=20 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010190605/https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR300/FR300.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other recent estimates have found Christianity the majority religion, followed by 95.8% of the population according to a 2010 [[Pew Research Center]]<ref name=religion>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/table-religious-composition-by-country-in-percentages/ |title=Global Religious Landscape |date=18 December 2012 |publisher=Pew Forum |access-date=11 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518013537/http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/table-religious-composition-by-country-in-percentages/ |archive-date=18 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> estimate, while the [[CIA World Factbook]] reports this figure to be 95.9%.{{sfn|CIA World Factbook I|loc="People and Society"}} The proportion of followers of Islam is variously estimated from 1%<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR300/FR300.pdf |title=Enquête Démographique et de Santé (EDS-RDC) 2013–2014 |website=Dhsprogram.com |access-date=23 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010190605/https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR300/FR300.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> to 12%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/files/2010/04/sub-saharan-africa-chapter-1.pdf |title=Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life / Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa |access-date=28 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924113617/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2010/04/sub-saharan-africa-chapter-1.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref>

There are about 35&nbsp;million Catholics in the country<ref name="cia.gov"/> with six [[archdiocese]]s and 41 [[dioceses]].<ref>{{Catholic-hierarchy|diocese|qview5|Structured View of Dioceses|21 January 2015}}</ref> The impact of the Catholic Church is difficult to overestimate. Schatzberg has called it the country's "only truly national institution apart from the state."<ref>Schatzberg, Michael G (February 1980) Politics and Class in Zaire: Bureaucracy, Business and Beer in Lisala, Africana Pub. Co. {{ISBN|0-8419-0438-3}}</ref> Its schools have educated over 60% of the nation's primary school students and more than 40% of its secondary students. The church owns and manages an extensive network of hospitals, schools, and clinics, as well as many diocesan economic enterprises, including farms, ranches, stores, and artisans' shops.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}

Sixty-two Protestant denominations are federated under the umbrella of the [[Church of Christ in the Congo]]. It is often referred to as ''the Protestant Church'', since it covers most of the DRC Protestants. With more than 25&nbsp;million members, it constitutes [[List of the largest Protestant denominations|one of the largest Protestant bodies]] in the world.

Kimbanguism was seen as a threat to the colonial regime and was banned by the Belgians. Kimbanguism, officially "the church of Christ on Earth by the prophet Simon Kimbangu", has about three million members,<ref name=Adherents>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20010707120530/http://www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_365.html "Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo)", Adherents.com&nbsp;– Religion by Location.]}} Sources quoted are ''The World Factbook'' (1998), 'official government web site' of ''Democratic Republic of Congo''. Retrieved 25 May 2007.</ref> primarily among the Bakongo of [[Kongo Central]] and Kinshasa.

Islam has been present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the 18th century, when Arab traders from [[East Africa]] "pushed" into the interior for ivory and alleged slave-trading purposes. However, most Muslims are native to the land.  Today, Muslims constitute approximately 1% of the Congolese population according to the Pew Research Center. The majority are [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] Muslims.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

[[File:Paroisse St Esprit.jpg|thumb|[[Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Roman Catholic Church]] in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
The first members of the [[Baháʼí Faith]] to live in the country came from Uganda in 1953. Four years later, the first local administrative council was elected. In 1970, the National Spiritual Assembly (national administrative council) was first elected. Though the religion was banned in the 1970s and 1980s, due to misrepresentations of foreign governments, the ban was lifted by the end of the 1980s. In 2012, plans were announced to build a national [[Baháʼí House of Worship]] in the country.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Traditional religions embody such concepts as [[monotheism]], [[animism]], [[vitalism]], [[spirit worship|spirit]] and [[ancestor worship]], [[witchcraft]], and sorcery and vary widely among ethnic groups. The syncretic sects often merge elements of Christianity with traditional beliefs and rituals and are not recognized by mainstream churches as part of Christianity. New variants of ancient beliefs have become widespread, led by US-inspired Pentecostal churches which have been in the forefront of witchcraft accusations, particularly against children and the elderly.{{Clarify|reason=What is the new belief? Witchcraft, or the accusations of witchcraft?|date=January 2013}}<ref>{{cite book |author1=De Boeck, Filip |author2=Plissart, Marie-Frangoise |year=1899 |title=Kinshasa tales of the invisible City |publisher=Ludion |isbn=((978-90-5544-554-7)) }}
</ref> Children accused of witchcraft are sent away from homes and family, often to live on the street, which can lead to physical violence against these children.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://congochildrentrust.org/street-children-in-d-r-congo/ |title=Street Children in D.R.Congo |website=Congo Children Trust |language=en-US |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509161239/https://congochildrentrust.org/street-children-in-d-r-congo/ |archive-date=9 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=What leads to violence?|date=January 2013}}<ref>{{cite web |title=2010 Human Rights Report: Democratic Republic of the Congo |website=U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |date=2011 |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/af/154340.htm |access-date=24 April 2011 |archive-date=20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320141059/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/af/154340.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> There are charities supporting street children such as the [[Congo Children Trust]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://congochildrentrust.org/ |title=About the trust |website=Congo Children Trust |language=en-US |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509161243/https://congochildrentrust.org/ |archive-date=9 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Congo Children Trust's flagship project is Kimbilio,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kimbiliocongo.org/ |title=Home |website=Kimbilio |language=en-US |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509161234/https://www.kimbiliocongo.org/ |archive-date=9 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> which works to reunite street children in [[Lubumbashi]]. The usual term for these children is ''enfants sorciers'' (child witches) or ''enfants dits sorciers'' (children accused of witchcraft). Non-denominational church organizations have been formed to capitalize on this belief by charging exorbitant fees for [[exorcisms]]. Though recently outlawed, children have been subjected in these exorcisms to often-violent abuse at the hands of self-proclaimed prophets and priests.<ref>
{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Dan |title=Children in Congo forced into exorcisms |work=world news |publisher=USA today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-05-20-childwitch_N.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104115309/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-05-20-childwitch_N.htm |archive-date=4 November 2012 |access-date=24 April 2011 |date=21 May 2009}}
</ref>

===Education===
{{Main|Education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

[[File:DRC classroom.jpg|thumb|A classroom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
In 2014, the [[literacy]] rate for the population between the ages of 15 and 49 was estimated to be 75.9% (88.1% male and 63.8% female) according to a [[Demographic and Health Surveys|DHS]] nationwide survey.<ref>{{cite book |title=Enquête Démographique et de Santé en République Démocratique du Congo 2013–2014 |author1=Ministère du Plan et Suivi de la Mise en oeuvre de la Révolution de la Modernité (MPSMRM) |author2=Ministère de la Santé Publique (MSP) |author3=[[ICF International]] |pages=41–3 |url=http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR300/FR300.pdf |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226192128/http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR300/FR300.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The education system is governed by three government ministries: the ''Ministère de l'Enseignement Primaire, Secondaire et Professionnel (MEPSP''), the ''Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et Universitaire (MESU)'' and the ''Ministère des Affaires Sociales (MAS)''. Primary education is neither free nor compulsory,{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} even though the Congolese constitution says it should be (Article 43 of the 2005 Congolese Constitution).<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Constitution de la République démocratique du Congo&nbsp;– Wikisource [http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_de_la_R%C3%A9publique_d%C3%A9mocratique_du_Congo#Article_43] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025124200/http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_de_la_R%C3%A9publique_d%C3%A9mocratique_du_Congo#Article_43 |date=25 October 2011 }}. Fr.wikisource.org. Retrieved 27 February 2013.</ref>

As a result of the [[First Congo War|First]] and [[Second Congo War]]s in the late 1990s—early 2000s, over 5.2&nbsp;million children in the country did not receive any education.<ref name=ilab>"Congo, Democratic Republic of the". "[https://web.archive.org/web/20061201190837/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2005/tda2005.pdf The Department of Labor’s 2005 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor]", Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor (2006). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [[public domain]].</ref> Since the end of the civil war, the situation has improved tremendously, with the number of children enrolled in primary schools rising from 5.5&nbsp;million in 2002 to 16.8&nbsp;million in 2018, and the number of children enrolled in secondary schools rising from 2.8&nbsp;million in 2007 to 4.6&nbsp;million in 2015 according to [[UNESCO]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.uis.unesco.org/ |title=UIS.Stat (see: National Monitoring >> Number of students and enrolment rates by level of education >> Enrollment by level of education) |author=UNESCO Institute for Statistics |access-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610023128/http://data.uis.unesco.org/ |archive-date=10 June 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Actual school attendance has also improved greatly in recent years, with primary school net attendance estimated to be 82.4% in 2014 (82.4% of children ages 6–11 attended school; 83.4% for boys, 80.6% for girls).<ref>{{cite book |title=Enquête Démographique et de Santé en République Démocratique du Congo 2013–2014 |author1=Ministère du Plan et Suivi de la Mise en oeuvre de la Révolution de la Modernité (MPSMRM) |author2=Ministère de la Santé Publique (MSP) |author3=[[ICF International]] |page=XXV |url=http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR300/FR300.pdf |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226192128/http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR300/FR300.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Health===
{{Main|Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{See also|HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
[[File:Life expectancy in DR Congo.svg|thumb|Development of life expectancy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
The [[List of hospitals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|hospitals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (DRC) include the [[Kinshasa General Hospital|General Hospital of Kinshasa]]. The DRC has the world's second-highest rate of [[infant mortality]] (after Chad). In April 2011, through aid from [[GAVI|Global Alliance for Vaccines]], a new vaccine to prevent [[Streptococcus pneumoniae|pneumococcal disease]] was introduced around Kinshasa.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/health/12global.html |work=The New York Times |first=Donald G. Jr. |last=McNeil |title=Congo, With Donors' Help, Introduces New Vaccine for Pneumococcal Disease |date=11 April 2011 |access-date=21 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722065943/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/health/12global.html |archive-date=22 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2012, it was estimated that about 1.1% of adults aged 15–49 were living with [[HIV/AIDS]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2155.html |title=The World Factbook&nbsp;– Field Listing : HIV/AIDS: adult prevalence rate |publisher=Cia.gov |year=2012 |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216040138/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2155.html |archive-date=16 February 2015 }}</ref> [[Malaria]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report/77948/drc-malaria-still-biggest-killer |title=DRC: Malaria still biggest killer |agency=IRIN |date=28 April 2008 |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112124205/http://www.irinnews.org/report/77948/drc-malaria-still-biggest-killer |archive-date=12 November 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/malaria/publications/country-profiles/profile_cod_en.pdf |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo, Epidemiological profile, World Malaria Report 2014 |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419112412/http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/country-profiles/profile_cod_en.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[yellow fever]] are problems.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/csr/don/2014_04_24_yellowfever/en/ |title=Yellow fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo |publisher=World Health Organization |date=24 April 2014 |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605110715/http://www.who.int/csr/don/2014_04_24_yellowfever/en/ |archive-date=5 June 2015 }}</ref> In May 2019, the death toll from the [[2018–19 Kivu Ebola epidemic|Ebola outbreak]] in DRC surpassed 1,000.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Latest: Ebola deaths top 1,000 in Congo outbreak |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/the-latest-ebola-deaths-top-1000-in-congo-outbreak/2019/05/03/2384eb24-6dd1-11e9-bbe7-1c798fb80536_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503185757/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/the-latest-ebola-deaths-top-1000-in-congo-outbreak/2019/05/03/2384eb24-6dd1-11e9-bbe7-1c798fb80536_story.html |archive-date=3 May 2019}}</ref>

The incidence of yellow fever-related fatalities in DRC is relatively low. According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) report in 2021, only two individuals died due to yellow fever in DRC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yellow Fever – West and Central Africa |url=https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/yellow-fever---west-and-central-africa |access-date=20 April 2023 |website=www.who.int |language=en |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420184712/https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/yellow-fever---west-and-central-africa |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the [[World Bank Group]], in 2016, 26,529 people died on the roads in DRC due to traffic accidents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Democratic Republic of Congo |url=https://www.roadsafetyfacility.org/country/democratic-republic-congo |access-date=20 April 2023 |website=www.roadsafetyfacility.org |language=en |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420184712/https://www.roadsafetyfacility.org/country/democratic-republic-congo |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Maternal health]] is poor in DRC. According to 2010 estimates, DRC has the 17th highest [[Maternal death|maternal mortality]] rate in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2223rank.html |title=The World Factbook&nbsp;– Country Comparison: Maternal mortality rate |publisher=Cia.gov |year=2010 |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418113820/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2223rank.html |archive-date=18 April 2015 }}</ref> According to [[UNICEF]], 43.5% of children under five are [[Stunted growth|stunted]].<ref>[http://scalingupnutrition.org/sun-countries/democratic-republic-of-congo "Democratic Republic of Congo"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100753/http://scalingupnutrition.org/sun-countries/democratic-republic-of-congo |date=2 April 2015 }}. scalingupnutrition.org.</ref>

United Nations emergency food relief agency warned that amid the escalating conflict and worsening situation following [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]] in the DRC, millions of lives were at risk as they could die of hunger. According to the data of the [[World Food Programme]], in 2020, four in ten people in Congo lacked food security and about 15.6 million were facing a potential hunger crisis.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/08/1070112 |title=Millions 'on the edge' in DR Congo, now in even greater danger of tipping over: WFP |access-date=14 August 2020 |website=UN News |date=12 August 2020 |archive-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201131738/https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/08/1070112 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Air pollution]] levels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are very unhealthy. In 2020, annual average air pollution in the DRC stood at 34.2&nbsp;μg/m<sup>3</sup>, which is almost 6.8 times the [[World Health Organization]] PM2.5 guideline (5&nbsp;μg/m<sup>3</sup>: set in September 2021).<ref name="uchicago1">{{cite web |title=The Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) |url=https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/the-index/ |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=AQLI |language=en |archive-date=20 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820013309/https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/the-index/ |url-status=live}}</ref> These pollution levels are estimated to reduce the [[life expectancy]] of an average citizen of the DRC by almost 2.9 years.<ref name="uchicago1"/> Currently, the DRC does not have a national ambient air quality standard.<ref>{{cite web |last=Environment |first=U. N. |date=31 August 2021 |title=Regulating Air Quality: the First Global Assessment of Air Pollution Legislation |url=http://www.unep.org/resources/report/regulating-air-quality-first-global-assessment-air-pollution-legislation |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=UNEP – UN Environment Programme |language=en |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824235933/https://www.unep.org/resources/report/regulating-air-quality-first-global-assessment-air-pollution-legislation |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

[[File:Hemba male figure1.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Hemba]] male statue]]
The culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo reflects the diversity of its numerous ethnic groups and their differing ways of life throughout the country—from the mouth of the River Congo on the coast, upriver through the rainforest and savanna in its centre, to the more densely populated mountains in the far east.<ref>De Boeck, Filip & Plissart, Marie-Françoise. (2004) ''Kinshasa: Tales of the Invisible City'' Ludion.  {{ISBN|90-5544-528-2}}. Photography and analysis of everyday life in Kinshasa, together with extensive quotations from contemporary Congolese. The last chapter is available as a PDF [https://web.archive.org/web/20060923084953/http://www.vai.be/download/Venetie224-einde.pdf here]</ref> Since the late 19th century, traditional ways of life have undergone changes brought about by colonialism, the struggle for independence, the stagnation of the Mobutu era, and most recently, the First and Second Congo Wars. Despite these pressures, the customs and cultures of the Congo have retained much of their individuality. The country's 81&nbsp;million inhabitants (2016) are mainly rural. The 30% who live in urban areas have been the most open to [[Western culture|Western]] influences.

=== Literature ===
[[List of Democratic Republic of the Congo writers|Congolese authors]] use literature as a way to develop a sense of [[National identity|national consciousness]] amongst the people of the DRC.

===Music===
{{Main|Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{Further information|Congolese rumba|Soukous|Ndombolo}}
Congo has a rich musical heritage, rooted in traditional rhythms.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yoka |first=Lye M. |date=2 December 2014 |title=L'état de la musique traditionnelle en RD.Congo |url=https://www.musicinafrica.net/node/15626 |access-date=15 December 2023 |website=Music In Africa |language=en |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215130939/https://www.musicinafrica.net/node/15626 |url-status=live}}</ref> The earliest known form of popular [[Partner dance|partnered dance]] music in Congo was ''Maringa'', denoting a [[Kongo people|Kongolese]] dance practised within the former [[Kingdom of Loango]], encompassing parts of the present-day Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and [[Cabinda Province|Cabinda]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Okamba |first=Emmanuel |date=30 March 2022 |title=La "Rumba", un humanisme musical en partage |url=https://hal.science/hal-03540376v3/document |access-date=15 December 2023 |publisher=HAL |page=3 |language=French |publication-place=Lyon, France |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215121238/https://hal.science/hal-03540376v3/document |url-status=live}}</ref> The style gained popularity in the 1920s–1930s, introducing the "bar-dancing" culture in [[Kinshasa|Léopoldville]] (now Kinshasa), incorporating unique elements like a [[bass drum]], a bottle as a [[Triangle (musical instrument)|triangle]], and an [[accordion]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Ossinondé |first=Clément |date=3 March 2020 |title=Voyage Musical: l'aller et retour de la rumba |trans-title=Musical Journey: the return and return of the rumba |url=https://www.dac-presse.com/voyage-musical-laller-et-retour-de-la-rumba/ |access-date=28 October 2023 |website=Dac-presse.com |language=fr-FR |archive-date=28 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028222619/https://www.dac-presse.com/voyage-musical-laller-et-retour-de-la-rumba/ }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Ossinondé |first=Clément |url=https://www.librairiecharlemagne.com/livre/6787987-histoire-de-la-musique-congolaise-52-ans-de-la--clement-ossinonde-ed-ices |title=52 ans de musique congolaise: Au Congo-Kinshasa République démocratique du Congo (RDC) – 1960–2012 |language=fr |access-date=15 December 2023 |archive-date=6 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106215500/https://www.librairiecharlemagne.com/livre/6787987-histoire-de-la-musique-congolaise-52-ans-de-la--clement-ossinonde-ed-ices |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi se produisant au Zaïre (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Franco Luambo]] and his [[TPOK Jazz|OK Jazz]] orchestra performing live at [[Zaire 74]]]]
In the 1940s and 1950s, the influence of [[Son cubano|Cuban son]] bands transformed ''Maringa'' into "[[Congolese rumba]]". Imported records by Sexteto Habanero and Trio Matamoros, often mislabeled as "rumba", played a significant role.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |last=Mukuna |first=Kazadi wa |date=7 December 2014 |title=A brief history of popular music in DRC |url=https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/brief-history-popular-music-drc |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=Music in Africa |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825140409/https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/brief-history-popular-music-drc |url-status=live}}</ref> Artists such as Antoine Kasongo, Paul Kamba, [[Henri Bowane]], [[Wendo Kolosoy|Antoine Wendo Kolosoy]], [[Franco Luambo]], [[Le Grand Kallé]], [[Vicky Longomba]], [[Nico Kasanda]], [[Tabu Ley Rochereau]], and [[Papa Noël Nedule]] authentically popularized the style and made significant contributions to it in the 1940s and 1950s.<ref name=":22" />

The 1960s and 1970s saw the emergence of [[Zaïko Langa Langa]], one of the most innovative groups of the genre, which has crossed generations and is considered part of Congolese heritage and pop culture,<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 July 2019 |title=Les Dépêches du Bassin du Congo |url=https://www.lesdepechesdebrazzaville.fr/_zbhfiles/download.php?doc=20190712_DBZ_DBZ_ALL.pdf |work=[[Les Dépêches de Brazzaville]] |page=4 |archive-date=9 April 2025 |access-date=3 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250409125609/https://www.lesdepechesdebrazzaville.fr/_zbhfiles/download.php?doc=20190712_DBZ_DBZ_ALL.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as [[soukous]], an [[Urban contemporary music|urban]] [[dance music]] style that evolved from Congolese rumba. Soukous led to diverse offshoots, such as ''ekonda saccadé'', reflecting the [[Mongo people|Mongo]] rhythmic influence, and ''mokonyonyon'', emulating [[pelvic thrust]] dance movements from the [[Tetela people|Otetela]] ethnic background.<ref name=":22" /> The same soukous, under the guidance of "''[[La Sape|le sapeur]]''", [[Papa Wemba]], have set the tone for a generation of young men always dressed up in exorbitant designer clothes. They came to be known as the fourth generation of Congolese music and mostly come from the former prominent band [[Wenge Musica]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Papa Wemba |url=https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/papa-wemba-lecture |access-date=15 December 2023 |website=www.redbullmusicacademy.com |language=en |publication-place=Paris, France |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329170431/https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/papa-wemba-lecture/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Denselow |first=Robin |date=24 April 2016 |title=Papa Wemba: Congolese music's dandy with a dark side |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/apr/24/papa-wemba-congolese-musics-dandy-with-a-dark-side |access-date=15 December 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=The Legendary Papa Wemba |url=https://guyanachronicle.com/2017/08/02/the-legendary-papa-wemba/ |access-date=15 December 2023 |website=Guyana Chronicle |language=en-US |archive-date=13 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513075754/https://guyanachronicle.com/2017/08/02/the-legendary-papa-wemba/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ukabam |first=Chinedu |date=29 April 2016 |title=Why Papa Wemba's Legacy Will Outlive Us All |url=https://www.thefader.com/2016/04/29/papa-wemba-congo-sapeurs |access-date=15 December 2023 |website=The FADER |language=en |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215130939/https://www.thefader.com/2016/04/29/papa-wemba-congo-sapeurs |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bauer |first=George |date=24 April 2016 |title=Papa Wemba: the King of Rumba, 'le Prince de la Sape' |url=https://trueafrica.co/article/papa-wemba-the-king-of-rumba-le-prince-de-la-sape/ |access-date=15 December 2023 |website=TRUE Africa |language=en |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215130939/https://trueafrica.co/article/papa-wemba-the-king-of-rumba-le-prince-de-la-sape/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Abeti Masikini, 1978.jpg|thumb|206x206px|[[Abeti Masikini]] in 1978]]
Political and economic challenges under Mobutu prompted a mass exodus of musicians to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, [[Sierra Leone]], [[Liberia]], [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], expanding the spread of Congolese urban music.<ref name=":22" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Trillo |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99x5ea1Gq-cC |title=Kenya |publisher=Rough Guides |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-85828-859-8 |location=London, United Kingdom |page=723 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NwfaAAAAMAAJ&q=congolese%20artists%20move%20to%20Kenya |title=Ethnomusicology |publisher=Wesleyan University Press for the Society for Ethnomusicology |year=2008 |location=Middletown, Connecticut, United States |pages=297–309 |language=en}}</ref> Notably, the quartet Ry-Co Jazz played a crucial role in globalizing Congolese music, touring [[West Africa]], the [[Caribbean]], and France.<ref name=":22" /> By the 1980s, numerous Congolese musicians were based in Europe, facilitating the global dissemination of their musical prowess. Congolese lead guitarists became a sought-after commodity, attracting bands worldwide eager to infuse a Congolese flavor into their compositions or learn the intricate art of Congolese guitar dexterity.<ref name=":22" />

===Media===
{{Main|Mass media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

Newspapers of the DRC include {{lang|fr|[[L'Avenir (Democratic Republic of the Congo newspaper)|L'Avenir]]}}, ''Radion Télévision Mwangaza'', ''{{Interlanguage link|La Conscience|fr}}'', ''{{Interlanguage link|L'Observateur|fr|L'Observateur (RDC)}}'', ''Le Phare'', ''[[Le Potentiel]]'', ''Le Soft'' and ''LeCongolais.CD'',<ref>{{cite web |last=International |first=Courrier |title=Le Congolais |url=http://www.courrierinternational.com/notule-source/le-congolais |website=Courrierinternational.com/ |publisher=Courrier International |access-date=26 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126234501/http://www.courrierinternational.com/notule-source/le-congolais |archive-date=26 November 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> a web-based daily.<ref>"[http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/congok/congoknews.html Countries: Democatric Republic of the Congo: News]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20131213055112/http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/congok/congoknews.html Archive]).{{sic}} [[Stanford University]] Libraries & Academic Information Resources. Retrieved 28 April 2014.</ref> [[Radio-Télévision nationale congolaise|Radio Télévision Nationale Congolaise]] (RTNC) is the national broadcaster of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. RTNC currently broadcasts in [[Lingala language|Lingala]] and French.

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Congolese cuisine}}{{Empty section|date=December 2025}}

===Sports===
{{Further information|Football in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Rugby union in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
Many sports are played in the DRC, including [[Football in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|football]], basketball, baseball, and [[Rugby union in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|rugby]]. The sports are played in numerous stadiums throughout the country, including the [[Stade Frederic Kibassa Maliba]].<ref>[http://www.worldstadiums.com/africa/countries/dr_congo.shtml Stadiums in the Democratic Republic Congo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130206213344/http://www.worldstadiums.com/africa/countries/dr_congo.shtml |date=6 February 2013 }}. World Stadiums. Retrieved 27 February 2013.</ref> As Zaire, they participated in the [[1974 FIFA World Cup]], where they would be drawn into a group containing Scotland, Yugoslavia, and Brazil. The team would concede fourteen goals and fail to score, finishing bottom of the group.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The dark story of Zaire's 9–0 defeat in the 1974 World Cup |url=https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-dark-story-of-zaires-9-nil-defeat-in-the-1974-world-cup |access-date=22 April 2025 |website=Sky HISTORY TV channel |language=en |archive-date=30 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250430004828/https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-dark-story-of-zaires-9-nil-defeat-in-the-1974-world-cup |url-status=live }}</ref>

Internationally, the country is especially famous for its professional basketball [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] and football players. [[Dikembe Mutombo]] is one of the best African basketball players to ever play the game. Mutombo is well known for humanitarian projects in his home country. [[Bismack Biyombo]], [[Christian Eyenga]], [[Jonathan Kuminga]], and [[Emmanuel Mudiay]] are others who gained significant international attention in basketball. Several Congolese players and players of Congolese descent—including [[Romelu Lukaku]], [[Yannick Bolasie]], [[Yoane Wissa]], and [[Dieumerci Mbokani]]—have gained prominence in world football. DR Congo has twice won the [[Africa Cup of Nations|African Cup of Nations]] football tournament.

DR Congo's women's national volleyball team lastly qualified for the [[2021 Women's African Nations Volleyball Championship]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Rwanda Kicks Off Quest for Africa Women's Volleyball Championship Against Morocco |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/202109120099.html |access-date=18 October 2021 |work=Damas Sikubwabo ([[AllAfrica]]) |date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=18 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018072259/https://allafrica.com/stories/202109120099.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The country featured a national team in [[beach volleyball]] that competed at the [[2018–2020 CAVB Beach Volleyball Continental Cup]] in both the women's and the men's section.<ref>{{cite news |title=Continental Cup Finals start in Africa |url=https://www.fivb.com/en/about/news/continental-cup-finals-start-in-africa?id=94414 |access-date=7 August 2021 |work=[[FIVB]] |date=22 June 2021 |archive-date=7 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807141038/https://www.fivb.com/en/about/news/continental-cup-finals-start-in-africa?id=94414 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
* [[Outline of the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
* [[Democratic Republic of the Congo–South Sudan border]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist
|refs=
<ref name=DR-Congo>* {{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/03/30/dr-congo-rampant-intercommunal-violence-west |website=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=2023 |title=DR Congo: Rampant Intercommunal Violence in West |access-date=28 April 2023 |archive-date=29 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429041547/https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/03/30/dr-congo-rampant-intercommunal-violence-west |url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13283212 |website=[[BBC News]] |title=DR Congo country profile |date=14 April 2023 |access-date=28 April 2023 |archive-date=10 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010202252/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13283212 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/dr-congo-childrens-access-education-under-threat-ongoing-violence-kasai-region |date=15 September 2017 |title=DR Congo: Children's access to education under threat from ongoing violence in Kasai region |website=[[UNICEF]] |access-date=28 April 2023 |archive-date=29 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429041545/https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/dr-congo-childrens-access-education-under-threat-ongoing-violence-kasai-region |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=DROC>* {{cite book |title=Angola: A Modern Military History, 1961–2002 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wUpdAQAAQBAJ&q=droc |last=Weigert |first=Stephen L. |edition=electronic |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-230-33783-1 |pages=PT122, PT157 |access-date=22 July 2020 |archive-date=15 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315110703/https://books.google.com/books?id=wUpdAQAAQBAJ&q=droc |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7uNZAAAAYAAJ&q=droc |pages=79, 645 |title=Worldmark Yearbook 2000 |volume=1 |publisher=[[Gale Group]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7876-4933-3 |access-date=22 July 2020 |archive-date=11 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811185537/https://books.google.com/books?id=7uNZAAAAYAAJ&q=droc |url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |title=Congo-Zaire's 1996-97 civil war in the context of evolving patterns of military conflict in Africa in the era of independence |url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/jcs/article/view/4358/5015 |last=Thom |first=William G. |journal=Journal of Conflict Studies |volume=XIX |number=2 |date=Fall 1999 |access-date=22 July 2020 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126041112/https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/jcs/article/view/4358/5015 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306261919315314 |title=The vulnerability of electric vehicle deployment to critical mineral supply |journal=[[Applied Energy]] |last1=Ballinger |first1=Benjamin |last2=Stringer |first2=Martin |last3=Schmeda-Lopez |first3=Diego R. |doi=10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113844 |volume=255 |date=1 December 2019 |article-number=113844 |bibcode=2019ApEn..25513844B |s2cid=203130461 |access-date=22 July 2020 |archive-date=3 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103135200/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306261919315314 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book |last1=Starbird |first1=Caroline |last2=Deboer |first2=Dale |last3=Pettit |first3=Jenny |year=2004 |title=Teaching International Economics and Trade |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EKiS9SZNPe0C&pg=PA78 |publisher=Center for Teaching International Relations, [[University of Denver]] |page=78 |isbn=978-0-943804-92-7 |quote=Aid Applicant: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC). |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319004856/http://books.google.com/books?id=EKiS9SZNPe0C&pg=PA78 |archive-date=19 March 2015 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=[[Office of the United States Trade Representative]] |editor-last=[[United States House of Representatives]] [[United States House Committee on Ways and Means|Committee on Ways and Means]] |date=2003 |title=Comprehensive Report on U.S. Trade and Investment Policy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HnGGEqGukvgC&pg=PA87 |others=Message from the President of the United States |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |page=87 |isbn=978-1-4289-5014-6 |quote=Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC) will become eligible for AGOA trade benefits upon formation of a transitional government. |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720072103/https://books.google.com/books?id=HnGGEqGukvgC&pg=PA87 |archive-date=20 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

===Sources===
* {{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the/ |title=Congo, Democratic Republic of the |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |ref={{Harvid|CIA World Factbook I}} |archive-date=22 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222023329/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the/ |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite web|title=Congo, Democratic Republic of the|url=http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cg.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041126015216/http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cg.html|archive-date=26 November 2004|website=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|ref={{Harvid|CIA World Factbook II}}}}
* {{Cite web|title=Congo, Democratic Republic of the|url=http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cg.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001018091756/http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cg.html|archive-date=18 October 2000|website=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|ref={{Harvid|CIA World Factbook III}}}}
* {{Cite web |publisher=Constitute Project |translator-last=Ruchti |translator-first=Jefri J. |title=Congo (Democratic Republic of the) 2005 (rev. 2011) |ref={{Harvid|Constitution of the DRC}} |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo_2011 }}
* {{Cite web |first1=Richard |last1=Damania |first2=Alvaro Federico |last2=Barra |first3=Mathilde |last3=Burnouf |first4=Jason Daniel |last4=Russ |title=Transport, Economic Growth, and Deforestation in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A Spatial Analysis |year=2016 |publisher=[[World Bank]] |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/135731468184171732/pdf/103695-WP-P145907-PUBLIC-Transport-Economic-Growth-and-Deforestation-in-the-Democratic-Republic-of-Congo-1-13-16.pdf |access-date=6 March 2025 |archive-date=14 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214000716/https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/135731468184171732/pdf/103695-WP-P145907-PUBLIC-Transport-Economic-Growth-and-Deforestation-in-the-Democratic-Republic-of-Congo-1-13-16.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |last1=Foster |first1=Vivien |last2=Benitez |first2=Daniel Alberto |title=The Democratic Republic of Congo's Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective |year=2010 |publisher=[[World Bank]] |url=https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/sites/default/files/2022-06/AICD-DRC-country-report.pdf |access-date=7 March 2025 |archive-date=7 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250307211604/https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/sites/default/files/2022-06/AICD-DRC-country-report.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |last=Gondola |first=Ch. Didier |title=The History of Congo |year=2002 |publisher=[[Greenwood Press]] |location=Westport, Connecticut |isbn=0-313-31696-1 }}
*{{Cite web |last=Landry |first=David G. |title=The risks and rewards of Resources-for-Infrastructure deals: Lessons from the Congo's Sicomines agreement |date=May 2018 |work=China-Africa Research Initiative |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University]] |url=https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/01911-sicomines-workingpaper-landry-v6/fd147a81df0bb6b9/full.pdf }}
* {{Cite encyclopedia|editor-last1=Meditz|editor-first1=Sandra W.|editor-last2=Merrill|editor-first2=Tim|title=Zaire: A Country Study|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/94025092/|date=1994|publisher=[[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]]|lccn=94025092|edition=4th|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=6 March 2025|archive-date=4 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204124006/https://www.loc.gov/item/94025092/|url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Reyntjens |first=Filip |title=The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996–2006 |year=2009 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-11128-7 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Young |first1=M. Crawford |last2=Turner |first2=Thomas Edwin |title=The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |edition=illustrated, reprint |date=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R5pJxgosjIIC |isbn=978-0-299-10113-8 |access-date=7 February 2018 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415084309/https://books.google.com/books?id=R5pJxgosjIIC |url-status=live}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Butcher, Tim, ''Blood River: The Terrifying Journey Through the World's Most Dangerous Country'', 2009.
* Clark, John F., ''The African Stakes of the Congo War'', 2004.
* Callaghy, T., ''The State-Society Struggle: Zaire in Comparative Perspective''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1984, {{ISBN|0-231-05720-2}}.
* Deibert, Michael: ''The Democratic Republic of Congo: Between Hope and Despair'', Zed Books, 2013.
* {{cite book |last=Devlin |first=Larry |author-link=Larry Devlin |title=Chief of Station, Congo: A Memoir of 1960–67 |publisher=PublicAffairs |location=New York |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58648-405-7 |ref=none}}
* Drummond, Bill and Manning, Mark, ''The Wild Highway'', 2005.
* Edgerton, Robert, ''The Troubled Heart of Africa: A History of the Congo''. St. Martin's Press, 2002.
* Exenberger, Andreas/Hartmann, Simon. [http://eeecon.uibk.ac.at/wopec2/repec/inn/wpaper/2007-31.pdf ''The Dark Side of Globalization. The Vicious Cycle of Exploitation from World Market Integration: Lesson from the Congo''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815122645/http://eeecon.uibk.ac.at/wopec2/repec/inn/wpaper/2007-31.pdf |date=15 August 2011 }}, Working Papers in Economics and Statistics 31, University Innsbruck 2007.
* Exenberger, Andreas/Hartmann, Simon. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110901165807/http://vkc.library.uu.nl/vkc/seh/research/Lists/Events/Attachments/6/Paper.ExenbergerHartmann.pdf ''Doomed to Disaster? Long-term Trajectories of Exploitation in the Congo''], Paper to be presented at the Workshop "Colonial Extraction in the Netherlands Indies and Belgian Congo: Institutions, Institutional Change and Long Term Consequences", Utrecht 3–4 December 2010.
* Gondola, Ch. Didier, "The History of Congo", Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002.
* Joris, Lieve, translated by Waters, Liz, ''The Rebels' Hour'', Atlantic, 2008.
* Justenhoven, Heinz-Gerhard; Ehrhart, Hans Georg. Intervention im Kongo: eine kritische Analyse der Befriedungspolitik von UN und EU. [[Stuttgart]]: [[Kohlhammer Verlag]], 2008. (In German) {{ISBN|978-3-17-020781-3}}.
* [[Barbara Kingsolver|Kingsolver, Barbara]]. ''[[The Poisonwood Bible]]'' HarperCollins, 1998.
* Larémont, Ricardo René, ed. 2005. ''Borders, nationalism and the African state''. Boulder, Colorado and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
* Lemarchand, Reni and Hamilton, Lee; ''Burundi: Ethnic Conflict and Genocide''. Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1994.
* Mealer, Bryan: "All Things Must Fight To Live", 2008. {{ISBN|1-59691-345-2}}.
* [[Linda Melvern|Melvern, Linda]], ''Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide and the International Community''. Verso, 2004.
* Miller, Eric: "The Inability of Peacekeeping to Address the Security Dilemma", 2010. {{ISBN|978-3-8383-4027-2}}.
* Mwakikagile, Godfrey, ''Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era'', Third Edition, New Africa Press, 2006, "Chapter Six: Congo in The Sixties: The Bleeding Heart of Africa", pp.&nbsp;147–205, {{ISBN|978-0-9802534-1-2}}; Mwakikagile, Godfrey, ''Africa and America in The Sixties: A Decade That Changed The Nation and The Destiny of A Continent'', First Edition, New Africa Press, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-9802534-2-9}}; ''Congo in The Sixties'', {{ISBN|978-1448665709}}, 2009; ''Africa: Dawn of a New Era'', {{ISBN|978-9987160488}}, 2015.
* Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges, ''The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History'', 2002.
* O'Hanlon, Redmond, ''Congo Journey'', 1996.
* O'Hanlon, Redmond, ''No Mercy: A Journey into the Heart of the Congo'', 1998.
* Prunier, Gérard, ''Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe'', 2011 (also published as ''From Genocide to Continental War: The Congolese Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa: The Congo Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa'').
* Renton, David; Seddon, David; Zeilig, Leo. ''The Congo: Plunder and Resistance'', 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-84277-485-4}}.
* Reyntjens, Filip, ''The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996–2006 '', 2009.
* Rorison, Sean, ''Bradt Travel Guide: Congo&nbsp;&nbsp;— Democratic Republic/Republic'', 2008.
* Schulz, Manfred. ''Entwicklungsträger in der DR Kongo: Entwicklungen in Politik, Wirtschaft, Religion, Zivilgesellschaft und Kultur'', Berlin: Lit, 2008, (in German) {{ISBN|978-3-8258-0425-1}}.
* Stearns, Jason: ''[[Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa]]'', Public Affairs, 2011.
* Tayler, Jeffrey, ''Facing the Congo'', 2001.
* Turner, Thomas, ''The Congo Wars: Conflict, Myth and Reality'', 2007.
* [[David Van Reybrouck|Van Reybrouck]], David, ''Congo: The Epic History of a People'', 2014
* Wrong, Michela, ''In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo''.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Democratic Republic of the Congo|d=Q974}}
{{Scholia|topic}}
* [https://republique.cd Official website.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103030523/https://republique.cd/ |date=3 November 2023 }}
* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13283212 Country Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729052105/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13283212 |date=29 July 2018 }} from the [[BBC News]]
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the/ Democratic Republic of the Congo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222023329/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the/ |date=22 February 2021 }}. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080727023932/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/DRCongo.htm Democratic Republic of the Congo] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
* {{Wikiatlas|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
* {{osmrelation-inline|192795}}
* [http://www.globalissues.org/article/87/the-democratic-republic-of-congo The Democratic Republic of Congo from Global Issues] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115102902/http://www.globalissues.org/article/87/the-democratic-republic-of-congo |date=15 November 2017 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/zaire.html |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo |website=Africa South of the Sahara: Selected Internet Resources |publisher=Stanford University |editor=Karen Fung |ref=none |access-date=8 September 2014 |archive-date=4 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141004102743/http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/zaire.html |url-status=live }}

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