The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
The former Zaire, is the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Here are a few facts about the DRC:
- A country that has suffered from political and economic instability since its independence from Belgium in 1960. - A nation mired in poverty and a lack of productivity fueled by systemic corruption and a paternal mindset. - A country in which the electrical, water, sewage, transportation, security, economic, education, and health care delivery systems have all collapsed. - A nation of 70 million people in which 85% of the population have no gainful employment, although it is the fourth richest nation with regard to mineral deposits and natural resources. - A country that struggles to recover from a five year war at a cost of over 5 million lives, and continued civil unrest that has resulted in unspeakable horrors of assault, rape, and mutilation of the country’s women. - At independence it was one of the most industrialized countries in Africa, second only to South Africa, but today is one of the least industrialized. An abbreviated timeline
1870s - Belgian King Leopold II sets about colonizing the area as his private holding. 1908 - Congo Free State placed under Belgian rule following outrage over treatment of Congolese. 1960 - Independence, followed by civil war and temporary fragmentation of country. 1965 - Mobutu Sese Seko seizes power. 1997 - Rebels oust Mobutu. Laurent Kabila becomes president. 1997-2003 - Civil war, which draws in several neighbouring countries (Africa's first world war). 2003 - Present - Conflict persists in the east. 2006 - Joseph Kabila elected in first democratic presidential elections. 2010 - Joseph Kabila re-elected in second democratic presidential.
A few statistics about the DRC:
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