- Outline of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
-
See also: Index of Democratic Republic of the Congo-related articles
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to as the Congo Free State, the Belgian Congo, the Congo-Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zaire (or Zaïre in French), is the third most extensive country on the African continent.[1] Though it is located in the Central African UN subregion, the nation is economically and regionally affiliated with Southern Africa as a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It borders the Central African Republic and South Sudan on the north, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi on the east, Zambia and Angola on the south, the Republic of the Congo on the west, and is separated from Tanzania by Lake Tanganyika on the east.[1] The country enjoys access to the ocean through a forty-kilometre stretch of Atlantic coastline at Muanda and the roughly nine-kilometre wide mouth of the Congo river which opens into the Gulf of Guinea. The name "Congo" (meaning "hunter") is coined after the Bakongo ethnic group who live in the Congo river basin.
Formerly the Belgian colony of the Belgian Congo, the country's post-independence name was the Republic of the Congo until August 1, 1964,[2] when its name was changed to Democratic Republic of the Congo (to distinguish it from the neighboring Republic of the Congo).[3] On October 27, 1971,[2] then-President Mobutu renamed the country Zaire, from a Portuguese mispronunciation of the Kikongo word nzere or nzadi, which translates to "the river that swallows all rivers."[4] Following the First Congo War which led to the overthrow of Mobutu in 1997, the country was renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 1998 to 2003, the country suffered greatly from the devastating Second Congo War (sometimes referred to as the African World War),[5] the world's deadliest conflict since World War II. However, related fighting still continues in the east of the country.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
General reference
- Pronunciation:
- Common English country names: The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, etc.
- Official English country name: The Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Adjectives: Congolese, Congo
- Demonym(s):
- Etymology: Name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- ISO country codes: CD, COD, 180
- ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:CD
- Internet country code top-level domain: .cd
Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Main article: Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo- The Democratic Republic of the Congo is: a country
- Location:
- Eastern Hemisphere, on the Equator
- Africa
- Central Africa
- Middle Africa
- Time zones:
- West Africa Time (UTC+01)
- Central Africa Time (UTC+02)
- Extreme points of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- High: Margherita Peak 5,109 m (16,762 ft)
- Low: South Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- Land boundaries: 10,730 km
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- Angola 2,511 km
- Republic of the Congo 2,410 km
- Zambia 1,930 km
- Central African Republic 1,577 km
- Uganda 765 km
- South Sudan 628 km
- Tanzania 459 km
- Burundi 233 km
- Rwanda 217 km
- Coastline: Gulf of Guinea 37 km
- Population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
- Area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
- Atlas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Main article: Environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo- Climate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Environmental issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Ecoregions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Renewable energy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Geology of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Protected areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Biosphere reserves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- National parks of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Wildlife of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Amphibians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Birds of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Reptiles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Natural geographic features of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Main article: Landforms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo- Glaciers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (located in the Rwenzori Mountains)
- Islands of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Lakes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Mountains of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Rivers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Waterfalls of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Valleys of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- World Heritage Sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: None
Regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ecoregions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Main article: Ecoregions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Administrative divisions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Main article: Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the CongoTerritories of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Main article: Territories of the Democratic Republic of the CongoMunicipalities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kinshasa
- Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Demography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Main article: Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Government and politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Main article: Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Form of government: semi-presidential democratic republic
- Capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kinshasa
- Elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- (specific elections)
- Political parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Political scandals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Taxation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Branches of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Main article: Government of the Democratic Republic of the CongoExecutive branch of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Head of state: President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
- Head of government: Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
- Cabinet of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Legislative branch of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (bicameral)
- Upper house: Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Lower house: House of Commons of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Judicial branch of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Main article: Court system of the Democratic Republic of the Congo- Supreme Court of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Foreign relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Diplomatic missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Diplomatic missions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
International organization membership
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a member of:[1]
Law and order in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Main article: Law of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Capital punishment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Law enforcement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Main article: Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Command
- Commander-in-chief:
- Ministry of Defence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Commander-in-chief:
- Forces
- Army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Navy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Special forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Military history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Military ranks of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Local government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Main article: Local government in the Democratic Republic of the CongoHistory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Main article: History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Timeline of the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Current events of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Economic history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Military history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Main article: Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Architecture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Cuisine of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Ethnic minorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Festivals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Humor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- National symbols of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Coat of arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- National anthem of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- People of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Prostitution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Public holidays in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Records of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Buddhism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Christianity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Hinduism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Islam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Judaism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Sikhism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- World Heritage Sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: None
Art in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Art in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Cinema of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Literature of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Television in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Theatre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sports in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Main article: Sports in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Football in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo at the Olympics
Economy and infrastructure of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Main article: Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 117th (one hundred and seventeenth)
- Agriculture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Banking in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- National Bank of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Communications in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Internet in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Companies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Franc
- Economic history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Energy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Energy policy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Oil industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Health care in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo Stock Exchange
- Tourism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Airports in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Rail transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Roads in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Water supply and sanitation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Main article: Education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Main article: Health in the Democratic Republic of the CongoSee also
Main article: Democratic Republic of the Congo- Index of Democratic Republic of the Congo-related articles
- List of Democratic Republic of the Congo-related topics
- List of international rankings
- Member state of the United Nations
- Outline of Africa
- Outline of geography
References
- ^ a b c "Democratic Republic of the Congo". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 3, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ a b "Zaire: Post-Independence Political Development", Library of Congress
- ^ Prior to this, the two countries were commonly distinguished by their capitals, with DRC called Congo-Kinshasa and the RC called Congo-Brazzaville
- ^ (Peter Forbath, The River Congo, p. 19)
- ^ See "Rumblings of war in heart of Africa" by Abraham McLaughlin and Duncan Woodside The Christian Science Monitor 23 June 200 "World War Three" by Chris Bowers My Direct Democracy 24 July 2006
External links
Wikimedia Atlas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- BBC country profile
- Democratic Republic of the Congo, an external wiki
- Democratic Republic of the Congo entry at The World Factbook
- Outline of the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the Open Directory Project
- Sud Kivu - Bukavu, Maniema - Kalima, Nord Katanga - Kalemie, photos & informations - www.3tamis.org
- RD Congo (In French and English)
- "Rape of a Nation" by Marcus Bleasdale on MediaStorm
- Maps of Congo, before and after Independancy http://www.stiopka.com/cartographie.html
Outlines General reference · Culture and the arts · Geography and places · Health and fitness · History and events · Mathematics and logic · Natural and physical sciences · People and self · Philosophy and thinking · Religion and belief systems · Society and social sciences · Technology and applied sciencesCategories:- Outlines of countries
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo-related lists
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