Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a country in Central Africa. Its capital, largest city and economic centre is Kinshasa.

By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa, after Algeria, covering 2,345,408 km². With about 124 million people, it is the most populous Francophone country in the world.

French is the official language, while the national languages are Kikongo ya leta, Lingala, Swahili and Luba-Kasai. Over 200 indigenous languages are spoken across the country.

The country is a unitary semi-presidential republic, with Félix Tshisekedi as President. The Belgian Congo was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The hand-over ceremony by the Belgians took place on time on 30 June 1960 at the residence of the Governor-General in Léopoldville.

The Congo River forms the hydrological spine of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, its system extending some 4,700 km in overall length. Measured depths of around 220 metres make it the world's deepest recorded river. It is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, and the third-largest river in the world by discharge, after the Amazon and the Ganges–Brahmaputra. In the rainy season, over 50,000 cubic metres of water per second flow from it into the Atlantic Ocean, marking it as the most powerful river in Africa.

The rainforest of the Congo Basin is the largest in Africa and second only to the Amazon in size. It covers 300 million hectares, compared with the Amazon's 800 million. Unregulated and often illegal extractive activities are pushing ever further into these forests.

The country is bordered by nine neighbouring states: the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia. To the west lie the Republic of the Congo, the Cabinda exclave of Angola and the South Atlantic; to the north, the Central African Republic and South Sudan; to the east, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania; and to the south, Zambia and Angola.

The territory that became the Democratic Republic of the Congo was home to the Kingdom of Kongo, founded around 1390 through a political marriage between two KiKongo-speaking peoples. At its greatest extent the kingdom reached from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Kwango River in the east, and from the Congo River in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. In 1483 the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão reached the coast of the Kongo Kingdom, opening the region to sustained European contact. At the Battle of Mbwila in 1665, Portuguese forces from Angola won their first victory against the kingdom of Kongo since 1622, killing King António I and many of his courtiers.

Leopold II was able to seize the region by convincing other European states at the Berlin Conference on Africa that he was involved in humanitarian and philanthropic work and would not tax trade. On 29 May 1885, after the closure of the Berlin Conference, the king announced that he planned to name his possessions 'the Congo Free State'. In reality Leopold II's administration extracted ivory, rubber and minerals from the upper Congo Basin for sale on the world market through international concessionary companies that brought little benefit to the area.

Soldiers cut off the hands of Congolese locals, including children: the hands were collected as trophies to show that bullets had not been wasted, with one hand required for every bullet spent. The BBC wrote that Leopold turned his 'Congo Free State' into a massive labour camp and contributed in a large way to the death of perhaps 10 million innocent people. Forbath in 1977 claimed the loss was at least five million people; Adam Hochschild and Jan Vansina note 10 million. The Casement Report of the British consul Roger Casement led to the arrest and punishment of officials responsible for killings during a rubber-collecting expedition in 1903. In 1908 the Belgian state annexed the Congo amid protests over killings and atrocities carried out on a mass scale by Leopold's agents.

The Belgian Congo was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The hand-over ceremony by the Belgians took place on time on 30 June 1960 at the residence of the Governor-General in Léopoldville, with Kasa-Vubu as first president and Lumumba as first head of government. Patrice Lumumba served as the first prime minister of the First Congolese Republic from June until September 1960, following his party's success in the May 1960 election. Baudouin's speech praised developments under colonialism and referred to the 'genius' of Leopold II, glossing over atrocities committed during his reign over the Congo Free State. In a letter to President Félix Tshisekedi on the 60th anniversary of independence, King Philippe expressed Belgium's 'deepest regrets' to the DR Congo for his country's colonial abuses.

The Belgian hand-over took place on schedule on 30 June 1960, at the residence of the Governor-General in Léopoldville. Independence was granted from Belgium on that date. Kasa-Vubu became the country's first president, and Lumumba its first head of government.

Patrice Lumumba served as the first prime minister of the First Congolese Republic from June until September 1960, following his party's success in the May 1960 election. When Katanga seceded and Belgian troops intervened, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 143, calling for the removal of Belgian forces and establishing the UN Operation in the Congo (ONUC). Lumumba was captured, tortured and executed by the separatist Katangan authorities of Moïse Tshombe, alongside Belgian mercenaries; his body was later dissolved in acid.

In 2002 Belgium formally apologised for its role in the execution, admitting 'moral responsibility'; in 2022 Lumumba's tooth was returned by the Belgian government to his family. In a letter to President Félix Tshisekedi on the 60th anniversary of independence, King Philippe expressed Belgium's 'deepest regrets' to the DR Congo for his country's colonial abuses.

Mobutu installed a government that arranged for Lumumba's execution in 1961, and continued to lead the country's armed forces until he took power directly in a second coup in 1965. To consolidate power, Mobutu established his party as the sole legal political party in 1967, changed the Congo's name to Zaire in 1971, and his own name to Mobutu Sese Seko in 1972. Mobutu protected his rule through an intensely totalitarian regime and a corrupt patronage network, and presided over widespread human rights violations.

Instability caused by an influx of refugees from the Rwandan Civil War led to the First Congo War, from 1996 to 1997, which ended with Mobutu's overthrow. The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, began on 2 August 1998, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war drew in nine African nations and approximately 25 armed groups, making it one of the largest wars in African history. The Second Congo War and its aftermath caused an estimated 5.4 million deaths, primarily due to disease, malnutrition and war crimes, making it the deadliest conflict since World War II according to a 2008 IRC report.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country whose economic profile is defined to an unusual degree by what lies beneath its surface. Mineral exports account for more than 95% of the country's export revenues, a concentration that shapes both its fiscal position and its exposure to external demand ^{14Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo · Wikipedia ↗}. Rich in natural resources, the country has nonetheless suffered from political instability, a lack of infrastructure, centuries of both commercial and colonial exploitation, and little widespread development since independence ^{9DR Congo country profile · BBC News ↗}. The extraction of ivory, rubber and minerals from the upper Congo Basin for sale on the world market through international concessionary companies, which brought little benefit to the area, forms an early chapter in that longer history ^{7Congo Free State · Wikipedia ↗}.

Cobalt stands as the country's most consequential mineral export. Congo (Kinshasa), the world's leading source of mined cobalt, accounted for an estimated 76% of world cobalt mine production, followed by Indonesia with 10% ^{15Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025: Cobalt · U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ↗}. Demand for the metal, which is used to manufacture batteries, grew 26-fold from 2000 through 2020 ^{16China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and artisanal cobalt mining from 2000 through 2020 (PNAS 120(26); PMC10293843) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ↗}. Diminished industrial cobalt production in the early-to-mid 2000s led many Chinese companies to buy ores from artisanal cobalt miners in the DRC, many of whom have been found to be children ^{16China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and artisanal cobalt mining from 2000 through 2020 (PNAS 120(26); PMC10293843) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ↗}.

Coltan — short for columbite–tantalite — is a dull black metallic ore from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted ^{17Coltan · Wikipedia ↗}. Its mining is widespread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ^{17Coltan · Wikipedia ↗}, and the tantalum derived from it is used to manufacture tantalum capacitors for mobile phones, personal computers, automotive electronics and cameras ^{17Coltan · Wikipedia ↗}. The country is also home to around 9% of global diamond reserves and accounts for 18% of industrial diamonds and 3% of gem-quality diamonds ^{14Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo · Wikipedia ↗}. According to a 2011 report, the total value of the major mineral reserves in the DRC amounts to over 300 billion US dollars ^{14Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo · Wikipedia ↗}.

The labour conditions surrounding extraction remain a persistent concern. Child labour is rampant in DRC mining: children are sent into narrow passes adults cannot access or tasked with carrying and washing ore ^{14Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo · Wikipedia ↗}. Such practices sit alongside the broader pattern in which the country's mineral wealth has coexisted with instability and limited development ^{9DR Congo country profile · BBC News ↗}.

Virunga National Park was established in April 1925 as the Congo's first national park, and it has held UNESCO World Heritage status since 1979. Its listing rests on a diversity of habitats, exceptional biodiversity and endemism, and the protection it affords to rare mountain gorilla habitat. The park has also appeared on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 1994, a consequence of civil unrest and increased human presence in the region.

Virunga protects a third of the world population of mountain gorillas. It serves as a refuge to 22 primate species, among them three great apes. The park's faunal inventory extends to 218 mammal species, 706 bird species, 109 reptile species and 78 amphibian species. Some 20,000 hippopotamuses live in its rivers, and birds from Siberia spend the winter there.

Nyamuragira and Nyiragongo, the two most active volcanoes of Africa, are between them responsible for two-fifths of the historic volcanic eruptions on the African continent. The park has nonetheless been the scene of several deadly attacks by rebel groups, and several park rangers have been killed. By the end of July 2022 the DRC government had undermined the park's protection by auctioning oil exploration blocks inside Virunga.

The World Health Organization's Director-General determined that the upsurge of mpox in the DRC and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern ^{21WHO Director-General declares mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (14 August 2024) · World Health Organization ↗}. As of 29 July, that outbreak had reached 3,532 cases including 1,556 deaths, becoming the largest recorded in the DRC — surpassing the 2018–20 epidemic — and the second-largest recorded in the world ^{22Democratic Republic of the Congo · Encyclopædia Britannica ↗}. The Ebola outbreak declared in North Kivu on 1 August 2018 was the second largest in the world, with 3470 cases, 2287 deaths and 1171 survivors ^{2310th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared over (25 June 2020) · World Health Organization ↗}.

A long history of conflict, political upheaval and instability has led to a serious and ongoing humanitarian crisis in the DRC, exacerbated since November 2021 by the resurgence of M23 rebel activity in the east ^{24The World Bank in DRC — Country Overview · World Bank ↗}. In 2025, after a rapid advance, M23 rebels captured the city of Goma in eastern DRC and threatened to move on Kinshasa ^{9DR Congo country profile · BBC News ↗}. Several shells struck the Charity Maternity Hospital in central Goma, killing and injuring civilians including newborn and pregnant women ^{20DR Congo: Battle for Goma continues as 'volatile' crisis unfolds (UN News, 27 January 2025) · United Nations News ↗}.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a unitary semi-presidential republic whose president is Félix Tshisekedi. Tshisekedi won a second term in the December 2023 elections with about 73% of the vote. That election was condemned as a "sham" by several opposition candidates. The capital, largest city and economic centre of the country is Kinshasa.

The M23 rebellion emerged in 2012–13, and a UN report found that Rwanda created and commanded the M23 rebel group. In 2025, after a rapid advance, M23 rebels captured the city of Goma in eastern DRC and threatened to move on Kinshasa. A long history of conflict, political upheaval and instability has led to a serious and ongoing humanitarian crisis in the DRC, exacerbated since November 2021 by the resurgence of M23 rebel activity in the east.

Following the Washington Agreement of June 2025 and the Doha Declaration of Principles of July 2025, a new economic agreement was signed in November 2025 aimed at stabilizing cross-border trade and resource management.

Real GDP growth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remained resilient, estimated at 5.5% in 2025, driven by the extractive sector, though momentum moderated due to policy measures and security challenges. The capital, largest city and economic centre of the country is Kinshasa. The country is rich in natural resources, yet it has suffered from political instability, a lack of infrastructure, centuries of both commercial and colonial exploitation, and little widespread development since independence.

Mineral exports account for more than 95% of the country's export revenues. The DRC supplies over 60% of global cobalt. Congo (Kinshasa), the world's leading source of mined cobalt, accounted for an estimated 76% of world cobalt mine production, followed by Indonesia with 10%. The country is also home to around 9% of global diamond reserves and accounts for 18% of industrial diamonds and 3% of gem-quality diamonds. Unregulated and often illegal extractive activities are pushing ever further into the Congo Basin forests.

A long history of conflict, political upheaval and instability has led to a serious and ongoing humanitarian crisis in the DRC, exacerbated since November 2021 by the resurgence of M23 rebel activity in the east. The Second Congo War and its aftermath caused an estimated 5.4 million deaths, primarily due to disease, malnutrition and war crimes, making it the deadliest conflict since World War II according to a 2008 IRC report. Close to 6.5 million people were displaced by January 2025. The country has seen little widespread development since independence.

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been present in the country since July 2010, when it took over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation that had supervised a ceasefire following conflict rooted in the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda. As of October 2025, more than 12,400 MONUSCO personnel were serving, among them some 9,177 troops and 926 police officers drawn from over 50 countries. Since its inception, the mission has recorded 304 fatalities.

Alongside peacekeeping, the United Nations carried out a mapping exercise that documented the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed in the DRC between March 1993 and June 2003. That decade spans the final years of Mobutu Sese Seko's rule, who protected his power through an intensely totalitarian regime and a corrupt patronage network and presided over widespread human rights violations, as well as the two Congo wars. The documentation of these abuses forms part of the wider reckoning with a long history of conflict, political upheaval and instability that has produced a serious and ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country.

MONUSCO's presence has also been subject to a phased drawdown. As agreed with the Government of the DRC, the mission was to complete its withdrawal from South Kivu on 30 June, marking the end of the first phase of its disengagement from the country.