Democratic Republic of the Congo

Coordinates: 2°52′48″S 23°39′22″E / 2.88°S 23.656°E / -2.88; 23.656

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (/ˈkɒŋɡoʊ/; French pronunciation: ​[kɔ̃ɡo]; French: République démocratique du Congo), also known as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, RDC, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply Congo is a country located in Central Africa. From 1971 to 1997 it was named Zaïre. The DRC borders the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the east; Zambia and Angola to the south; and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is the second largest country in Africa by area, the largest in Subsaharan Africa, and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 75 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populated officially Francophone country, the fourth most populated nation in Africa and the nineteenth most populated country in the world.

The Congolese Civil Wars, which began in 1996, brought about the end of Mobutu Sese Seko's 31-year reign and devastated the country. The wars ultimately involved nine African nations, multiple groups of UN peacekeepers and twenty armed groups, and resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people.

Zaire

Zaire /zɑːˈɪər/, officially the Republic of Zaire (French: République du Zaïre; French pronunciation: ​[za.iʁ]) was the name, between 1971 and 1997, of a Central African state, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The state's name derives from the name of the Congo River, sometimes called Zaire in Portuguese, adapted from the Kongo word nzere or nzadi ("river that swallows all rivers").

The state was a one-party state and dictatorship, run by Mobutu Sese Seko and his ruling Popular Movement of the Revolution party. It was established following Mobutu's seizure of power in a military coup in 1965, following five years of political upheaval following independence known as the Congo Crisis. Zaire had a strongly centralist constitution and foreign assets were nationalized. A wider campaign of Authenticité, ridding the country of the influences from the colonial era of the Belgian Congo, was also launched under Mobutu's direction. Weakened by the end of American support after the end of the Cold War, Mobutu was forced to declare a new republic in 1990 to cope with demands for change. By the time of its disestablishment, Mobutu's rule was characterized by widespread cronyism, corruption and economic mismanagement.

Democratic republic

A democratic republic is, strictly speaking, a country that is both a republic and a democracy. It is one where ultimate authority and power is derived from the citizens, and the government itself is run through elected officials.

However, in recent practice, countries that have described themselves as democratic republics have not always held free or fair elections. Two examples of this were the German Democratic Republic and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, communist states commonly known as East Germany and North Vietnam. Another is the Democratic Republic of the Congo which in 2011 was rated by Freedom House as a "not free" country, having a rating of 6.0 (1.0 being completely free and 7.0 being completely unfree). Also, the 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea', commonly known as North Korea, is rated the least democratic in the world, run by a dictator. A republic is a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote.

Current countries self-described as democratic republics

Republic of the Congo

Coordinates: 1°26′24″S 15°33′22″E / 1.44°S 15.556°E / -1.44; 15.556

The Republic of the Congo (French: République du Congo), also known as Congo, Congo Republic,West Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville, is a country located in Central Africa. It is bordered by five countries: Gabon to the west; Cameroon to the northwest; the Central African Republic to the northeast; the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the east and south; and the Angolan exclave of Cabinda to the southwest.

The region was dominated by Bantu-speaking tribes, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. Congo-Brazzaville was formerly part of the French colony of Equatorial Africa. Upon independence in 1960, the former colony of French Congo became the Republic of the Congo. The People's Republic of the Congo was a Marxist–Leninist one-party state from 1970 to 1991. Multi-party elections have been held since 1992, although a democratically elected government was ousted in the 1997 Republic of the Congo Civil War and President Denis Sassou Nguesso has ruled for 26 of the past 36 years.

Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

The Republic of the Congo (French: République du Congo) or Congo-Léopoldville was a state founded after independence was granted to the former Belgian Congo in 1960. The country's post-independence name remained until 1 August 1964, when it was changed to Democratic Republic of the Congo to distinguish it from the neighboring Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), formerly the French Congo. The period between 1960 and 1965 is referred to as the First Congolese Republic while the current Democratic Republic of the Congo is the Third Republic.

Unrest and rebellion plagued the government until 1965, when Lieutenant General Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, by then commander-in-chief of the national army, seized control of the country. In 1971, Mobutu changed the country's name to Zaire, and remained its president until 1997.

Colonial rule

The conditions in the Congo improved following the Belgian government's takeover from the Congo Free State in 1908. Select Bantu languages were taught in primary schools, a rare occurrence in colonial education. Colonial doctors greatly reduced the spread of African trypanosomiasis, commonly known as sleeping sickness.