Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has a land mass of 2.35 million km² and is bounded to the north by the Central African Republic and South Sudan; to the east by Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania; to the southeast by Zambia; and to the southwest by Angola. To the west are the country’s short Atlantic coastline, the Angolan exclave of Cabinda, and Congo (Brazzaville). It has a population of 113.8 million people and a GDP of US$79.1bn which is expected to grow by 5.1% in 2025 and to 5.5% by 2027.

Its currency is the Congolese Franc.

After the brutal Belgian colonial rule under King Leopold II, the DRC has been independent for 62 years but did not experience its first peaceful transition of power until January 2019. Félix Tshisekedi, son of longstanding opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, won the December 2018 presidential election and succeeded Joseph Kabila, son of former dictator Laurent Kabila, who had led the country for 18 years.

The DRC contains unexploited deposits of coal, lithium and uranium, while cobalt, copper, diamonds, gold, lead, manganese, niobium, silver, tantalum, tin, tungsten and zinc are produced. The country’s 2 million artisanal and small-scale miners produce around 50% of its gold, between 20% and 40% of its cobalt, and most of its diamonds, niobium, tantalum, tin, and tungsten. State-owned company La Generale des Carrieres et des Mines owns several cobalt and copper mines as well as stakes in various joint ventures with mostly multinational mining companies. The government owns an 80% interest in the diamond mining company Societe Miniere de Bakwanga

The Matadi river port on the Congo is the main commercial port of the DRC. Major navigable rivers in West Africa include the Niger, which flows through Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin and Nigeria, before emptying into the Gulf of Guinea, and the Volta, which originates in Burkina Faso and flows south through Ghana.

In August 2024, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared a new and more contagious variant of Mpox to be a public health emergency of continental security, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak to be a global public health emergency. At least 12 African countries have reported Mpox outbreaks in 2024, with most confirmed cases reported in the DRC. Screening measures have been implemented at African border points, including ports.

In December 2023, the DRC held general elections that resulted in the re-election of Félix Tshisekedi for a second five-year term. His inauguration took place on January 20, 2024. Tshisekedi\'s party and its allies won a majority of seats in parliament, consolidating their political power.

The resurgence of the M23 rebel group over the last few months has significantly hampered the DRC\'s trajectory towards achieving peace and development. controlled by the rebels following the fall of major cities and territories in the North and South Kivu provinces.


Sources: Who Owns Whom sector reports, CIA Factbook, African Development Bank, World Bank, Trading Economics, African Statistical Yearbook and IMF. ?>