Facts about the Democratic Republic of the Congo

  1. DR Congo Size: 905,568 sq miles (2,345,410 sq km), the size of the USA. Third largest country in Africa (after Algeria and Sudan).
  2. Political Independence from the Kingdom of Belgium on June 30th, 1960.
  3. Population: over 70 million, with French as the official language. There are four national languages and over 200 dialects.
  4. Over 10 years of political and economic instability due to wars and related conflicts.
  5. The escalation of the Rwanda genocide in the Congo, April 1994, led to a greater but forgotten genocide.
  6. World's deadliest war: over 4 million have died since 1997.
  7. Armies and Militia are safe havens and business opportunities for criminals, gangs, thieves, rapists, confused and angry adults and children.
  8. The Congo is one of the leading countries in the world in the number of children soldiers.
  9. Extremely merciless exploitation of women and children take place every single day, leading to death.
  10. Wars and related violent activities, malnutrition, AIDS, starvation, and lack of healthcare are the main killers in the Congo.
  11. 5% of the population has full-blown AIDS.
  12. 10% of children die before the age of 1 year old.
  13. Life expectancy is 45 years for men and 48 years for women.
  14. Over 13 million orphans and abandoned children live in the Congo.
  15. 20-30% of middle age Congolese have a stable job; 60-70% still live with parents or relatives.
  16. DR Congo is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of natural resources, but its inhabitants rank among the poorest and most exploited in the world.
For more information on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, please visit the following websites: