Portal:Democratic Republic of the Congo

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Democratic Republic of the Congo Portal

P:DRC

Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Coat of Arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo, is a country in Central Africa. By land area, the country is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 111 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous nominally Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo; Central African Republic; South Sudan; Uganda; Rwanda; Burundi; Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika); Zambia; Angola; the Cabinda exclave of Angola; and the South Atlantic Ocean.

Centered on the Congo Basin, the territory of the Congo was first inhabited by Central African foragers around 90,000 years ago and was settled in the Bantu expansion about 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. In the west, the Kingdom of Kongo ruled around the mouth of the Congo River from the 14th to 19th centuries. In the center and east, the empires of Mwene Muji, Luba, and Lunda ruled from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. King Leopold II of Belgium formally acquired rights to the Congo territory from the colonial nations of Europe in 1885 and declared the land his private property, naming it the Congo Free State. From 1885 to 1908, his colonial military forced the local population to produce rubber and committed widespread atrocities. In 1908, Leopold ceded the territory, which thus became a Belgian colony.

Congo achieved independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960 and was immediately confronted by a series of secessionist movements, the assassination of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, and the seizure of power by Mobutu Sese Seko in a 1965 coup d'état. Mobutu renamed the country Zaire in 1971 and imposed a harsh personalist dictatorship until his overthrow in 1997 by the First Congo War. The country then had its name changed back and was confronted by the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003, which resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people and the assassination of President Laurent-Désiré Kabila. The war ended under President Joseph Kabila, who governed the country from 2001 to 2019 and under whom human rights in the country remained poor and included frequent abuses such as forced disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment and restrictions on civil liberties.

Following the 2018 general election, in the country's first peaceful transition of power since independence, Kabila was succeeded as president in a highly contentious election won by Félix Tshisekedi, who has served as president since. Eastern Congo has remained unstable since the Congo Wars of the 1990s and has been the site of an ongoing military conflict involving over 100 armed groups. The region's largest city, Goma, was occupied by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels in 2012 and again in 2025. Since 2022, there have also been tensions between the DRC and Rwanda, which has been providing military support to M23 and sending troops into Congolese territory.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is extremely rich in natural resources but has suffered from political instability, a lack of infrastructure, corruption, and centuries of both commercial and colonial extraction and exploitation, followed by more than 60 years of independence, with little widespread development; the nation is a potential example of the "resource curse". Besides the capital Kinshasa, the two next largest cities, Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi, are both mining communities. The DRC's largest export is raw minerals, with China having accepted over 50% of its exports in 2019. In 2025, DR Congo's level of human development was ranked 180th out of 193 countries by the Human Development Index and is classified as being one of the least developed countries by the United Nations (UN).^{[citation needed]} As of 2018^[update], following two decades of various civil wars and continued internal conflicts, around 600,000 Congolese refugees were still living in neighbouring countries. Two million children risk starvation, and the fighting has displaced 4.5 million people. The country is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, African Union, COMESA, Southern African Development Community, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, and Economic Community of Central African States. (Full article...)

More about the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Mutombo with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2002

Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo" for his defensive prowess, he is commonly regarded as one of the best shot-blockers and defensive players of all time. Outside of basketball, he was known for his humanitarian work.

A 7-foot-2-inch (2.18 m) center, Mutombo moved to the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo at age 21 to attend Georgetown University with the hope of eventually earning a medical degree and returning to the DRC to practice medicine. Those plans changed when John Thompson, coach of the Georgetown Hoyas, recruited him to play college basketball. Mutombo played three seasons for Georgetown, establishing a reputation as a tenacious defender. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images - show another

The following are images from various Democratic Republic of the Congo-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1DR Congo's Human Development Index scores, 1970–2010. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 2Brahmanist worshippers in Kinshasa (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 3A woman carrying bananas. (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 4Ndeemba Mask (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 51908 photograph of a married Christian couple. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 6Democratic Republic of the Congo's population between 1960 and 2017. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 7Collecting firewood in Basankusu. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 8Mobutu with the Dutch Prince Bernhard in Kinshasa in 1973 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 9Abeti Masikini in 1978 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 10Joseph Kabila was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from January 2001 to January 2019. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 11Our Lady of Peace Cathedral in Bukavu (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 12Arab slave raid on Nyangwe, circa 1870 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 13The leader of ABAKO, Joseph Kasa-Vubu, first democratically elected President of Congo-Léopoldville (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 14Refugees in the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 15Memory Board (lukasa) - Luba Kingdom (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 16Found in the Congolian rainforests, the okapi was unknown to science until 1901 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 17Democratic Republic of the Congo map of Köppen climate classification (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 18Breakdown of the largest ethnic groups in DRC (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 19A Hemba male statue (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 20Government troops near Goma during the M23 rebellion in May 2013 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 21Belligerents of the Second Congo War (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 22Map of the Kingdom of Kongo (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 23Congo Free State official Camille Coquilhat with the Bangala chief Mata-Buiké in c. 1888 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 24Ugandan President Idi Amin Visits Zaire and Meets Mobutu during The Shaba I Conflict (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 25Mobutu Sese Seko and Richard Nixon in Washington, D.C., 1973. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 26View of Leopoldville Station and Port in 1884 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 27Lake Kivu in North Kivu province (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 28Children mutilated during King Leopold II's rule (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 29Population fleeing their villages due to fighting between FARDC and rebels groups, Sake North Kivu 30 April 2012 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 30People fleeing their villages due to fighting between FARDC and rebel groups, North Kivu, 2012 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 31Franco Luambo and his OK Jazz orchestra performing live at Zaire 74 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 32Congolese soldiers being trained by UN personnel. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 33The four Bantu languages with elevated "national" status. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 34The endangered mountain gorilla; half of its population live in the DRC's Virunga National Park, making the park a critical habitat for these animals. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 35A map of the major Bantu languages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 36Development of life expectancy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 37Map of rail network (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 38Flag of CNDP (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 39Mobutu Sese Seko (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 40Masque féminin Ngaady a mwaash, XIX-XXe siècles (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 41Patrice Lumumba, first democratically elected Prime Minister of the Congo-Léopoldville, was murdered by Belgian-supported Katangan separatists in 1961. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 42The map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 43Patrice Lumumba, founding member and leader of the MNC (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 44Roman Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 45A group of demobilized child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 46The Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Lubumbashi (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 47A Congolese Christian. (from Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 48Rough diamonds ≈1 to 1.5 mm in size from DR Congo (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 49President Joseph Kabila with U.S. President Barack Obama in August 2014 (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 50President Félix Tshisekedi with the president of neighbouring Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso in 2020; both wear face masks due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 51Ituri Rainforest (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 52Force Publique soldiers in the Belgian Congo in 1918. At its peak, the Force Publique had around 19,000 Congolese soldiers, led by 420 Belgian officers. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 53Train from Lubumbashi arriving in Kindu on a newly refurbished line. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 54Kasaï-Central province, where the Kamwina Nsapu militia clashes with security forces began. (from History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 55A classroom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Image 56Change in per capita GDP of Congo, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars. (from Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Good article - show another

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Mukenge in 1960

Barthélemy Mukenge Nsumpi Shabantu (3 August 1925 – 4 July 2018) was a Congolese politician who served as President of Kasaï Province from 11 June 1960 to January 1962 and July to September 1962. He was a president of the Association des Lulua-Frères, a Lulua ethnic syndicate, and a leading member of the Union National Congolaise. Though initially allied with nationalist Patrice Lumumba, he later denounced him and aligned himself with more moderate politicians. Following the division of Kasai Province in late 1962, Mukenge became Minister of Health and Minister of Social Affairs of the new Luluabourg Province. He later served as Governor of Kivu Province and on the Political Bureau of the Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution. He withdrew from politics in 1974 and died in 2018. (Full article...)

List of Good articles
Belgian Congo in World War II Abir Congo Company Yellala Falls South Kasai Free Republic of the Congo Atrocities in the Congo Free State Congo Crisis Congolese Independence Speech Common eland Antoine-Roger Bolamba Jean-Chrysostome Weregemere Steve Zakuani Laurent Eketebi William Henry Sheppard Okapi Battle of Rejaf

Featured article - show another

This is a Featured article, which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia..

T. d. derbianus
Senegal

The giant eland (Taurotragus derbianus), also known as the Lord Derby's eland and greater eland, is an open-forest and savanna antelope. A species of the family Bovidae and genus Taurotragus, it was described in 1847 by John Edward Gray. The giant eland is the largest species of antelope, with a body length ranging from 220–290 cm (7.2–9.5 ft). There are two subspecies: T. d. derbianus and T. d. gigas.

The giant eland is a herbivore, eating grasses, foliage and branches. They usually form small herds consisting of 15–25 members, both males and females. Giant elands are not territorial, and have large home ranges. They are naturally alert and wary, which makes them difficult to approach and observe. They can run at up to 70 km/h (43 mph) and use this speed as a defence against predators. Mating occurs throughout the year but peaks in the wet season. They mostly inhabit broad-leafed savannas, woodlands and glades. (Full article...)