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The Constitution

The Constitution is the basic law governing the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Constitution has been changed and/or replaced several times since its independence in 1960.

 

The Democratic Republic of Congo is now under the regime of the constitution which was approved in a referendum by the Congolese people and promulgated on 18th February 2006, by President Joseph Kabila Kabange. It is the Democratic Republic of Congo's sixth constitution since 1960.

 

Over the last decade, the DRC Government has worked to build a new Congo with an inclusive, transparent and democratic government that can provide a better future for all citizens. Having emerged from the conflict under the leadership of President Joseph Kabila Kabange, the Congolese people have taken critical steps in pursuing democratic aspirations guided by the DRC’s Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion.

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Click here to download The Constitution of The Democratic Republic of the Congo

About DR. Congo

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  • Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Capital: Kinshasa

  • Area : 2,345,409 km2

  • President: Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo

  • National Anthem: "Debout Congolais"

  • Official Language: French

  • Motto: "Justice – Peace – Work"

  • Flag: blue, yellow and red

  • Calling code: +243

  • Independence Day: June 30, 1960

  • Population: 100 Million

  • Currency: Congolese Franc (CDF)

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With an estimated population of 100 million, the Democratic Republic of Congo is the fourth most populous country in Africa and the 16th most populous country in the world.

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The country is known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, DR Congo, DRC, RDC,  Congo-Kinshasa, and Congo.

 

At 2,3 million square kilometers, Congo is the second largest country in the African continent (after Algeria) and covers a land area larger than the Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, and Norway combined.

 

Nine nations border DRC: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

 

Kinshasa and Brazzaville in the next-door Republic of Congo are the closest capital cities in the world, with the exception of Vatican City and Rome.​

 

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There are over 200 ethnic groups, with nearly 250 languages and dialects spoken throughout the country. Kinshasa, the capital, is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world.

 

The life expectancy at birth in Congo is 59 to 62 years.

 

The median age in Congo is 18 years old.

 

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Congo was last recorded in 2018 was $561,8 USD.

 

Congo’s latest population census was conducted in 1984.

 

The DRC ranks is 126 on the World Happiness Report.

Natural Resources

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  • 18% of the planet’s remaining tropical rainforest is in the DRC and Congo is home to the second largest rainforest in the world.

 

  • Virunga National Park, located in eastern Congo, was Africa's first national park and has the highest biological diversity of any national park in Africa. 

 

  • The DRC is among the most resource-rich countries on the planet, with an abundance of gold, tantalum, tungsten, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, and timber and tin – all minerals used in electronics such as cell phones and laptops

 

  • Uranium extracted from the Shinkolobwe mine in the DRC was used to produce the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

Culture

 

  • In 1908 activists, including Mark Twain, started the first international human rights campaign, The Congo Reform Association, to expose rampant abuses of labor by public servants in King Leopold II of Belgium's Congo Free State.

 

  • DRC is the birthplace of African Rumba music, a fusion of Latin and African music, which dominates airwaves across central Africa.

 

  • In 1974 DRC was the first sub-Saharan African country to go to the FIFA World Cup.

 

  • Che Guevara spent a year in Congo fighting with rebels in 1965.

 

  • Congo’s own Simba beer bottle is near twice the size of most beer bottles around the world.

 

  • Only in Congo can you find the endangered great apes, such as the bonobos and the eastern lowland gorillas.

 

  • DRC has two time zones which the western half of the country, operate a Standard Time that is (GMT+1) and the eastern half of the country, operate a Standard Time that is (GMT+2).

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  • DRC also have high regard for art and are very skilled painters and crafts makers.

 

  • ...and a space program!

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Huge Reservoir of Diversity

Exceptional            Cultural Heritage

Awesome                      Potential and              other strengths

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Weather

 

The Democratic Republic of Congo located on the equator, has a hot and humid equatorial climate in the center, and tropical in the north and south. The climatic variations at work in the country determine very diverse ecosystems and very rich biodiversity. Half of the territory, corresponding to the central basin, is covered with forests. The other half, close to the tropics, is dominated by savannas (plateaus and highlands). There are clearly two main seasons :

 

  • The dry season (or winter season in the tropics) characterized by rare and lower rainfall. North of the equator, this season extends from December to May, and in the southern hemisphere, from May to September. It records the lowest temperatures. The sky is generally overcast and the vegetation suffers from lack of water.

 

  • The rainy season (or tropical summer season), the rainfall is between 1000 and 1500 mm and extends from May to November and from September to May across the equator.

 

In Kinshasa, the climate is hot and rainy from October to May, pleasant from June to September. Generally in the Congo, it is hot to very hot all year round. Maximum temperatures are 30-35 degrees in rainy periods (with peaks at 40 degrees) and rarely fall below 20 degrees in the dry season.​

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