WORTH KNOWING ABOUT RWANDA
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Informations about the "country of 1000 hills"
General informations
The Democratic Republic of the Congo ; (République démocratique
du Congo), also known as Zaire, DR Congo, DRC, DROC,
Congo-Kinshasa or simply the Congo,[6][7] is a country located in
Central Africa. The DRC borders the Central African Republic and
South Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the
east; Zambia to the south; Angola to the southwest; and the Republic
of the Congo and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is the
second-largest country in Africa (largest in Sub-Saharan Africa) by
area and 11th largest in the world. With a population of over 78
million,[2] the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most
populated officially Francophone country, the fourth most-populated
nation in Africa and the 17th most populated country in the world.
The territory of the DRC was first settled by humans around 90,000
years ago. Bantu peoples began migrating into the region in the 5th
century and again in the 10th century. In the West of the region, the
Kingdom of Kongo ruled from the 14th to 19th centuries, while in the
centre and East of the region, the kingdoms of Luba and Lunda ruled
from the 16th and 17th centuries to the 19th century. In the 1870s,
just before the onset of the Scramble for Africa, European
exploration of the Congo was carried out, first led by Henry Morton
Stanley under the sponsorship of King Leopold II of Belgium. Leopold
formally acquired rights to the Congo territory at the Conference of
Berlin in 1885 and made the land his private property, naming it the
Congo Free State. During the Free State, the colonial military unit,
the Force Publique, forced the local population into producing
rubber, and from 1885 to 1908, millions of Congolese died as a
consequence of disease and exploitation. In 1908, Belgium, despite
initial reluctance, formally annexed the Free State from Leopold,
which became the Belgian Congo. The Belgian Congo achieved
independence on 30 June 1960 under the name Republic of the Congo.
Congolese nationalist Patrice Lumumba was elected the first Prime
Minister, while Joseph Kasa-Vubu became the first President. Conflict
arose over the administration of the territory which became known as
the Congo Crisis. The provinces of Katanga, under Moïse Tshombe, and
South Kasai attempted to secede from the Congo. On 5 September 1960,
Kasa-Vubu dismissed Lumumba from office, encouraged by the United
States and Belgium after Lumumba turned to the Soviet Union for
assistance in the crisis. On 14 September, with U.S. and Belgian
support, Lumumba was arrested by forces loyal to Army Chief of Staff
Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, who had gained de facto control over
the country through a coup d'état the same day, and on 17 January
1961 Lumumba was handed over to Katangan authorities and executed by
Belgian-led Katangese troops. In 1965, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, who
later renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko, officially came into power
through a second coup. In 1971, he renamed the country Zaire. The
country was run as a totalitarian one-party state with his Popular
Movement of the Revolution as the sole legal party. Mobutu's
government received considerable support from the United States, due
to its anti-communist stance during the Cold War. By the early 1990s,
Mobutu's government began to weaken. Disenfranchisement among the
eastern Congolese Tutsi population led to a 1996 invasion led by
Tutsi-ruled Rwanda, which began the First Congo War. The war led to
the end of Mobutu's 32-year rule. On 17 May 1997, Laurent-Désiré
Kabila, a leader of Tutsi forces from the province of South Kivu,
became President, reverting the country's name to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. Tensions between President Kabila and the
Rwandan and Tutsi presence in the country led to the Second Congo War
from 1998 to 2003. Ultimately, nine African countries and around
twenty armed groups became involved in the war,[8] which resulted in
the deaths of 5.4 million people. The two wars devastated the
country. President Laurent-Désiré Kabila was assassinated by one of
his bodyguards on 16 January 2001 and was succeeded eight days later
as President by his son Joseph. The Democratic Republic of Congo is
extremely rich in natural resources but has had political
instability, a lack of infrastructure, issues with corruption and
centuries of both commercial and colonial extraction and exploitation
with little holistic development.[citation needed] Besides the
capital Kinshasa, the two next largest cities Lubumbashi and
Mbuji-Mayi are both mining communities. DR Congo's largest export is
raw minerals, with China accepting over 50% of DRC's exports in 2012.
As of 2016, DR Congo's level of human development is 176th out of 187
countries, according to the Human Development Index.
Geography
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is located in central
sub-Saharan Africa, bordered by (clockwise from the southwest)
Angola, the South Atlantic Ocean, the Republic of Congo, the Central
African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania
across Lake Tanganyika, and Zambia. The country lies between
latitudes 6°N and 14°S, and longitudes 12° and 32°E. It straddles
the Equator, with one-third to the North and two-thirds to the South.
The size of Congo, 2,345,408 square kilometres (905,567 sq mi), is
slightly greater than the combined areas of Spain, France, Germany,
Sweden, and Norway. It is the second largest country in Africa by
area, after Algeria. On 17 January 2002 Mount Nyiragongo erupted in
Congo, with the lava running out at 64 km/h (40 mph) and 46 m (50 yd)
wide. One of the three streams of extremely fluid lava flowed through
the nearby city of Goma, killing 45 and leaving 120,000 homeless.
Four hundred thousand people were evacuated from the city during the
eruption. The lava poisoned the water of Lake Kivu, killing fish.
Only two planes left the local airport because of the possibility of
the explosion of stored petrol. The lava passed the airport but
ruined the runway, trapping several airplanes. Six months after the
2002 eruption, nearby Mount Nyamuragira also erupted. Mount
Nyamuragira then erupted in 2006 and again in January 2010.
Kivu
Kivu was the name for a large "Region" in the Democratic
Republic of Congo under the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko that bordered
Lake Kivu. It included three "Sub-Regions" ("Sous-Regions"
in French): Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu and Maniema, corresponding to the
three current provinces created in 1986.[1] The capital of the Kivu
Region was in Bukavu, and the capitals of the three Sub-Regions were
in Goma, Uvira and Kindu.
Flora and fauna
Main article: Wildlife of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The
rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo contain great
biodiversity, including many rare and endemic species, such as the
common chimpanzee and the bonobo, the African forest elephant, the
mountain gorilla, the okapi and the white rhino. Five of the
country's national parks are listed as World Heritage Sites: the
Garumba, Kahuzi-Biega, Salonga and Virunga National Parks, and the
Okapi Wildlife Reserve. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the
most biodiverse African country. The civil war and resulting poor
economic conditions have endangered much of this biodiversity. Many
park wardens were either killed or could not afford to continue their
work. All five sites are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage in
Danger. Conservationists have particularly worried about primates.
The Congo is inhabited by several great ape species: the common
chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), the bonobo (Pan paniscus),
the eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei), and possibly the
western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla).It is the only country in
the world in which bonobos are found in the wild. Much concern has
been raised about great ape extinction. Because of hunting and
habitat destruction, the chimpanzee, the bonobo and the gorilla, each
of whose populations once numbered in the millions, have now dwindled
down to only about 200,000 gorillas, 100,000 chimpanzees and possibly
only about 10,000bonobos. Gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos are all
classified as endangered by the World Conservation Union, as well as
the okapi, which is also native to the area.
North Kivu
North Kivu was formerly a "sub-region" in the region of
Kivu. North Kivu (French: Nord-Kivu). is a province bordering Lake
Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1] Its capital
is Goma. North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north,
Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the southwest, and South Kivu to
the south. To the east, it borders the countries of Uganda and
Rwanda. The province consists of three cities—Goma, Butembo and
Beni—and six territories—Beni, Lubero, Masisi, Rutshuru,
Nyiragongo and Walikale. The province is home to the Virunga National
Park, a World Heritage Site containing the endangered mountain
gorillas.
Country
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Capital Goma, largest
city Goma
Governor Julien Paluku Kahongya
Area Total 59,483 km2
(22,967 sq mi), area rank 18th
Population (2010 est.) Total 5,767,945, Rank 2nd
Density 97/km2
(250/sq mi)
Demonym(s) North Kivutian
Official language French
National language Swahili
Website: www.assembleenordkivu.org
source : Wikipedia