“We have to make a difference in
our communities, since we do not do
it for them but we do do it for
ourselves”
My country
Democratic Republic of Congo
Why we should support youth entrepreneurs?
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (French:
République Démocratique du Congo), former Zaire, is
nearly one-fourth the size of the United States. Its
geographical size equals to 2, 345,410 sq. km. being
considered the third largest country in Africa by area
after Sudan and Algeria and the 12th largest in the
world.
Located in Central Africa, with a short Atlantic
coastline, it boarders the Central African Republic,
Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia,
Angola and Congo Brazzaville. It means we are a
country in middle of a continent and with multicultural
influences. With a population of 68.7 million people, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo is the eighteenth most populous nation in the world, and the fourth most populous
nation in Africa. In this context, young people represent 57.8% of their inhabitants and
66% of them keep unemployed. Only 67.2% of our people are literate and our average life
expectancy is only of 54.4 years.
As other countries, we also were a colony. In DRC the European exploration and
administration took place from the 1870s until the 1920s. Belgium people came and under
the name of the Free State, colonists brutalized the local population to produce rubber,
for which the spread of automobiles and development of rubber tires created a growing
international market. They were cutting off the limbs of natives and millions of people
died as consequence of exploitation and disease.
Nobody knows precisely how many people died as no accurate records exist, but a
government commission later concluded that the population of the DRC reduced by half
during this time. By years DRC has suffered the violence, internal wars and conflicts.
Children, women have been the main victims of this context. Millions of people have died.
Recently, in 2009 it was estimated due to the long conflict a range from 900,000 to
5,400,000 people could have died. But not only human are affected by conflicts. This has
caused non negligible environment destruction. Some of the environmental damaged
caused intensive deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution and loss of soil fertility, etc. It
is a fact, our people are seeking the peace and one way to face this is creating sustainable
and decent jobs.
Our opportunity
Although our country is among the poorest in the world, the Democratic Republic of
Congo is considered to be the richest country in the world regarding natural resources.
As a result of its equatorial location, the Republic Democratic of Congo experiences high
precipitation and has the highest frequency of thunderstorms in the Earth. The annual
rainfall can total upwards of 80 inches (2,000 mm) in some places, and the area sustains
the Congo Rainforest, the second largest rain forest in the world after that of the Amazon.
Other facts
Composition of
Population
Official
Languages
National
Languages
Main Religions
Climate
Form of
Government
Last Democratic
Elections
Global Peace
Index
Main Economic
Activities
Main Trading
Partners
Capital
Other Cities
Currency
Total GDP
Per Capita
Income
Human
Development
Index
Ibrahim Index
Main Creative
Industries
Over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four
largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande
(Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population.
French.
Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba and Lingala.
Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other
(includes syncretism sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%.
Tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in
southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of
Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to
February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season
(April to October).
Republic.
30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006.
N°128- 2.707
Mining and agriculture.
Belgium, China, Brazil, US, Finland, France, Zambia, South Africa,
Zimbabwe, Kenya and Cote d'Ivoire.
Kinshasa.
Bukavu, Goma, Kananga, Kindu, Kisangani, Lubumbashi, Mbuji-Mayi,
Matadi, Mbandaka and Bandundu.
Congolese franc (CDF)
$19.03 billion (2007 est.)
$300 (2007 est.)
154
50-33.25%
Crafts, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, Cultural Heritage, Festivals and Film.