The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Updated: Sep 18, 2022
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Country Name
Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, DRC, the DRC, or simply the Congo.
Location
DRC is a country located in Central Africa.
It was formerly called Zaire, The DRC is bordered by The Central African Republic and South Sudan to the north, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania to the east, Zambia and Angola to the south, and the Republic of the Congo to the west.
Capital
Kinshasa.
The reason for naming the country
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is named after the Congo River, which flows throughout the country. The Congo River is the world's deepest river and the world's second-largest river by discharge.
Flag
The current flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo was adopted on 20 February 2006. The flag is a sky blue flag decorated with a yellow star on the upper left side. A red stripe cut the flag diagonally with a yellow line surrounded by the red stripe. The blue color represents peace, the red color represents the blood of martyrs, the yellow color that frames the red stripe symbolizes prosperity, and the yellow star represents hope for a brighter future for the country.
Language
French is the official language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is culturally accepted as the common language facilitating communication among the many different ethnic groups of the Congo. Approximately 242 languages are spoken in the country, but only four have the status of national languages: Kituba, Lingala, Tshiluba, and Swahili. Although some people speak these regional, or trade languages as first languages, most of the population speak them as a second language after their own tribal language.
Religion
Christianity is the majority religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. most of them adhere to Catholics and Protestants. An indigenous religion, Kimbanguism, has the adherence of only 2.8%, while Muslims make up 1.2% The majority are Sunni Muslims.
Currency
Congolese franc (CDF).
Time Zone
+01:00 GMT. (WAT West Africa Time) +02:00 GMT. (CAT Central Africa Time)
Government Regime
Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic.
Climate
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), a huge country in central Africa, there are two kinds of climate: Equatorial, hot, and humid all year round with no dry season, in the central area crossed by the Equator and occupied by vast rain forest (the second in the world after the Amazon); and a tropical, hot all year round but with a dry season, usually of short duration, in both the areas to the north and south of the Equator. The dry season occurs in opposite periods, from December to February north of the Equator and from June to September south of the Equator. There is no single best time to visit the DRC since the dry season comes at different times: in the tropical region north of the Equator, it runs from December to February; in the tropical region south of the Equator, it goes from June to August; in the southernmost area, there is little rain even in May, September, and October, although in the latter two months, it can get hot during the day, especially below a thousand meters (3,300 feet), for instance, in the Kundelungu National Park. In the equatorial zone, where it rains throughout the year, there is usually a drop in rainfall in two periods, January-February and June-July.
International Phone Code
+243
Internet Code
.cd