Democratic Republic of Congo

National Name: Republique Democratique du Congo

Geography 

Capital: Kinshasa
Major Town: Boma, Kananga, Goma, Kisangani, Bumba
Location (geographical coordinates/latitude and longitude): 4°24'S, 15°24'E
Time Zone: WAT, CAT (UTC+1 to +2)
Size (Land and Sea): 2,345,410 sq km
Borders with Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km
Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m; highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
 
Politics  

Head of State: President: Joseph Kabila (2001); Prime Minister: Antoine Gizenga (2006)
Form of Government: Semi-Presidential Republic
Independancy (from Belgium): June 30, 1960 
Currency: Franc congolais (CDF)

Industry 

Main Industries: mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement, commercial ship repair.
Natural resources: cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber.
Agriculture: coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products.

Population and People  

Population: 64,606,759 (2007 est.)
Population  density per sq mi: 74
Growth rate: 3.1%
Birth rate: 43.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) 
Infant mortality rate: 86.6/1000
Religion: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%
Languages: French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Ethnic groups / Tribes: 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
Average age: 0-14 years: 47.6% (male 15,718,614/female 15,557,058); 15-64 years: 49.9% (male 16,224,734/female 16,571,549); 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 680,313/female 999,244) (2007 est.)
Life expectancy: 51.8
Literacy (definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba): Total population: 65.5%; male: 76.2%; female: 55.1% (2003 est.)