Den demokratiske republikken Kongo (Land)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country in Central Africa. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 112 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika), Zambia, Angola, the Cabinda exclave of Angola, and the South Atlantic Ocean.

Centered on the Congo Basin, the territory of the DRC was first inhabited by Central African foragers around 90,000 years ago and was reached by the Bantu expansion about 3,000 years ago. In the west, the Kingdom of Kongo ruled around the mouth of the Congo River from the 14th to 19th centuries. In the northeast, center, and east, the kingdoms of Azande, Luba, and Lunda ruled from the 16th and 17th centuries to the 19th century. King Leopold II of Belgium formally acquired rights to the Congo territory from the colonial nations of Europe in 1885 and declared the land his private property, naming it the Congo Free State. From 1885 to 1908, his colonial military forced the local population to produce rubber and committed widespread atrocities. In 1908, Leopold ceded the territory, which thus became a Belgian colony.

Congo achieved independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960 and was immediately confronted by a series of secessionist movements, the assassination of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, and the seizure of power by Mobutu Sese Seko in a 1965 coup d'état. Mobutu renamed the country Zaire in 1971 and imposed a harsh personalist dictatorship until his overthrow in 1997 by the First Congo War. The country then had its name changed back and was confronted by the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003, which resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people. The war ended under President Joseph Kabila, who governed the country from 2001 to 2019, under whom human rights in the country remained poor and included frequent abuses such as forced disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment and restrictions on civil liberties. Following the 2018 general election, in the country's first peaceful transition of power since independence, Kabila was succeeded as president by Félix Tshisekedi, who has served as president since. Since 2015, the Eastern DR Congo has been the site of an ongoing military conflict in Kivu.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is extremely rich in natural resources but has suffered from political instability, a lack of infrastructure, corruption, and centuries of both commercial and colonial extraction and exploitation, followed by more than 60 years of independence, with little widespread development. Besides the capital Kinshasa, the two next largest cities, Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi, are both mining communities. The DRC's largest export is raw minerals, with China accepting over 50% of its exports in 2019. In 2021, DR Congo's level of human development was ranked 179th out of 191 countries by the Human Development Index and is classed as a least developed country by the UN. As of 2018, following two decades of various civil wars and continued internal conflicts, around 600,000 Congolese refugees were still living in neighbouring countries. Two million children risk starvation, and the fighting has displaced 4.5 million people. The country is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, African Union, COMESA, Southern African Development Community, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, and Economic Community of Central African States.

Kongo Demokraatlik Vabariik on riik Kesk-Aafrikas. See piirneb piirneb Kongo Vabariigi, Kesk-Aafrika Vabariigi, Lõuna-Sudaani, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tansaania, Sambia ja Angolaga.

Varem on riigi territoorium kuulunud ka aastatel 1908–1960 eksisteerinud Belgia Kongo alla. Aastatel 1971–1997 kandis riik nime Zaire (eesti keeles ka Sair).

Kongon demokraattinen tasavalta (ransk. République démocratique du Congo, kongoksi Repubilika ya Kôngo ya Dimokalasi) on valtio Keski-Afrikassa. Se sijaitsee päiväntasaajalla, Kongojoen ympäristössä. Se on pinta-alaltaan ja väestöltään Afrikan viiden suurimman valtion joukossa. Runsaista luonnonvaroista huolimatta väestöstä merkittävä osa elää köyhyydessä, ja nälkä ja tarttuvat taudit vaivaavat monia. Maan itäosissa on jatkuvasti levotonta. Kongossa asuu yli 200 eri etnistä ryhmää, jotka puhuvat yli 200 kieltä. Maan virallinen kieli on ranska.

Erotuksena Kongon tasavallasta eli Brazzavillen Kongosta maasta käytetään toisinaan täsmennystä Kinshasan Kongo tai Kongo-Kinshasa maan pääkaupungin mukaan. Kongon naapurimaat ovat Kongon tasavalta, Keski-Afrikan tasavalta, Etelä-Sudan, Uganda, Ruanda, Burundi, Sambia, Tansania ja Angola. Maalla on pieni 37 kilometriä pitkä rannikkokaistale Guineanlahdella.

Ennen vuotta 1971 maata saatettiin kutsua nimellä Belgian Kongo tai Leopoldvillen Kongo silloisen pääkaupungin mukaan. Vuosina 1971–1997 maan nimi oli Zaire.

Kongon demokraattisen tasavallan kansalaista kutsutaan Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen mukaan nimellä kongolainen tai kinshasankongolainen.

Den demokratiske republikken Kongo eller Kongo-Kinshasa (tidlegare kjend som Fristaten Kongo, Belgisk Kongo og Zaïre) er ein republikk i Sentral-Afrika. Hovudstaden i Kongo er Kinshasa.

Landet grensar til Den sentralafrikanske republikken i nord, Sør-Sudan i nordaust, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi og Tanzania i aust, Zambia og Angola i sør og Republikken Kongo (Kongo-Brazzaville) i vest. Landet har også ei kort kyststripe ut til Atlanterhavet i vest.

Landet må ikkje forvekslast med nabolandet i vest, Kongo-Brazzaville.

Den här artikeln handlar om Demokratiska republiken Kongo, som har Kinshasa som huvudstad. För Republiken Kongo, som har Brazzaville som huvudstad, se Kongo-Brazzaville.

Demokratiska republiken Kongo (franska: République démocratique du Congo), ofta kallad Kongo-Kinshasa, är en republik och en suverän stat i Centralafrika. Det är det till ytan näst största landet i Afrika och gränsar i norr till Kongo-Brazzaville, Centralafrikanska republiken och Sydsudan, i öster till Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi och Tanzania, i söder till Zambia och Angola och har i väster en liten kustremsa vid Kongoflodens mynning mot Atlanten, endast 37 kilometer lång. Demokratiska republiken Kongo har den fjärde största befolkningen i Afrika.

Föregående statsbildningar med samma gränsdragningar inkluderar Kongostaten, Belgiska Kongo, Kongo-Léopoldville och Zaire.