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République Démocratique du Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo


As it is French speaking, the name of the country is République Démocratique du Congo. The english name is Democratic Republic of the Congo, also DR Congo, the DRC, or Congo-Kinshasa. The country is also known as Zaire, which was the official name between 1971 and 1997. It is located in Central Africa, on both sides of the river Kongo after which it was named. The Congo River is the world's third-largest river by discharge and, which is a little weird, the world's deepest river.

The country is the second-largest country in Africa and has a population of around 109 million. Formerly it was a colony of Belgium, which is the reason why it is a French-speaking country. However, when the country became independent in 1960, the situation worsened, and eighty years of separatist movements, wars, conflicts, poverty, and hunger followed. This is the reason why we never listed the country, as it is actually not a country where tourists can go. After years of war and bloodshed, the country is slowly opening up to tourism. But still: rural areas are infested with armies, rebel groups and bandits.