Map:
Flag description: light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the centre and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side.Location: Central Africa, northeast of Angola.
Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 E
Climate: 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.
Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium).
Nationality: Congolese (singular and plural).
Capital City: Kinshasa
Population: 51,964,999.
Head of State: Laurent Desire KABILA (since 17 May 1997) Died. his son is now the new President.
Area: 2,345,410 sq km
Type of Government: dictatorship; presumably undergoing a transition to representative government.
Currency: Congolese franc (CF).
Major peoples: 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.
Religion: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretism sects and indigenous beliefs 10%.
Official Language: French.
Principal Languages: French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba.
Major Exports: diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil.
History: Being up-dated.
