backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in
August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese internally displaced
and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding
countries (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 92.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 101.25 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 84.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 51.1 years
male: 49.68 years
female: 52.56 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:
6.54 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
4.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1.1 million (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
100,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, plague, and African trypanosomiasis
(sleeping sickness) are high risks in some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo

Ethnic groups:
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

Religions:
Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%,
other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%

Languages:
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language),
Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba

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.)

Government Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: none
local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo
local short form: none
former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville,
Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire
abbreviation: DROC

Government type:
dictatorship; presumably undergoing a transition to representative
governmen