note: in 1994, about a million refugees fled into Zaire (now called
the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DROC), to escape the
fighting between the Hutus and the Tutsis in Rwanda and Burundi; the
outbreak of widespread fighting in the DROC between rebels and
government forces in October 1996 spurred about 875,000 refugees to
return to Rwanda in late 1996 and early 1997; additionally,the DROC
is host to 200,000 Angolan, 110,000 Burundi, 100,000 Sudanese, and
15,000 Ugandan refugees; renewed fighting in the DROC in August 1998
resulted in more internal displacement and refugee outflows

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 99.45 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.44 years
male: 47.28 years
female: 51.67 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.45 children born/woman (1999 est.)

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 traditional 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: 77.3%
male: 86.6%
female: 67.7% (1995 est.)

Government

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: Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire
abbreviation: DROC

Data code: CG

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

Capital: Kinshasa

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provinces,
singular--province) and one city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo,
Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*,
Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Ori