bettyosias Geographic fact
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the second-largest country in Africa, after Algeria. It is surrounded by 9 other countries: On the North by the Central African Republic and South Sudan; on East by Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania; on the South by Angola and Zambia, and finally on the West by the Republic of Congo.
The D.R. of Congo holds one of the most extreme paradoxes on the planet: being one of the most resource-rich countries, unfortunately with one the poorest population in the world. With the exception of people exploiting these minerals!!!!
The D.R. of Congo is house to the Okapi, an endangered species, also called Congolese giraffe or zebra giraffe because, despite its zebra-looking features -stripes, it is closely related to the giraffe than the zebra.
History and two of the deadliest wars of modern times
From 1885 to 1908, the D.R. Congo was the private property of King Leopold II; it is, to this day, considered the largest private estate ever acquired by an individual. From 1908 to 1960, it was ruled as a colony of Belgium.
The D.R. of Congo has one of the deadlier tragedies of modern times, twice. Under the atrocious ruling of King Leopold II (approximately 23 years from 1885 to 1908), half of the Congolese population died, silently. During that time, he exploited the minerals of Congo, especially ivory and rubber, and became richer and richer. In the meantime, while the country hasn’t gained independence yet, it had contracted a lot of debt. This debt has never been fully repaid and still haunts the D.R. of Congo to this day, making Congo one the most indebted country in the world.
Finally, for the records, King Leopold II never step foot in his private land but tirelessly harvested its mineral as the main exploiter. In today’s money, it will be accounting for $120 million of sales every year.
This is the reason behind the near-extinction of elephants in Congo that nobody talks about.
The second deadly war after world war II also occurred in the eastern regions of the D.R. of Congo, where approximately 5.4 million people died from 1996 to 2003. According to “The Atlantic”: “The DRC’s conflict might be the deadliest since World War II, and one of the world’s worst active crises. But it also may be the most obscure — the most anonymous.”
Natural resources
According to Global Edge from the International Business Center -University of Michigan, the Democratic Republic of Congo is widely considered to be the richest country in the world regarding natural resources; its untapped deposits of raw minerals are estimated to be worth in excess of U.S. $24 trillion.
Unfortunately, the war in Eastern Congo and political instability have weakened the economic fabric of this African giant.