Capital: Kinshasa History: Established as a Belgian Colony in 1908, the Republic of Congo became an independent country in 1960. The following five years were characterized by political and social instability which culminated in the 1965 coup that brought military leader Joseph-Desire Mobutu to power. Mobutu remained the leader of the country, which he renamed Zaire, until 1997 when he was overthrown by rebel forces led by Laurent-Desire Kabila. Under Mobutu’s rule, political institutions were repressed and the country’s abundant natural resources enriched an elite few, while the vast majority of the country fell into poverty.
From 1996 – 2003 the country was engulfed in conflict. This war, while frequently called a civil war, involved actors from many of Congo’s neighboring states. The conflict resulted in an estimated 2.5 million people dead, mainly from hunger and disease, further crippled the economy, and resulted in Congolese falling further into poverty.
The official end of the conflict in 2003 paved the way for the first democratic elections in the country, (which was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997), since Mobutu seized power decades earlier. After significant delays, the presidential election was held in 2006. These elections, which received massive support from the international donor community resulted in a mostly peaceful election of Joseph Kabila, the son of Laurent-Desire Kabila.
As the conflict wound down in 2003, the country put in place new mining legislation (in 2002). This paved the way for a massive influx of foreign investment in the mining sector. The investment boom proved short-lived as in 2008 the global economic slowdown, an increase in conflict in the east of the country and uncertainty caused by a protracted review of the mining concession licenses brought the sector to a standstill. In Katanga province alone, it is estimated that over 300,000 people lost their formal jobs or informal livelihoods in a matter of months as the price of minerals plunged and mining companies put exploration, construction and production on hold, and mines were consigned to ‘care and maintenance.
The way forward remains unclear. While in the early months of 2008 progress was made on bringing the conflict under control in the east of the country, democratic institutions remain fragile, and the near-term economic outlook remains poor.
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