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Democratic Republic of the Congo République démocratique du Congo (French) Repubilika ya Kôngo ya Dimokalasi (Kongo) Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki (Lingala) Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo (Swahili) Ditunga dia Kongu wa Mungalaata (Luba-Katanga) | |
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| Motto: | |
| Anthem: | |
 Location of Democratic Republic of the Congo (dark green) | |
| Capital and largest city | Kinshasa 4°19′S 15°19′E / 4.317°S 15.317°E |
| Official languages | French & Swahili |
| Ethnic groups | See Ethnic groups section below |
| Demonym(s) | Congolese |
| Government | Unitary semi-presidential republic |
| Félix Tshisekedi | |
| Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Senate | |
| National Assembly | |
| Formation | |
| 17 November 1879 | |
| 1 July 1885 | |
| 15 November 1908 | |
• Independence from Belgium | 30 June 1960 |
| 20 September 1960 | |
• Renamed to Democratic Republic of Congo | 1 August 1964 |
| 29 October 1971 | |
| 17 May 1997 | |
| 18 February 2006 | |
| Area | |
• Total | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (11th) |
• Water (%) | 3.32 |
| Population | |
• 2016 estimate | 78,736,153 (16th) |
• Density | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
| GDP (PPP) | 2017 estimate |
• Total | $67.988 billion |
• Per capita | $785 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2017 estimate |
• Total | $40.415 billion |
• Per capita | $446 |
| Gini (2006) | ▲ 44.4 medium |
| HDI (2018) |  0.470low · 176th |
| Currency | Congolese franc (CDF) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 to +2 (WAT and CAT) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +243 |
| ISO 3166 code | CD |
| Internet TLD | .cd |
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: République démocratique du Congo), commonly referred to as DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa or the DRC, is a country in central Africa. It was known as Zaïre from 1971 to 1997. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 71 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the nineteenth most populous nation in the world, the fourth most populous nation in Africa, as well as the most populous Francophone (French-speaking) country.
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