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 Zaire



Geography

Total area: 2,345,410 km²; land area: 2,267,600 km²

Comparative area: slightly more than one-quarter the size of US

Land boundaries: 10,271 km total; Angola 2,511 km, Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km

Coastline: 37 km

Maritime claims:
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it is reported that the indefinite section of the Zaire-Zambia boundary has been settled; long section with Congo along the Congo River is indefinite (no division of the river or its islands has been made)

Climate: tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator—wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator—wet season November to March, dry season April to October

Terrain: vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east

Natural resources: cobalt, copper, cadmium, crude oil, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower potential

Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 78% forest and woodland; 15% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: dense tropical rainforest in central river basin and eastern highlands; periodic droughts in south

Note: straddles Equator; very narrow strip of land is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean

People

Population: 36,589,468 (July 1990), growth rate 3.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 103 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 55 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun—Zairian(s); adjective—Zairian

Ethnic divisions: over 200 African ethnic groups, the majority are Bantu; four largest tribes—Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population

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

Language: French (official), Lingala, Swahili, Kingwana, Kikongo, Tshiluba

Literacy: 55% males, 37% females

Labor force: 15,000,000; 75% agriculture, 13% industry, 12% services; 13% wage earners (1981); 51% of population of working age (1985)

Organized labor: National Union of Workers of Zaire (UNTZA) is the only trade union

Government

Long-form name: Republic of Zaire

Type: republic with a strong presidential system

Capital: Kinshasa

Administrative divisions: 8 regions (régions, singular—région) and 1 town* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Zaïre, Équateur, Haut-Zaïre, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Kinshasa*, Kivu, Shaba; note—there may now be 10 regions with the elimination of Kivu and addition of Maniema, Nord-Kivu, and Sud-Kivu

Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium; formerly Belgian Congo, then Congo/Leopoldville, then Congo/Kinshasa)

Constitution: 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978

Legal system: based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Anniversary of the Regime (Second Republic), 24 November (1965)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Executive Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral National Legislative Council (Conseil Législatif National)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Suprême)

Leaders: Chief of State—President Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga (since 24 November 1965);

Head of Government—Prime Minister LUNDA Bululu (since 25 April 1990)

Political parties and leaders: only party—Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR)

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Elections: President—last held 29 July 1984 (next to be held July 1991); results—President Mobutu was reelected without opposition;

National Legislative Council—last held 6 September 1987 (next to be held September 1992); results—MPR is the only party; seats—(210 total) MPR 210

Communists: no Communist party

Member of: ACP, AfDB, APC, CCC, CIPEC, EAMA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant). Chargé d'Affaires MUKENDI Tambo a Kabila; Chancery at 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-7690 or 7691; US—Ambassador William C. HARROP; Embassy at 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa (mailing address is APO New York 09662); telephone [243](12) 25881 through 25886; there is a US Consulate General in Lubumbashi

Flag: light green with a yellow disk in the center bearing a black arm holding a red flaming torch; the flames of the torch are blowing away from the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Economy

Overview: In 1988, in spite of large mineral resources and one of the most developed and diversified economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, Zaire had a GDP per capita of $195, one of the lowest on the continent. Agriculture, a key sector of the economy, employs 75% of the population but generates under 30% of GDP. The main impetus for economic development has been the extractive industries. Mining and mineral processing account for about one-third of GDP and two-thirds of total export earnings. During the period 1983-88 the economy experienced slow growth, 346