Thursday, October 8, 2009

Agriculture facts

Agricultural land > % of land area 10.06 % of land area
Agricultural land > sq. km 228,000 sq. km
Agricultural machinery > tractors 2,430
Arable and permanent cropland 220 thousand hectares
Arable land > % of land area 2.96 % of land area
Arable land > hectares 6,700,000 hectares
Cereal production 111 thousand metric tons
Cereal yield > kg per hectare 766.7 kg/ha
Crop production index 96.7 %
Fertilizer use 22.7 kg
Food production index 97.5 %
Labor share 39.9%
Meat production 24 thousand metric tons
Products
coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava, palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products

http://www.nationmaster.com/country/cg-congo-democratic-republic-of-the/agr-agriculture

A hectare is 10000 square meters

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Major citites

The major cities are Bandundu, Bukavu, Bandundu, Ilebo, Djokupunda, Goma, Isiro, Kalemie, Kananga, Kikwit, Kindu,Kinshasha, Kisangani, Kolwezi, Likasi, Lusanga, Lubumbash, Lukutu, Mbandaka, Mbanza-Ngungu and Moba.

Congolese food

http://www.deliciouslytasteless.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/maggots.jpg

Never will you find a place with cuisine quite like this. They have peanut soup and foo foo ( a dough), Fried maggots, Sombe ( cooked casava leaves), Ndakala ( a small fish), and Moambe(a dish made with chicken,peanuts, and a fruit called pericarp). These are just the more common dishes. So come here today and try some new foods and let your taste buds have an experience like none other.

Come visit an active volcano!



The Nyiragongo volcano the live volcano with a lake of red lava, is located in Goma in the extreme east of the Democratic Republic of Congo near the border of Rwanda.

Lakes of hot lava are one of the most spectacular forms of volcanic activity, but they are very difficult to see because there's only a few of them in the world at any given time. Such lakes used to exist in craters of Kilawea Volcano (Hawaii), Masaya Volcano (Nicaragua), Erta Alle (Ethiopia), and Stromboli (Italy). So, if you want to see a really impressive lava lake, you have only one option left: Nyiragongo.

Found in Virunga National park, this volcano is accessible from the town of Goma,
The visit can be done in one or two days, but sleeping there is the better option as this will let u admire and discover the spectacle of the activity of the lake of lava inside the crater.

If u choose to pass the night at the top of the volcano u need a tent and a sleeping bag which can be rented in Goma at Goma camping site. You need a porter who can be found at the entrance station of the volcano for 12$ in kibati 17kms from Goma. Don't forget your warm coat and rain jacket as the top is very cold.

Enjoy your visit to Goma ( Democratic Republic of Congo)
Nari, Kennedy. "Mount Nyiragongo." http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk

Pictures of the DROC








http://majimbokenya.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/kabila.jpg

The president of the country.


























http://a.images.blip.tv/DRR-DemocraticRepublicOfTheCongoTheUNsUltimatePeacekeepingT379-337.jpg

Economic and Population facts

Population 68,692,542 (2009 estimate)

Population growth
Population growth rate 3.21 percent (2009 estimate)


Projected population in 2025 109,674,758 (2009 estimate)


Projected population in 2050 189,310,849 (2009 estimate)



Population density 30 persons per sq km (2009 estimate)

78 persons per sq mi (2009 estimate)



Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 33 percent (2005 estimate)


Share rural 67 percent (2005 estimate)



Largest cities, with population
Kinshasa 5,277,000 (2003 estimate)


Lubumbashi 1,140,000 (2007 estimate)


Kisangani 417,517 (1994 estimate)



Ethnic groups
There are more than 200 African ethnic groups. The largest culture groups are the Lunda, Luba, Kuba, Bakongo (Kongo), Mongo, Mangbetu, and Azande. Other Bantu, Nilo-Saharan, African-Asian, European, and Asian groups also exist.


Languages
French (official), Lingala, Kikongo, Tshiluba, Swahili, other indigenous languages


Religious affiliations
Christian 95 percent


Roman Catholic 52 percent


Protestant 20 percent


Other Christian 23 percent


Muslim 2 percent


Indigenous beliefs 2 percent


Other 1 percent



Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 54.4 years (2009 estimate)


Female 56.2 years (2009 estimate)


Male 52.6 years (2009 estimate)



Infant mortality rate 81 deaths per 1,000 live births (2009 estimate)

Literacy rate
Total 89.8 percent (2005 estimate)


Female 84.9 percent (2005 estimate)


Male 95 percent (2005 estimate)



Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $9 billion (2007)

GDP per capita (U.S.$) $143.50 (2007)

GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 42.5 percent (2007)


Industry 28.4 percent (2007)


Services 29.1 percent (2007)



Monetary unit
1 Congolese franc, consisting of 100 centimes


Major trade partners for exports
Belgium, United States, Zimbabwe, Finland, and Italy


Major trade partners for imports
South Africa, Belgium, Nigeria, France, and Kenya

Maps of The Democratic republic of congo

http://www.nationsonline.org/maps/dr_congo_map_855.jpg














http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/zaire_ag_1979.jpg

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

The history of the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo was settled in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. It has been previously known as Congo, Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Republic of the Congo and Zaire. The Congo Free State was called a corporate state. It was controlled solely by Leopold II (The King of the Belgians) through a non-governmental organization. In 1908 King Leopold II gave up control of Congo Free State. The Belgian parliament came under control and renamed it Belgian Congo until it gained its independence in 1960. It was renamed Republic of the Congo; because Middle Congo was also renamed the Belgian Congo was called Congo-leopoldville (referring to its capital). The country then was very unstable. The regional tribal leaders held more power than the government and the Belgian administrators left so there were no skilled politicians left in the country. Parliamentary elections in 1960 made Patrice Lumumba prime-minister and Joseph kasavubu president. A week after this a military coup was attempted. Belgium was able to stop the attempt with help from the UN. The army's newly appointed chief of staff, Col. Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, succeeded in taking Lumumba prisoner. Lumumba was killed early in 1961. In 1963 a series of rebellions broke out and at one point the rebels controlled half the country, but with the help of the U.S. and Belgium paratroopers the rebellion was stopped. Mobutu declared himself president until in 65 was forced by the UN to hold an election. He ran unopposed, renamed the country Zaire, and was the leader until 1996. In 1996 the genocide of Rwanda spilled over the border and came into Zaire. Hutu soldiers fled Rwanda and went into refugee camps in the eastern part of the country. The Tutsi army soon followed and the leader Laurent-Desire Kabila marched into Kinshasha and declared himself the president.He reverted the name back to the Democratic Republic of Congo. He wasn't able to manage the problems of the country at all and lost his allies. Rwanda, Uganda,and Namibia attacked while Zimbabwe and Angola helped defend. The six countries agreed on a ceasefire but it was broken within months. In January of 2001 Kabila was assassinated by his own bodyguard. His son Joseph Kabila took over and with numerous peace-talks was able to end the war. On July 30,2006 a constitution was put into affect. Soon after this an election was held and Kabila was voted in as president and he still is to this day.

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad34