The DR Congo

Congo MapThe Congolese people are among the poorest on earth. The estimates of their gross national product per capita range from $144 to $340, depending on the source and method of calculating. (The U.S. estimates run from $45,790 to $48,000.) In every case, Congo is the lowest or second lowest on the list. Most people live by subsistence farming. The largest note of money in circulation in the northwest area is worth less than one U.S. dollar. (Click to enlarge map.)
 
The DR Congo is the third-largest country in Africa (after Sudan and Algeria), about the same size as Europe or the U.S. east of the Mississippi. It is rich in natural resources, including copper, cobalt, diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, tin, and coltan (used in cell phones and other electronics). Most infrastructure systems, however, are underdeveloped. There are fewer than 2,000 miles of paved roads in the entire country (some estimates are as low as 300 miles). Only 11% of the airports have paved runways. The capital city, Kinshasa (shown here), has nearly 8 million people.

KinshasaThe population of Congo is approximately 66.5 million, including over 250 ethnic groups. Fifty percent of the people are Roman Catholic, 20% are Protestant, 10% Kimbanguist, 10% Muslim, and 10% other beliefs. The life expectancy at birth (According to 2007 statistics released by WHO in early 2009) is 52 years for the total population, 50 years for men, 54 years for women.* In the U.S. people live, on average, more than 20 years longer: 78 for the total population, 76 for men, and 81 for women. 
 
The infant mortality rate in Congo (as of 2004, from the same WHO tables) is 47 deaths per 1,000 live births. The U.S. rate is 4 per 1,000 live births. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is lower than in some African countries: 4.2% (2003 estimate). The proportion of the total population age 15 and over who can read and write is 67.2%; for men it is 80.9% and for women 54.5%.

 

*Note that health and demographic statistics for developing countries like Congo are difficult to verify and vary a good deal from one source to another. They are helpful in giving a general picture but cannot be relied upon in detail.