Democratic Republic of The Congo Republique Democratique du Congo

Capital Kinshasa Area 905,563 sq mi 2,345,410 sq km Population 56,625,039 est 2003 Largest city Kinshasa pop. 6,541,300 Languages French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba Peoples Over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population Religion Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Islam 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10% Life Expectancy total population: 49.14 years male: 47.06 years female: 51.28 years (2004 est.) Literacy total population: 65.5% male: 76.2% female: 55.1% (2003 est.) Suffrage 18 years of age; universal and compulsory Government Dictatorship; presumably undergoing a transition to representative government back to Africa Map