14 Facts About Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in Central Africa.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa's second largest country.

Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia are its neighbours.

The DRC has over 200 ethnic groups and nearly 250 languages and dialects spoken throughout the country.

Kinshasa, the capital, is the world's second largest French-speaking city.

The Congolese have been subjected to over two decades of armed conflict, with over 5.4 million people killed as a result of war-related causes, making it the deadliest conflict since World War II.

Child soldiers have long been recruited by Congolese armed groups and elements of the army. Between January 2012 and August 2013, the UN reported at least 1,000 cases of child soldier recruitment.

Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa's oldest national park. It is home to mountain gorillas, lions, and elephants, all of which are endangered. The park is currently under threat from Soco, a UK oil company that has begun oil exploration there.

Only 1.8% of existing roads in the DRC are tarred, and less than 10% of the population has access to electricity today. There have recently been pushes to improve, including the World Bank's announcement of a $1 billion infrastructure package.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo hosts the world's largest peacekeeping mission, with over 21,000 soldiers from over 50 different countries.

Approximately 450,000 Congolese refugees remain in neighbouring countries, primarily Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, owing primarily to ongoing insecurity in the country's east.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the world's most resource-rich countries, with an abundance of gold, tantalum, tungsten, and tin - all minerals used in electronics such as cell phones and laptop computers - yet it continues to have an extremely poor population.

"Conflict minerals" include tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold. Armed groups use the proceeds from sales to fund violent campaigns. By tracing their supply chains, some businesses are becoming more accountable.

Dikembe Mutombo, a former NBA All-Star, was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1997, he established a humanitarian foundation to improve the DRC's health, education, and quality of life.