V.

Economy

The DRC is potentially one of Africa’s richest states, with extensive agricultural, mineral, and energy resources. However, instability after independence in 1960 contributed to a sluggish economy that grew only about 1 percent a year until the mid-1980s. Nationalization, corruption, inexperience, heavy borrowing, a deteriorating infrastructure, and inappropriate development took a high toll throughout the 32-year regime of Mobutu Sese Seko (1965-1997). The country dropped from having one of Africa’s highest standards of living to one of its lowest. In 1990 the DRC’s gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to be $8.1 billion ($220 per capita). However, by the early 1990s the nation’s formal economy began to disintegrate, and GDP plummeted. Hyperinflation of nearly 40 percent a month, government deficits in which expenditures exceeded revenues by more than four times, and plunging mineral production combined to make the country one of the world’s poorest. In 1994 the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) declared the DRC insolvent, and the country was suspended from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The 1996-1997 rebellion that culminated in Mobutu’s overthrow virtually halted economic activity throughout the country. The post-Mobutu administrations have tried to rebuild the nation’s economy, but continued unrest in the DRC has hampered economic progress. The United Nations (UN) classifies the DRC as a least developed country. Smuggling and black market activities are very common and may account for income equal to the nation’s official GDP. In 2005 GDP was $7.1 billion, or $123.40 U.S. dollars per person.

A.

Labor

In 2005 the DRC’s labor force numbered 22,940,012; 41 percent were women. A significant proportion of children from age 10 to 15 participated in the labor force, working in agriculture, street vending, and other pursuits. The principal labor organization is the National Union of Congolese Workers, an alliance of 16 unions founded in 1967. However, most Congolese workers are agricultural and nonunionized.

B.

Mining

Mineral deposits constitute the DRC’s principal source of wealth. The Katanga and Kasai regions are among the world’s largest producers of cobalt and industrial diamonds. Other minerals produced in significant quantities include copper, uranium, tin, gold, silver, coal, zinc, manganese, tungsten, and cadmium. Offshore petroleum reserves have been drilled since 1975. Mineral production declined severely in the 1990s, but mining continued to account for almost 90 percent of the DRC’s export earnings in the early 21st century.

C.

Agriculture

Agriculture, including forestry and fishing, employs 68 percent of the working population and accounts for 46 percent of GDP. However, only 3 percent of the country’s area is under cultivation. Large areas of the Congo Basin are suitable for farming but are currently covered with forests. Cash crop production declined markedly after Mobutu nationalized foreign-owned plantations in the 1970s, and again during political disturbances in the 1990s. Much of the farmland has reverted to subsistence farming. The principal food crops are manioc, plantains, sugarcane, corn, peanuts, bananas, rice, and yams. Cash crops include palm kernels, coffee, cottonseed and cotton lint, and rubber. Chickens, goats, pigs, and sheep are raised. Cattle raising is confined to elevated regions that are free of the tsetse fly, which spreads sleeping sickness.

D.

Forestry and Fishing

The DRC contains an estimated 6 percent of the world’s forests. However, timber cutting has largely been limited to the western DRC, close to the Congo River, because of the country’s poor infrastructure. Most of the trees cut are not processed in the DRC, but floated downriver and exported as logs. Almost all of the fish caught in the DRC are freshwater fish and are consumed locally. Fish caught include perch, tilapia, and eels.

E.

Manufacturing

The most important manufacturing activities in the DRC are mineral processing and the production of cement and textiles. Other manufactured products include tires, shoes, cigarettes, beer, and processed food. During the 1990s, when the country experienced significant unrest, industrial activity declined substantially. In 2005 manufacturing accounted for 6 percent of GDP. Industry, which includes manufacturing, mining, and construction, provided 13 percent of employment.

F.

Services

Services account for 29 percent of GDP and 19 percent of employment. The most important areas are transportation, government, communications, and banking. Tourism has never accounted for a significant sector of the economy. Before the instability of the 1990s, which virtually eliminated tourism, the DRC received only a small number of tourists, mainly from Europe. The most important tourist destinations were Kinshasa and national parks such as Virunga National Park and Garamba National Park, both in the northeast.

G.

Energy

The DRC’s hydroelectric plants produce virtually all of the energy the country needs. The major hydroelectric plant is on the lower Congo River at Inga (opened in 1972). Other generating plants have been built in the southern DRC to serve mining operations. The plant at Inga alone could produce 15 times the amount of electricity needed by the DRC. In 2003 the DRC exported 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to other African nations. The small percentage of energy not produced by hydroelectric plants comes from thermal plants.

H.

Transportation

Roads in the DRC are in generally poor repair, hindering the transport of crops to markets and contributing to the decline of export agriculture. The total length of the national road system is about 157,000 km (about 97,555 mi). The country’s 3,641 km (2,262 mi) of aging railways provide important connections domestically as well as with the Angolan port of Benguela and with southern Africa. Inland waterways are used extensively. The Congo River is navigable from its mouth to Matadi, a distance of 134 km (83 mi). The river is unnavigable from Matadi to Kinshasa, which are linked by a railway 401 km (249 mi) long. Beyond Kinshasa navigation is possible for more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi) until Stanley Falls impedes navigation at Kisangani. The unnavigable portions of the Congo require exports from the southeast region of Katanga to be sent through other countries. Navigable inland waterways total about 14,500 km (about 9,000 mi). For most Congolese, the chief modes of river transportation remain aging river steamers and long canoes, known as pirogues. The principal seaports are Matadi and Boma, on the lower Congo River, and Banana, at the river’s mouth. The country has international airports at Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kisangani, Goma, and Bukavu. State-owned Congo Airlines provides domestic and international service.

I.

Communications

The DRC’s wired telephone system is almost nonexistent, so most people use mobile telephones. The country depends heavily on air and telegraph services for internal communication. A government-controlled national broadcasting system, based in Kinshasa, operates several national radio stations and one national television station. Broadcasts are in French and numerous African languages. Several private radio and television stations are also located in Kinshasa. Daily newspapers are published in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and Kisangani.

J.

Foreign Trade

The DRC’s principal exports include diamonds, crude petroleum, cobalt, copper, and coffee. Exports in 2000 totaled $580 million, and imports totaled $396 million. The principal trading partners for exports were Belgium and Luxembourg (which constitute a single trading entity), the United States, Zimbabwe, Finland, and Italy. For imports, principal partners were South Africa, Belgium and Luxembourg, Nigeria, France, and Kenya. The DRC is a signatory of the Lomé Convention, a trade and aid agreement between the European Union and African, Caribbean, and Pacific nations.

K.

Currency and Banking

The unit of currency in the DRC is the Congolese franc, consisting of 100 centimes (473.90 Congolese francs equal US$1; 2005 average). The Congolese franc was issued in mid-1998, replacing the new zaire. The government controls the currency’s rate of exchange. The Bank of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964) is the national bank. A number of domestic banks and branches of foreign banks also function.