Map:

Flag description: light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side 

Location: Central Africa, northeast of Angola 

Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 E 

Climate: tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November to March, dry season April to October 

Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) 

Nationality: Congolese (singular and plural) 

Capital City: Kinshasa

Population: 51,964,999 

Head of State: Laurent Desire KABILA (since 17 May 1997) Died , his son is now the new President

Area: 2,345,410 sq km 

Type of Government: dictatorship; presumably undergoing a transition to representative government 

Currency: Congolese franc (CF) 

Major 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%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10% 

Official Language:  French

Principal Languages:  French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba

Major Exports: diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil 

History: