Zaire Education

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Education
More than 75% of Zairian children between the ages of 6 and 11 attend primary school; attendance at secondary school has risen rapidly since the early 1960s. In the mid-1980s about 5 million pupils annually attended primary schools, 2.3 million attended secondary schools, and 862,900 attended vocational and teacher-training schools. The nation's three universities, at Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and Kisangani, had a total enrollment of about 15,000 in the late 1980s.

Zaire, Republic of, nation of Central Africa, bounded on the north by the Central African Republic and Sudan; on the east by Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Lake Tanganyika (which separates it from Tanzania); on the south by Zambia; on the southwest by Angola; and on the west by Angola (Cabinda enclave) and the People's Republic of the Congo. It was known as the Belgian Congo until it became independent in 1960 as the Democratic Republic of the Congo; its name was changed to Zaire in 1971. The extreme western portion of the country is a narrow wedge terminating in a 40-km (25-mi) strip along the Atlantic Ocean. The greatest width of the country is about 1930 km (about 1200 mi); its greatest length from north to south is about 2010 km (about 1250 mi). Its total area is 2,345,409 sq km (905,568 sq mi).

Land and Resources
The dominant physiographic feature of the country is the basin of the Congo River (see CONGO), also known as the Zaire River. This region, constituting the entire central area, is a vast depression that slopes upward on all sides into plateaus and mountain ranges. The highest mountain group, on the eastern border of Zaire, is the Mitumba Range, with elevations above 4877 m (above 16,000 ft). The Ubangi River, chief northern tributary of the Congo, rises on the northwestern slopes of this range. In the southeast the basin is fringed by rugged mountain country, sometimes called the Katanga, or Shaba, Plateau. This region, about 1220 m (about 4000 ft) above sea level, contains rich copper fields, uranium, and other mineral deposits.
In the southwest of Zaire the mountain chains are collectively designated the Angola Plateau. Here are located the sources of the Kasai, chief southern affluent of the Congo River. Both the Congo River Basin and the mountain regions are traversed by numerous rivers, the valleys of which are covered with dense vegetation. Virtually impenetrable equatorial forests occupy the eastern and northeastern portions of the country. The largest, known variously as the Ituri, Great Congo, Pygmy, and Stanley Forest, extends east from the confluence of the Aruwimi and Congo rivers nearly to Lake Albert, covering some 64,750 sq km (some 25,000 sq mi). In this area, on the Ugandan border, are the Ruwenzori Mountains. Large regions of the Congo Basin consist of savanna land.

Climate
Except in the upland regions, the climate of the country is extremely hot and humid. The mean annual temperature is about 26.7° C (about 80° F) in the low central area, with extremes considerably higher in February, the hottest month. In areas with altitudes above 1524 m (5000 ft) the mean annual temperature is about 18.9° C (about 66° F). The average annual rainfall is about 1524 mm (about 60 in) in the north and 1270 mm (50 in) in the south. Frequent heavy rains occur from April to November north of the equator and from October through May south of the equator. In the central part of the country rainfall is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year.

Plants and Animals
The vegetation of Zaire is extremely rich and diversified. Rubber trees of various species and oil palms are indigenous to the region, as are coffee and cotton. Among the native fruit trees are banana, coconut palm, and plantain. Timber trees occur abundantly in a large variety of species, including teak, ebony, African cedar, mahogany, iroko, and redwood. Animal life is abundant and varied. Larger animals include the elephant, lion, leopard, chimpanzee, gorilla, giraffe, hippopotamus, okapi, zebra, wolf, and buffalo. The mamba, python, and crocodile are among the numerous reptiles. Among the many species of birds are parrots, pelicans, flamingos, cuckoos, sunbirds, herons, and the spur-winged plover. Insects are exceedingly numerous, particularly ants, termites, and mosquitoes, including the Anopheles mosquito, host of the malaria parasite. Another disease-bearing insect, prevalent in the lowlands, is the tsetse fly, disseminator of sleeping sickness (see TRYPANOSOMIASIS).

Natural Resources
Zaire has vast mineral deposits, notably copper, uranium, gold, and diamonds. The wide range of climatic areas permits diversified agricultural production, and timber resources are extensive. The Congo River and its affluents provide a magnificent network of navigable waterways and have vast hydroelectric potential.

Waterpower
It is estimated that Zaire has about one-eighth of the world's total hydroelectric potential. A major hydroelectric project at Inga, on the lower Congo River, was opened in 1972 and has an ultimate annual capacity of 30 million kw. Almost all the generating plants have been built near the mines to serve mining operations. In the late 1980s Zaire's installed electricity-generating capacity was 2.5 million kw; the annual power output reached 5.3 billion kwh, virtually all of it hydroelectric.

Population
The population of Zaire is largely agricultural and comprises more than 200 ethnic groups, about 80% of which are Bantu-speaking peoples. Sudanese peoples live in the north, and small numbers of Nilotic, Pygmy, and other peoples are present in various areas. The largest single groups are the Kongo (or Bakongo), Mongo, Baluba, and Balunda. A small number of Europeans live in Zaire.

Population Characteristics
The population of Zaire (1984 census, preliminary) was 29,671,407. The estimate for 1989 was 33,336,000, yielding an overall population density of 14 persons per sq km (37 per sq mi). The population is concentrated in the eastern highlands and along the lower Congo River. About 40% of the population lived in urban areas in the late 1980s.

Political Divisions
Zaire is divided into eleven administrative regions: Bandundu, Equateur, Kasai East, Kasai West, Kinshasa, North Kivu, South Kivu, Maniema, Shaba, Upper Zaire, and Lower Zaire. Each region is administered by an appointed commissioner.

Principal Cities
The capital and largest city of Zaire is Kinshasa, formerly Léopoldville, with a population (1984 census, preliminary) of 2,653,558. Among other major cities are Lubumbashi, formerly Elisabethville (543,300); and Kisangani, formerly Stanleyville (282,650). Smaller cities include Bukavu, formerly Costermansville; Matadi, the principal port; Mbandaka, formerly Coquilhatville; and Boma, formerly the capital of both the Independent State of the Congo and the Belgian Congo and now a commercial center.

Religion and Language
More than 80% of the people of Zaire are nominally Christians, primarily Roman Catholic. Most of the rest adhere to traditional animist beliefs. Syncretic sects, such as Kimbanguism, which combines Christian and traditional elements, are significant. More than 400 languages are spoken in Zaire. French is the official language as well as the principal business and social language. Four African languages are also widely spoken: Swahili in the east and south, Kikongo in the western regions, Thiluba in Kasai, and Lingala along the Congo River.


Culture
Zairian folkways and culture, although influenced by European life in the urban centers, remain largely intact among the different ethnic groups. The country has several museums, the principal ones being located in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. The universities maintain libraries, as do the principal government and private organizations.

Economy
The general disruption that occurred throughout Zaire following independence has contributed to the sluggishness of an economy that grew only about 1% annually between 1965 and 1985. The mining industry, after a sharp decline, reached record levels in the early 1970s but was adversely affected by the sharp drop in the world market price of copper after 1974. Estimated annual budget figures for the late 1980s showed about $878 million in revenues and about $1.6 billion in expenditures.

Agriculture
More than two-thirds of the working population is engaged in agriculture, which accounts for nearly one-third of the gross domestic product. Large areas of the Congo River Basin are fertile and well suited for crops, but only about 3% of the total land area is under cultivation. The principal crops in the late 1980s (with annual output in metric tons) were cassava, 16.3 million; vegetables, fruits, and melons, 3.2 million; plantains, 1.5 million; sugarcane, 1.2 million; corn, 730,000; peanuts, 400,000; bananas, 345,000; and sweet potatoes, 372,000. Rice, potatoes, pulses, coffee, rubber, cotton, and cacao are also grown. The production of cash crops declined markedly after the nationalization of many small foreign-owned plantations in the mid-1970s, and agriculture in many parts of the country has reverted to subsistence farming. In the late 1980s, livestock included 1.4 million cattle, 800,000 pigs, 880,000 sheep, and 19 million chickens. Cattle raising is confined to elevated regions that are free of the tsetse fly.

Forestry and Fishing
The annual production of roundwood in the late 1980s was 32.3 million cu m (1.1 billion cu ft). The fish catch was about 166,000 metric tons.

Mining
Mineral deposits constitute the principal source of wealth in Zaire. The republic is the largest producer of cobalt and industrial diamonds in the world, but copper usually is the most valuable exported mineral. Other minerals produced in significant quantities include uranium, tin, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tungsten, and cadmium. Offshore petroleum reserves have been exploited since 1975. Annual mineral output in the late 1980s included copper, 438,600 metric tons; cobalt, 10,000 metric tons; diamonds, 18.3 million carats; and crude oil, 9.5 million barrels.

Manufacturing
Zairian industry, which is fairly well developed, is dominated by the processing of mineral products. In the late 1980s about 287,000 metric tons of petroleum products, 491,600 tons of cement, and 140,300 tons of sulfuric acid were produced annually in the country. Other manufactures included refined metals, tires, shoes, textiles, cigarettes, processed food, and beer.

Currency and Banking
The unit of currency in Zaire is the zaire, consisting of 100 makuta (504 zaire equal U.S.$1; 1990). The Bank of Zaire (1964) is the national bank; a number of domestic banks and branches of foreign banks also function.

Foreign Trade
Copper is Zaire's principal export, typically accounting for more than half of the total yearly export revenues. Other leading exports include crude petroleum, cobalt, diamonds, and coffee. Annual exports in the late 1980s totaled about $2.2 billion and imports, $1.8 billion. The principal trading partners are Belgium, China, the United States, Germany, and France.

Transportation
Zaire's 5254 km (3265 mi) of railroad provide important connections within the country, with the port of Benguela in Angola, and with eastern and southern African points. The total length of the national road system is about 146,500 km (about 91,030 mi). The road network is in generally poor repair; this has hindered the transport of crops to markets and thus contributed to the decline of agriculture. Inland waterways are used extensively. The Congo River is navigable from its mouth to Matadi, a distance of 134 km (83 mi). From Matadi to Kinshasa, which are linked by a 401-km (249-mi) railway, the river is unnavigable, but beyond Kinshasa navigation is possible for more than 1609 km (1000 mi). Navigable inland waterways, over most of which river steamers are routed, total about 13,500 km (about 8390 mi). The principal ports are Matadi and Boma, on the lower Congo River, and Banana, at the mouth of the Congo River. The country has five international airports. The state-owned Air Zaire provides domestic and international service.

Communications
Zaire is heavily dependent on air and telegraph services for internal communication. A national broadcasting system is based at Kinshasa, and a television station was opened in 1966. In the late 1980s the country had approximately 3.3 million radio receivers and 16,000 television sets. Seven daily newspapers have a combined circulation of 45,000.

Government
In accord with the revised constitution of 1978, Zaire has a highly centralized presidential executive system. The president is popularly elected to a 7-year term and appoints the ministers of government. The legislature consists of a single house of 210 members who are elected by popular vote for terms of five years. In 1970 the Popular Movement of the Revolution, headed by the president, was declared the sole legal political party; opposition parties were legalized in 1990.

Social Services
The National Institute of Social Security in Zaire provides pensions and other social benefits to salaried workers. In the mid-1980s Zaire had about 1300 physicians and 64,100 hospital beds. Acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a growing health problem.

Defense
In the late 1980s Zairian military forces consisted of an army of 22,000, a navy of 1500, and an air force of 2500. Paramilitary forces numbered more than 50,000. Military service is voluntary.

History
Early Congolese history is still largely unknown, but certain records indicate European explorations of the region beginning in the 15th century. The Portuguese had some contact with the kingdom of the Kongo beginning in 1482, when the Portuguese navigator Diogo Cam visited the mouth of the Congo River. It is believed that at its height the kingdom extended from the region that is now Angola into Gabon. In 1489 a Congolese embassy was sent to the Portuguese king, and in 1490 Franciscan missionaries and artisans from Portugal went to the area. The king of the Kongo was a convert to Christianity, but his attempts to impose the religion on his people provoked violent opposition. His son, Alfonso, who succeeded him in 1507, set out to Christianize the country. Able to read and write Portuguese, Alfonso adapted the Portuguese model for his government and built many churches. The kingdom declined, however, and memory of the Christian kingdom all but disappeared.
The growing interest in Africa as a source of wealth was stimulated by the reports of explorers, notably the Anglo-American journalist Henry Morton Stanley, who visited the interior of the Congo in 1877. As a result of a conference with Stanley, King Leopold II of the Belgians organized the International Association of the Congo in 1878. The new organization immediately engaged Stanley to return to the territory in order to set up trading stations and establish friendly relations with the native chiefs. The explorer founded a number of posts, including the city of Léopoldville (now Kinshasa); he also secured the rights to extensive regions bordering the Congo River.
Conflicting claims advanced by various nations, notably Portugal and France, to territorial rights in the Congo region led to the convening in 1884 of the Berlin Conference, which recognized the sovereignty of the African International Association; it also opened the Congo Free State, as the region was named, to trade of all nations and outlawed the slave trade. The new state was placed under the personal sovereignty of King Leopold II in July 1885.

Annexation by Belgium
Increasingly oppressive exploitation caused continued unrest among the Africans and led, early in the 20th century, to international protest. Public opinion forced Leopold to establish a commission of inquiry in 1904. The report of the commission revealed that the Africans were victims of a slave-labor system and of other abuses. These findings compelled the king to institute certain reforms, which were not very effective. As a result, the Belgian parliament in 1908 voted to annex the Congo Free State, making it a colony that became known as the Belgian Congo.
During World War I, Congolese troops effectively aided the Allied cause in Africa, conquering the German territory of Ruanda-Urundi, which was mandated by the League of Nations to Belgium in 1919.
Substantial expansion of the industrial facilities of the Congo took place during World War II. This process was particularly marked in the uranium, copper, palm-oil, and rubber industries. During the postwar years further increases in the industrial productivity of the colony occurred, and a series of reforms, designed to prepare the Congolese for eventual self-government, were initiated. On December 8, 1957, the Africans took part for the first time in voting for elective places on the township councils, winning 130 of 170 seats. After nationalists demanding independence rioted in Léopoldville in 1959, the Belgian government announced a schedule for Congolese elections, which were to inaugurate self-rule. But a congress of leading nationalist parties insisted upon immediate full independence; the two principal parties were the Abako (Association of the Lower Congo), led by Joseph Kasavubu, and the Congolese National Movement, led by Patrice Lumumba. Belgium then agreed to relinquish the colony. In elections held prior to independence, some 40 parties presented candidates. Lumumba's Congolese National Movement showed the greatest strength; the Abako was second. By agreement between the two leading parties, Lumumba became premier-designate, and Kasavubu president. The independent Republic of the Congo was proclaimed in Léopoldville on June 30, 1960, by King Baudouin I of the Belgians.

Independence and the Secession of Katanga
Violent disorders, stemming from tribal disputes, the disappointment of the parties excluded from the government, and a revolt of Congolese armed forces, began within one week of independence. With the intention of restoring order and suppressing maltreatment of whites, Belgian forces still in the Congo were redeployed and additional troops were flown into the country, despite the objections of Lumumba. The action, interpreted as an attempt to reimpose Belgian authority, provoked even greater violence against the Europeans. The political picture was further complicated when on July 11 Moise Tshombe, then premier of Katanga Province, proclaimed that province to be an independent country and requested Belgian military aid.
In response to an appeal from Lumumba, the United Nations Security Council authorized Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to recruit a military force to be sent to the Congo to restore order; the Security Council also demanded withdrawal of Belgian forces. The UN force, comprising units from African countries, Sweden, and Ireland, gradually began to supplant Belgian troops. When the Security Council ruled that no UN forces should be used to affect the outcome of any internal conflict in the province, Tshombe permitted UN troops to enter Katanga.
In September Soviet technicians and advisers were flown into the Congo, causing much tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Tension increased when President Kasavubu announced that he had dismissed Premier Lumumba, replacing him with Joseph (now Sombo Amba) Ileo. Lumumba claimed that his dismissal was illegal and that Kasavubu was no longer president. On September 13 the UN forces gave up control of the airports and Radio Kinshasa to Lumumba. The Congo army, however, led by Colonel Joseph Desiré Mobutu (now Mobutu Sese Seko), a supporter of Kasavubu, seized control of the government, and Mobutu ordered Soviet and Czechoslovak ambassadors out of the country. President Kasavubu, on September 29, transferred executive and administrative authority of the Congo to the College of High Commissioners, the caretaker government sponsored by Mobutu. In November the UN General Assembly voted to seat the Kasavubu delegation.
Shortly afterwards, Lumumba escaped from his UN-guarded villa in Léopoldville. He was captured the same day and was told by Mobutu that he would have to stand trial for inciting the Congolese army to rebellion. On December 13, 1960, Antoine Gizenga, former deputy premier in the Lumumba government, proclaimed himself premier and designated Stanleyville (now Kisangani) as the capital of the Congo. Within the next few months his government was recognized by most Communist and Arab nations and by Ghana. On January 9, 1961, pro-Lumumba soldiers invaded northern Katanga, and the UN Congo Command sent troops there to prevent outbreak of civil war.
President Kasavubu replaced the caretaker government of Mobutu in February with a new provisional government including members of the former parliament, with Joseph Ileo as premier. Lumumba, who had been imprisoned in Katanga, escaped and was killed while in flight (February 12). It was not established clearly who was responsible for his death.

UN Peace Efforts
On February 21, 1961, the Security Council authorized the United Nations to use force to prevent civil war in the Congo and demanded withdrawal of all foreign military personnel not under UN command. Opposing the council decision and hoping to forestall further UN intervention, 18 leaders of Congolese factions (not including Gizenga) agreed on March 12 to abolish the central government in favor of a confederation of sovereign states. At a follow-up meeting convened in April, Tshombe withdrew his cooperation. Arrested and charged with treason, he secured his release by agreeing to dismiss all foreign advisers and military forces in Katanga, but repudiated his assurances when he returned to Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi). The UN Congo Command launched limited military action against his forces in September and again in December. While trying to arrange a cease-fire between the UN forces and the Katangese forces in September, Secretary-General Hammarskjöld was killed under mysterious circumstances in an airplane crash at Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).
Meanwhile, Gizenga agreed to join the central government after former senate member Cyrille Adoula, named Congolese premier on August 2, promised to follow the policies of Lumumba. Gizenga was made first vice-premier, but was removed from his post and censured by parliament in January 1962 for defying a parliamentary resolution that he come to Léopoldville from Stanleyville to face secession charges.
During the first half of 1962, Tshombe held intermittent talks with Adoula, but the two leaders failed to reach a final agreement. To compel Tshombe to come to terms, Acting UN Secretary-General U Thant proposed a three-stage plan for ending Katanga's secession. Tshombe announced his acceptance of the plan but made little effort to implement it. Adoula demanded that the UN plan be put into effect, by force if necessary.
In December, UN forces moved decisively against Katanga and gained control of Elisabethville. Tshombe, fleeing before UN troops, established his last stronghold at Kolwezi. On January 15, 1963, he surrendered to integration demands and was promised amnesty for himself and his followers.
A few months later Premier Adoula formed a new cabinet, which included Katanga representatives and gave strongest representation to the Lumumbist party. Strikes and rebellions continued to beset the country, however, and in June 1964, Adoula resigned as premier. A new constitution was adopted, and a government was formed under Tshombe. Then, in August, Stanleyville fell to Lumumbist rebels. After troops of the Congolese National Army, aided by white mercenaries, began a drive to recapture the city, the rebels threatened to kill whites being held hostage in the city; among the hostages were about 60 Americans. On November 24, Belgian paratroopers, carried in U.S. planes, landed in Stanleyville and, together with Congolese troops, recaptured the city. The Belgian troops left after their rescue mission.

The Mobutu Government
A fragile coalition organized by Tshombe won the parliamentary elections of early 1965, but shortly thereafter Kasavubu ousted Tshombe from the premiership. In late 1965 Mobutu again intervened, installing himself as president in place of Kasavubu. In 1966 Mobutu established a presidential form of government; the change was formalized in a new constitution adopted in 1967. In his first years as president, Mobutu brought political stability to the country, although there were a number of short-lived regionally based revolts, and students occasionally protested his allegedly dictatorial rule. Some foreign-owned mining firms were nationalized, and in 1966 the European names of several cities were replaced by African names (Léopoldville became Kinshasa; Stanleyville, Kisangani).
In 1970 Mobutu was elected to a 7-year term as president, and in the early 1970s he undertook a major program of Africanization. In 1971 the country's name was changed to Zaire; in 1972 the president renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko, at the same time urging other Zairians to drop their non-African names. In 1973 many foreign concerns were taken over by the government. Some economic-development projects were completed, but Zaire remained dependent on income from copper exports. World copper prices fell sharply in the mid-1970s, and largely as a result of the consequent drop in Zaire's export earnings the country's foreign debt had risen to nearly $4 billion by 1980. At the same time the domestic economy experienced high rates of unemployment and inflation. In 1977, and again in 1978, Zaire (with the help of Belgium, France, Morocco, and other countries) repulsed invasions from Angola by former residents of Shaba region (as Katanga had been renamed in 1972).
A sluggish economy remained Zaire's greatest problem in the early 1980s. The country's foreign debt was rescheduled in 1981, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) extended a billion-dollar loan; further aid in 1983-84 followed a currency devaluation and other austerity measures. In 1986, however, Zaire abandoned the IMF program, and the economy took a downturn. The government again embraced economic reform in 1989, and in 1990 Mobutu legalized opposition parties. Discontent with Mobutu intensified in the early 1990s, as the economy deteriorated and outbreaks of violence and looting led many European and American civilians to flee the country. A conference for democratization of Zaire, closed in 1991, was reopened in January 1992, only to be closed again by the prime minister for seemingly unreasonable objections to enacted business. In retaliation, some Zairean soldiers attempted a takeover, but were crushed by loyalist troops.

 

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