ingala (a lingua franca trade language),
Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala,
Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population: 67.2%
male: 80.9%
female: 54.1% (2001 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 9 years
male: 10 years
female: 8 years (2003)

Education expenditures:

NA

Government
Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Country name:

conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: none
local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo
local short form: none
former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville,
Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire
abbreviation: DRC

Government type:

republic

Capital:

name: Kinshasa
geographic coordinates: 4 19 S, 15 18 E
time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and 1 city* (ville);
Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental,
Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu
note: according to the Constitution adopted in December 2005, the
current administrative divisions will be subdivided into 26 new
provinces by 2009

Independence:

30 June 1960 (from Belgium)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 30 June (1960)

Constitution:

18 February 2006

Legal system:

a new constitution was adopted by referendum 18 December 2005;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 17 January 2001);
note - following the assassination of his father, Joseph KABILA
succeeded to the presidency which he retained through the 2003-06
transition; he was subsequently elected president in October 2006
head of government: Prime Minister Adolphe MUZITO (since 10 October
2008)
cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president
elections: under the new constitution the president is elected by
popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
elections last held 30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006 (next to be
held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Joseph KABILA elected president; percent of vote
(second round) - Joseph KABILA 58%, Jean-Pierre BEMBA Gombo 42%