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Congo Facts & Worksheets

Congo (also known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a country that can be found in Central Africa.

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Known as the second largest country on the African continent, eleventh largest country in the world, fourth most populous country in Africa, and the sixteenth most populous in the world, the Congo (also known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a country that can be found in Central Africa.

See the fact file below for more information on the Congo or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Congo worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORY

  • The area occupied by the current Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 90,000 years ago.
  • Bantu peoples arrived in Central Africa and gradually started to grow southward.
  • From the 1870s until the 1920s, the Belgian exploration, headed by Sir Henry Morton Stanley, disrupted the eastern regions of the pre-colonial Congo through constant slave raiding.
  • King Leopold II of Belgium acquired rights to the Congo territory in 1885 at the Conference of Berlin.
  • Leopold made the Congo his private property and named it the Congo Free State.
  • During that time, production of rubber was abundant.
  • From 1885 to 1908, nearly half of the population in the areas near the lower Congo River died due to sleeping sickness and smallpox.
  • In 1904, Roger Casement, the British consul at Boma in the Congo, was instructed by the British government to investigate alleged abuse in the Congo.
  • Casement’s report to the British government resulted in the Casement Report, where Casement confirmed the accusations of humanitarian abuse.
  • In 1908, the Belgian parliament took over the Congo.
  • On October 18, 1908, the executive power of the Congo went to the Belgian Minister of Colonial Affairs.
  • The Congo Free State of Leopold transitioned to the Belgian Congo.
  • The Belgian Congo was directly involved in two world wars.
  • During World War I, the Belgian Congo was part of the joint Anglo-Belgian-Portuguese invasion of Germany in 1916.
  • In 1917, the Belgian Congo was part of the East African Campaign.
  • On January 4, 1959, an anti-European rioting group erupted in Léopoldville.
  • On January 13, the Belgian government formally recognized independence as its ultimate goal.
  • The Force Publique had a mutiny on July 5, which triggered the Congo Crisis.
  • On July 11, the country’s richest province, Katanga, declared its independence under the leadership of Moise Tshombe.
  • Patrice Lumumba won during the Congo’s first national elections.
  • On November 25, 1965, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, who later changed his name to Mobutu Sese Seko, assumed power after his second coup.
  • In 1971, Mobutu renamed the country Zaire.
  • By the early 1990s, Mobutu’s government began to weaken.
  • The destabilization in the east from the Rwandan genocide and disenfranchisement among the Congolese Tutsi population led to the First Congo War.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

  • On May 17, 1997, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, the leader of the Tutsi forces from the province of South Kivu, became the president after Mobutu fled to Morocco.
  • Kabila reverted the country’s name back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • From 1998 to 2003, the Second Congo War was happening due to the tension between Kabila and the Rwandan and Tutsi presence in the country.
  • On January 16, 2001, Kabila was assassinated by one of his bodyguards and was succeeded eight days later by his son, Joseph Kabila.

GEOGRAPHY

  • The Democratic Republic of the Congo is located in central Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • It is the second largest country in Africa based on land area.
  • Due to its equatorial location, the Democratic Republic of the Congo experiences high precipitation and has the highest frequency of thunderstorms in the world.
  • The Congo River and its myriad of tributaries occupies almost the entire country.
  • Some of the major tributaries are the Kasai, Sangha, Ubangi, Ruzizi, Aruwimi, and Lulonga.
  • The country is divided into the city-province of Kinshasa and 25 other provinces, which are subdivided into districts that are divided into territories.
  • (1) Kinshasa, (2) Kongo Central, (3) Kwango, (4) Kwilu Province, (5) Mai-Ndombe Province, (6) Kasaï Province, (7) Kasaï-Central, (8) Kasaï-Oriental, (9) Lomami Province, (10) Sankuru, (11) Maniema, (12) South Kivu, (13) North Kivu, (14) Ituri Province, (15) Haut-Uele, (16) Tshopo, (17) Bas-Uele, (18) Nord-Ubangi, (19) Mongolia, (20) Sud-Ubangi, (21) Équateur, (22) Tshuapa, (23) Tanganyika Province, (24) Haut-Lomami, (25) Lualaba Province, and (26) Haut-Katanga Province.

ECONOMY

  • The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt ore and is also a major producer of copper and diamonds.
  • The largest mines in the country are located in southern Katanga Province.
  • Ground transportation in the country is a challenge due to the terrain and climate of the Congo basin, which presents serious barriers to road and rail construction.
  • Water transportation has always been the dominant mode of transportation within the country.

CULTURE

  • The official language of the Congo is French.
  • There are approximately 242 languages spoken in the country, but only four have the status of national languages: (1) Kituba, (2) Lingala, (3) Tshiluba, and (4) Swahili.

Congo Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Congo across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Congo worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the second largest country on the African continent, eleventh largest country in the world, fourth most populous country in Africa, and the sixteenth most populous in the world, the Congo (also known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which is a country that can be found in Central Africa.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Democratic Republic of the Congo Facts
  • More On Congo
  • Test Yourself!
  • Congo’s History
  • Label Them
  • Must Visit Places
  • Five Sites
  • The Bonobos
  • Cobalt
  • This Is My Africa
  • Let’s Travel!

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Link will appear as Congo Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, April 13, 2020

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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