Sparsely populated in relation to its area, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to a vast potential of natural resources and mineral wealth, yet the economy of the DROC has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, accounting for 57.9% of GDP in 1997. Main cash crops include coffee, palm oil, rubber, cotton, sugar, tea, and cocoa. Food crops include cassava, plantains, maize, groundnuts, and rice. In 1996, agriculture employed 66% of the work force. Anthem: Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together Capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Membership 53 member states Official languages The languages of Africa, as well as Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese Formation - As Organisation of African Unity - As AU - May 25, 1963 - July 9, 2002 Chairman of the African Union John... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... SADC may stand for: Southern African Development Community St Albans and District Council. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is in need of attention. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of countries showing percentage of population who have an income below the national poverty line The poverty line is the level of income below which one cannot afford to purchase all the resources one requires to live. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... An 1837 political cartoon about unemployment in the United States. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January events January 1 Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... This article is about mineral extraction. ... This article is about the gemstone. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ... General Name, Symbol, Number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Standard atomic weight 65. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... This article is about the type of fabric. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A cigarette will burn to ash on one end. ... The word drink is primarily a verb, meaning to ingest liquids, see Drinking. ... In the most general sense of the word, cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. ... Italian Full rigged ship Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large watercraft capable of deep water navigation. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the gemstone. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ... Natural olive oil Synthetic motor oil An Oil is any substance that is in a viscous liquid state (oily) at ambient temperatures or slightly warmer, and is both hydrophobic (immiscible with water, literally water fearing) and lipophilic (miscible with other oils, literally fat loving). This general definition includes compound classes... A cup of coffee Workers sorting and pulping coffee beans in Guatemala Coffee is a widely consumed beverage prepared from the roasted seeds—commonly referred to as beans—of the coffee plant. ... wikipedia sucks big balls For other uses, see Cobalt (disambiguation). ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about mineral extraction. ... A machine is any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of tasks. ... For information on the band, see Fuel (band). ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... A cup of coffee Workers sorting and pulping coffee beans in Guatemala Coffee is a widely consumed beverage prepared from the roasted seeds—commonly referred to as beans—of the coffee plant. ... Palm oil from Ghana with its natural dark color visible, 2 litres Palm oil block Palm oil is a form of edible vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree. ... Latex being collected from a tapped rubber tree Rubber is an elastic hydrocarbon polymer which occurs as a milky colloidal suspension (known as latex) in the sap of several varieties of plants. ... Cotton ready for harvest. ... Magnification of grains of sugar, showing their monoclinic hemihedral crystalline structure. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Cocoa beans in a cacao pod Cocoa is the dried and partially fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made. ... Binomial name Manihot esculenta Crantz The cassava, casava, or manioc (Manihot esculenta) is a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) native to South America that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrate. ... 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Industry, especially mining, remains a great potential source of wealth for DROC. In 1997, industry accounted for 16.9% of GDP. The Congo was the world's fourth-largest producer of industrial diamonds during the 1980s, and diamonds continue to dominate exports, accounting for $717 million or 52% of exports in 1997. The Congo's main copper and cobalt interests are dominated by Gecamines, the state-owned mining giant. Gecamines production has faltered in recent years, due in part to a competitive world copper market. This article is about mineral extraction. ... This article is about the gemstone. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ... wikipedia sucks big balls For other uses, see Cobalt (disambiguation). ... Gécamines, or La Générale des Carrières et des Mines, is a Congolese state-owned mining company. ...

Despite the country's vast potential, under the Mobutu regime widespread corruption, economic controls, and the diversion of public resources for personal gain thwarted economic growth. The unrecorded and illicit transactions of Zaire's unofficial economy were estimated in the early 1990s to be three times the size of official GDP. Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku wa za Banga (or Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu Wa Za Banga; October 14, 1930 - September 7, 1997) was the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1965 to 1997. ...

The Congo's record with multilateral and bilateral donors has been uneven. Despite a succession of economic plans financed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since independence, budgetary imbalance, inflation, and debt consistently plagued the Mobutu government. In early 1990, both the World Bank and the IMF suspended most disbursements, and most bilateral aid was cut off. Unable to make debt payments, Zaire's borrowing rights with the IMF were cut off in February 1992; its World Bank credits were frozen in July 1993. Despite the introduction of a new currency, the New Zaire (NZ), currency issuance remained disorderly, and largescale inflation rose to over 9,000% by early 1994. Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means... Washington, D.C. Headquarters and logo of the International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by observing exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering financial and technical assistance when requested. ...

In May 1997 the AFDL, led by Laurent Kabila, overthrew the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko. Under President Kabila the government and state enterprises began a program of reconstruction. The government began to reform the corrupt tax system, civilian police force, and repair the damaged road system. The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (ADFL) was a coalition of Congolese dissidents, disgruntled minority groups and nations that toppled President Mobutu Sese Seko and brought Laurent Kabila to power in the First Congo War (1996-1998). ... Note: if you came to this web page after seeing it in a SPAM email, please be advised that (a) we have nothing to do with that spam and (b) the person who sent you the message is a criminal who is trying to steal your money. ... A tax is a financial charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (for example, tribes, secessionist movements or revolutionary movements). ...

In August 1998, a war broke out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At that time, some progress had been made in the economic reconstruction of the country, but major problems continued to exist in transportation infrastructure, customs administration, and the tax system. Government finances had not been put in order and relations with the IMF and World Bank were in disarray. Much of the government's revenue was kept "off book," and not included in published statistics on revenue and expenditure. Relations with the World Bank were on hold as a result of the government's failure to finalize an agreement for administration of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Trust Fund for the Congo. Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of the five institutions consisting the World Bank Group. ...

The outbreak of war in the early days of August 1998 caused a major decline in economic activity that continues to the present. The country has been divided into rebel- and government-held territories, and commerce between them has stopped. The economic and commercial links among the various sections of the country are not strong, but they are important.

After a surge in inflation during August 1998, the government began enforcing price control laws. It also began regulating foreign exchange markets. Taken together, these measures have severely damaged the ability of businesses depending on imports to continue operations. Furthermore, the small gains against inflation and currency depreciation were quickly reversed when the foreign-backed rebellion in the eastern part of the country began in August 1998. The war has dramatically reduced government revenue, and increased external debt. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict and because of increased government harassment and restrictions. The wide spread between the official rate for buying the new currency, Congo francs (FCs), and the black market rate for buying dollars has forced merchants to price their imported goods according to the official rate for buying local currency. In economics, incomes policies are wage and price controls used to fight inflation. ... Currency depreciation is the loss of value of a countrys currency with respect to one or more foreign reference currencies, typically in a floating exchange rate system. ... United States one-dollar bill Canadian one-dollar coin (Loonie) One New Taiwan dollar Australian one-dollar coin 500 old Zimbabwean dollars The dollar (often represented by the dollar sign: $) is the name of the official currency in several countries, dependencies and other regions. ...

Poor infrastructure, an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations remain a brake on investment and growth. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the new government to help it develop a coherent economic plan but associated reforms are on hold. Faced with continued currency depreciation, the government resorted to more drastic measures and in January 1999 banned the widespread use of U.S. dollars for all domestic commercial transactions, a position it later adjusted. The government has been unable to provide foreign exchange for economic transactions, while it has resorted to printing money to finance its expenditure. Growth was negative in 2000 because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and post-coup instability. The flag of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring foreign exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked. ... Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means...

Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President Kabila has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data. The flag of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring foreign exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked. ... Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means...

With relative peace in the country during 2003, the DRC aims to increase its exports of electricity to Zimbabwe and South Africa to 500 megawatts from 210 megawatts (mostly from the Inga dam). Electricity distribution in the DRC is licensed to a Zambian company, CEC. Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... The megawatt (symbol: MW) is a unit for measuring power corresponding to one million (106) watts. ... This article is about the genus of plant. ... CEC may refer to: Canadian Education Centre Network, a private, independent non-profit company founded to promote and market Canada as a study destination for international students. ...

References

• CIA World Factbook