The Democratic Republic of Congo
The vast mineral rich land of Congo is full of history and has been populated as early as 80,000 years ago. The DRC was then settled in the 7th century and was a powerful kingdom between the 14th and 19th century until the arrival of the Portuguese. This once powerful kingdom no longer holds the same power it used to as it has suffered from numerous civil wars and is now even considered to be amongst the most dangerous countries in the world. Congo's population is young, with a median age of 18.7 years amongst a population of nearly 80 million people.
The largest city by population in Congo is Kinshasa with a population of 13,260,000 people. What was once a site of numerous fishing villages is now Africa’s third largest urban area right after Cairo and Lagos. It is also the world’s largest French speaking city, surpassing even Paris. Kinshasa is a city of contrasts. Residential buildings and universities are placed alongside slums. Both the poor and rich live side by side. Numerous companies and industries are headquartered in Kinshasa, with the most prevalent industry being that of food processing.
LubumbashiThe hub for plenty of mining companies is Lubumbashi, a city with the second largest population in Congo (1,786,397). This city is a industrial centre as they produce plenty of goods. Manufactured goods range from textiles, beverages, copper smelting and is even home to the famous Tembo beer and more. The most visited tourist attraction here is the zoo, considered the best zoo in the country and they have animals ranging from lions, crocodiles, wart hogs, to parrots, gazelles and more. Muyambo Park is another sight in which it is a large garden where kids play and adults enjoy. The other sight is Kinshasan art and the sounds of Kinshasan music as Kinshasan art dominates Lubumbashi and Kinshasan music is played there and art is displayed.
Mbuji-MayiMbuji-Mayi is the capital of the Kasai-Oriental province and has 1,680,991 people inhabiting the city. The cities name itself means “Goat Water”, stemming from the simple fact that the located of the city is near the ideal water hole for the goat population. Despite being large relatively to the other cities, it remains quite remote having little connection to cities like Kinshasa nad Lubumbashi and other provinces. The area around this city is one of richest sources of minerals in the world. This city is the source of plenty of the world’s diamonds. Since the government is unstable, they have struggled in keeping diamond smuggling at bay. As the ability to control diamond smugglers has eroded, diamonds have been increasingly appearing at black markets to the point that it sometimes eclipses the official market.
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