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Why congo is poorest country
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Identification / Description of the Country
Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly called Zaire) is a country that is located in Central Africa. This is a country that has a deep root in violence and bloodshed, yet at the same time it is rich in natural resources and minerals. It shares a common border with the following countries: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Democratic Republic of Congo was established as a Belgian colony in 1908 during the scramble for Africa by the European powers. This country was under the influence and dictatorship of the Belgian’s for fifty-two years, as it was not until 1960 did the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo achieve independence. This country is the fourth largest country in Africa in terms of population, there are seventy-five million people residing in the Democratic Republic of Congo according to a census that was gathered in July 2013. It is not only the fourth largest country in Africa, but it is also the twelfth largest country in the world by square kilometers, encompassing 2,344,858 square kilometers. Kinshasa is the capital city and the largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo; 8.798 million people inhabit this city. The official languages spoken are French and Kingwana (a blend of Kiswahili or Swahili).
Product Description
A mineral that the Democratic Republic of Congo has vast wealth in is Columbite – tantalite, which is commonly referred to as coltan. Coltan is mined for the use in electronic devices. Some of these devices that coltan can be found in include: cellular phones, computers, jet engines, missiles, ships, and weapon systems. This mineral has an impact on our daily liv...
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...e top 100 expensive countries to live in and with individuals living off of $2 a day, they can’t get much.
There is a mix of both the wealthy and non wealthy in each area but between rural and urban areas of Congo, majority of those who are in poverty live in the rural areas and the rich lives in the urban. As well, there are different regions in this country that majority of the poor and rich are located. The North currently has the most amounts of those who are in poverty living in this region with 50.1%. BZV appears to have the most amount of the rich living in this region with 41.4%Only about 30% of the population has access to healthcare and with HIV/AIDs and other infectious diseases being common, over 120, 000 individuals cannot seek health care. As little as 14%, those are the ones living in what would be considered as “healthier” environments in Congo.
Congo was an astounding bestseller novel. It was a great fictional novel that took place in the depths of the Congo rainforest. The novel was later made into a movie. Both the novel and the movie were good, however, I prefer the novel. It just seemed like a more entertaining piece than the movie. This movie was based much upon the novel, but had many alternatives and a completely different ending than the novel.
The history of the Belgian Congo is one of terrible sadness and seldom-noted human devastation. From 1885 to 1908 the Congo was ruled by one man as his sole, personal colony; a ruler ironically noted at the time for his philanthropy, King Leopold II of Belgium. Seeking his own colony, he founded the Congo Free State, a massive territory in the African interior that was larger than seventy-six times the size of his own country (Hochschild, 87). A “sober, respectable businessman” by the name of Edmund Dene Morel made a note of something about this colony that blew the cover of one of the largest collection of atrocities in human memory (Hochschild, 1). Working in Antwerp on business at the docks, he noticed that only soldiers were going towards the Congo while goods were being imported, a clear sign that no true legitimate trading was going on; he rightly deduced this to mean slavery (Hochschild, 2). This story is a culmination of unlikely heroes and villains from all walks of life, melding together in an unforeseen way that forever changed the world.
welfare to pay for everything and they don't even try to find a job of there
...onditions in an inner-city or a rural community in the United States” (8). Most of the countries in Africa there are well over 50% of people below their poverty line. For an example, Lusted states, “In developing regions, extreme poverty is usually defined as earning less than $1.25 a day. In the United States, extreme poverty means earning less than half of the official poverty line” (10). But Africa isn’t the only country struggling with poor people. Poverty and Homelessness by Merino writes, “...3.7 percent in Denmark, 5 percent in Finland, 5.5 percent in Norway, 6.9 in Slovenia, 7 percent in Sweden, 7.2 percent [in] Hungary, 8.3 percent in Germany, 8.8 percent in the Czech Republic, 9.3 percent in France, 9.4 percent in Switzerland” (32). Poverty is a struggle all around the world and thousands of people die each day due to the lack of basic necessities to live.
Since the late 1800’s, almost all of Africa had been under European colonial rule, but this changed drastically in 1960. Sixteen African nations gained their independence that year, including the former Belgian Congo, which became the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 30. One of the key personalities that made this possible was Patrice Lumumba, who experienced widespread support in gaining independence and became the first Prime Minister of the DROC. However, he lost much of this support once he was in office, and lasted fewer than 200 days. Lumumba’s ability to communicate was a key reason for his success and failure.
Over the course of human history, many believe that the “Congo Free State”, which lasted from the 1880s to the early 1900s, was one of the worst colonial states in the age of Imperialism and was one of the worst humanitarian disasters over time. Brutal methods of collecting rubber, which led to the deaths of countless Africans along with Europeans, as well as a lack of concern from the Belgian government aside from the King, combined to create the most potent example of the evils of colonialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s. The Congo colonial experience, first as the Congo Free State then later as Belgian Congo, was harmful to that region of Africa both then and now because of the lack of Belgian and International attention on the colony except for short times, the widespread economic exploitation of the rubber resources of the region, and the brutal mistreatment and near-genocide of the Congolese by those in charge of rubber collecting.
The socio economic status and outcomes are based on, the people are rich, their health would be better than those who are poor. Poverty has many roots- material deprivation (of food, shelter, sanitation and safe drinking water), Social exclusion, Lack of education, unemployment and lower income, that all work together to reduce opportunities, limit choices, undermine hope, result, threaten health (sen, 2003). Poverty has been linked many higher prevalence health conditions, increase risk of chronic disease, injury, deprived infant development, stress, anxiety, depression and premature death (NFHS-3,
Rwanda, a little territory residing in east-central Africa, resembles close to the size of Maryland. Many believe that the Kingdom of Rwanda was founded by European explorers in 1854. It was occupied by Belgian troops during World War I. On January 28, 1961 it became known as Rwandan Republic. On July 1, 1962 they established their independence from Belgium and then on June 4, 2003 it became known as the Republic of Rwanda. Rwanda has come a long way since its founding. Now one of the largest regions in Africa as far as population and economic growth, Rwanda continues to grow. Though some say that the poverty level remains much more than any other region, it is still a place I want to visit.
Emizet, Kisangani N. F. . (2000). Explaining the Rise and Fall of Military Regimes: Civil-Military Relations in the Congo. Armed Forces & Society. 26 (2), p203-227.
1 “Quick Guide: DR Congo,” BBC News. Updated Mar. 07 2005. BBC News, Accessed 06 March 2005,
Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest of the country out of fear of the mutinous army that was out of control looting and killing.
While in India it was US$1.0 per day. These different poverty lines make data comparison between each nation's official reports qualitatively difficult. Some scholars argue that the World Bank method sets the bar too high, others argue it is low. Still others suggest that the poverty line misleads as it measures everyone below the poverty line the same, when in reality someone living on $1.20 per day is in a different state of poverty than someone living on $0.20 per day. In other words, the depth and intensity of poverty varies across the world and in many regional populations, and the $1.25 per day poverty line and head counts are inadequate measures.
Poverty has been an issue for a long time and every country is affected by it in some way and some countries are worse off than others. The countries most affected by poverty are Niger, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Uganda, Haiti and many other countries (Infoplease).The total percentage of world population that lives on less than $2.50 a day is that of around 50%. The definition of poverty is “The state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.” (Dictionary). There are countless causes of poverty in under-developed countries, such as overpopulation, disease, and how the government distributes its wealth.
Gabon is a small country with a small population of 1.5 million. Its population is expected to double in 25 years. It is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, and as such, also has the highest energy consumption per capita in Africa. The oil resources allow the small population to have a high GNP per capita of $14,500 (much higher than the other 6 countries). In addition to oil, it currently has a profuse amount of hardwood and unexploited deposits of uranium, manganese, and iron ore. These unexploited resources could allow the country to sustain itself once oil reserves run out. The building of the Trans-Gabon Railroad has opened up the way for exploiting rare woods inside the rainforest.
...line were ruined. Transportation costs are very high which seriously hampers small producers’ access to markets. At the height of the conflict, about one third of the country's people were displaced. The chronic financial crisis became severe and the economy was close to collapsing. Poverty became deeper in the rural areas of the Congo where poor people are now powerless, vulnerable and isolated. This is a big contributor to the poverty Congo is experiencing today because little has improved and won’t improve until these problems are fixed.