Congo is different from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which used to be known as Zaire.
Congo (or the Republic of the Congo) is located in Central Africa. The capital is Brazzaville. The population is roughly 4,662,446, and it covers 132,047 square miles (roughly the size of new Mexico combined with Massachusetts, or slightly smaller than Germany).
The earliest inhabitants of Congo that we have record of are the Pygmy, who were displaced by Bantu speakers around 1500 B.C. In the late 1800s, the region became colonized by the French, eventually gaining independence in 1960. The government has been a little rocky since then, being under the control of communists until 1991, then had its first democratic elections. In 1997 there was a 4-month civil war, ending in a peace deal in 2003.
The main export of Congo is petroleum, though most people are engaged in subsistence agriculture.
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| The endangered Western Lowland Gorilla's habitat range extends through Congo. |
FUN FACT: The Brazzaville Declaration was signed in Brazzaville, the symbolic capital of Free France during Nazi occupation in WWII.
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