These are the key facts about the Democratic Republic of Congo, where President Laurent Kabila has been reported killed in a coup attempt this evening.
POPULATION:51.75 million (2000 estimate), of whom 30 per cent live in the cities. Ethnic groups: mainly Bantu tribes (80 per cent), as many as 250 tribal groups in all.
The official language is French. Main local languages are Lingala, Swahili, Kingwana, Kikongo, Tshiluba.
Main religions are Roman Catholic (50 per cent), Protestant (20 per cent), Kimbanguist (10 per cent), Moslem (10 per cent).
CAPITAL:Kinshasa.
AREA:2,345,409 sq km (905,562 sq miles), making it the third largest African country. It borders Central African Republic in the north, Sudan in the northeast, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Lake Tanganyika in the east, Zambia and Angola in the south and Congo Republic in the northwest. It has a short South Atlantic coastline between Angola and the Angolan enclave of Cabinda.
The territory varies from tropical rainforests to plateaux, savannahs, dense grasslands and mountains.
ARMED FORCES:
Army - 55,000 personnel (1999 estimate).
Navy - 900 personnel in coastal, river and lake flotilla.
National Police Force (paramilitary) - size unknown.
ECONOMY:Gross Domestic Product 5.3 billion (1999 World Bank estimate). In February 1998, GDP was reported to be 65 percent lower than when the country gained independence from Belgium in 1960.
HISTORY:Formerly Zaire. Gained independence from Belgium on June 30, 1960, and was immediately plunged into five years of bloodshed and rebellion. An uprising led by Katangan leader Moise Tshombe nearly dismembered the country.
In September 1960, Mobutu Sese Seko, then an army colonel, seized power from elected Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and President Joseph Kasavubu. Mobutu arrested Lumumba, who died in mysterious circumstances, but in 1961 returned rule to Kasavubu.
A pact reached in 1963 with Tshombe, who had declared his province independent, led to Tshombe becoming premier in 1964.
In November 1965, Mobutu, who had become army chief, seized power in a bloodless coup and Tshombe was dismissed. Rebel activity continued in mineral-rich Shaba (formerly Katanga).
Tutsi rebels staged an armed rebellion in Kivu province in 1996. Mobutu's government alleged intervention by Burundi and Rwanda and declared a state of emergency.
The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) led by Laurent Kabila began driving Zairean forces out of Kivu and later took control of eastern Zaire.
They then marched on Kinshasa. Mobutu fled in May 1997 and died within months in exile in Morocco. Kabila took power and changed the name of the country.
In August 1998, a Tutsi-led rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda attempted to oust Kabila. Rebels took control of most of the east and parts of the north of the country. Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia sent troops and equipment to support Kabila.
A peace deal was signed in 1999 but has all but broken down with widespread ceasefire violations on both sides.
POLITICS:Immediately after coming to power, Kabila banned all political parties but the AFDL, alienating the political opposition. He promised elections for April 1999. April came and went, without polls.
Reuters