Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo Compared

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Mr. Beat compares and contrasts two Central African countries, The Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Confused yet?

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Sources/further reading:

Both are separated by that magnificent Congo River, the second longest river in Africa, second biggest in the world by discharge volume, and deepest river in the world. The capitals of both countries, the aforementioned Kinshasa and Brazzaville, both sit across from each other along that river, as matter of fact, less than 1 mile, or 1.6 km apart. They are the closest capital cities between two sovereign countries in the world. Well, second closest if you count Vatican City and Rome.

Also, Kinshasa is by far the largest city in the DRC, with more than 12 million people, which is around 13% of the country’s population, and Brazzaville is by far the largest city in the Congo Republic, with more than 1.8 million people, which is around 1/3 of the country’s population.

Despite being so close to one another, there are no bridges connecting Kinshasa and Brazzaville. Instead, the most common way to get back and forth between the two cities is by boat, crossing the Congo River, and thousands cross it every day. That said, you can also travel by plane- apparently 5-minute flights go back and forth between the two. However, a road/rail bridge that links the two cities is currently in the works, and construction should be resuming soon after this video releases. The metropolitan area of both Kinshasa and Brazzaville, by the way, makes up the third largest urban area in all of Africa.

Due to the legacy of foreign influence, residents of both speak French. While French is the official language, residents speak many different languages in both, depending on what region you’re in. An estimated 242 languages are spoken in the DRC, but its four national languages are Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba. The Congo Republic has two national languages- Kituba and also Lingala.

#congo #africa #geography