(RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO)

(Formerly: ZAIRE) (WIPO code: CD) (last revised January 2023)

by CABINET P. TSHINKELA, Kinshasa

General Information

Area

2,345,000 sq. km.

Population

108,407,721 inhabitants.

Capital

Kinshasa, with about 15.628 million inhabitants.

Language

French.

Currency

Congolese franc (floating).

Economy

Chief crops: coffee, cotton, rice, sugar cane, bananas, plantains, coconuts, manioc, mangoes, tea, cocoa and palm oil. Minerals: cobalt (two-thirds of world’s output), copper, cadmium, gold, diamonds, silver, tin, germanium, zinc, iron, tungsten, manganese, uranium, radium and crude oil. Other resources: forests, rubber, cattle, goats, fish and electricity. Arable land: 3%. Labor force: 75% agricultural.

General Remarks

Former Belgian Congo. Independent since June 30, 1960. Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo is the new elected President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, sworn in on January 24, 2019. This is the first peaceful transition in the country.

Congo is divided into twenty-six provinces and includes the federal district of Kinshasa.

 

Statistics 2019 2020 2021 2022
Patent applications 41 45 83 81
Trademark applications 1,230 1,078 1,055 1,223
Designs and models applications 147 118 84 113