_#_Language: French (official), Lingala, Swahili, Kingwana, Kikongo, Tshiluba
_#_Literacy: 72% (male 84%, female 61%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 15,000,000; agriculture 75%, industry 13%, services 12%; wage earners 13% (1981); population of working age 51% (1985)
_#_Organized labor: National Union of Zairian Workers (UNTZA) was the only officially recognized trade union until April 1990; other unions are now in process of seeking official recognition
_*Government #_Long-form name: Republic of Zaire
_#_Type: republic with a strong presidential system
_#_Capital: Kinshasa
_#_Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular—region) and 1 town* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Zaire, Equateur, Haut-Zaire, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Shaba, Sud-Kivu
_#_Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium; formerly Belgian Congo, then Congo/Leopoldville, then Congo/Kinshasa)
_#_Constitution: 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978; amended 1990; new constitution to be promulgated in 1991