Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: none
local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo
local short form: none
former: Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire
abbreviation: DROC
Data code: CG
Government type: dictatorship; presumably undergoing a transition to representative government
Capital: Kinshasa
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provinces,
singular—province) and one city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo,
Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*,
Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu
Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
National holiday: anniversary of independence from Belgium, 30
June (1960)
Constitution: 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990; transitional constitution promulgated in April 1994; following successful rebellion the new government announced on 29 May 1997 a program of constitutional reform and, in November 1998, a draft constitution was approved by President KABILA and awaits ratification by national referendum
Legal system: based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction