DJIBOUTI

Djibouti (country)
I INTRODUCTION
Djibouti (country), republic in northeastern Africa, strategically located at the strait of Bab el Mandeb, which links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. The small country takes its name from its capital and only large city, Djibouti. Located at the intersection of trade routes connecting the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea, and Africa with the Middle East, Djibouti has long been a cultural and commercial crossroads.
II LAND AND RESOURCES
Djibouti has an area of 23,200 sq km (8,960 sq mi). It extends 190 km (120 mi) from north to south and 225 km (140 mi) from east to west. The country is bordered by Eritrea to the north; Ethiopia to the north, west, and south; and Somalia to the southeast. To its east lies the Gulf of Aden, an arm of the Indian Ocean. The Gulf of Tadjoura extends over 100 km (60 mi) into Djibouti from the east coast. Plateaus and mountains rise above narrow coastal plains to the north and south of the gulf. The country’s highest point, Moussa Ali (2,063 m/6,768 ft), is on the northern border, at the junction of the Ethiopian and Eritrean boundaries. Western Djibouti is a desert lowland with depressions containing several salt lakes. The largest, Lake Abbé, lies on the Ethiopian border. Another, Lake ‘Asal, is the lowest point in Africa at 153 m (502 ft) below sea level. Djibouti has a potential for generating geothermal energy and limited deposits of gypsum, copper, and other ores, which are not exploited. Very little of the country’s land is arable, and there are no regularly flowing rivers or streams. Djibouti relies on an underground aquifer for fresh water.
The country has a climate that is hot and dry year-round, but it is especially hot and dry in the summer, when winds blow from the inland desert. In the capital, average daily temperatures range from 23° to 29°C (73° to 84°F) in January and from 31° to 41°C (87° to 106°F) in July. Annual rainfall ranges from 127 mm (5 in) in the capital to 380 mm (15 in) in the mountains. Djibouti lies in an earthquake zone along several major faults. The land is mostly rocky desert with scattered drought-tolerant grasses and shrubs. Wildlife includes jackals, hyenas, ostriches, and gazelles.
Djibouti’s volcanic desert soils are among the least hospitable in Africa. The soil is poor, and there are regular droughts. Less than half of the population has easy access to safe drinking water.
III THE PEOPLE OF DJIBOUTI
The population of Djibouti was 506,221 in 2008, yielding a population density of 22 persons per sq km (57 per sq mi).The population is 85 percent (2005) urban. The capital, principal port, and only sizable city is Djibouti, located on the southern side of the mouth of the Gulf of Tadjoura.
Roughly 60 percent of Djiboutians are ethnic Somali, the predominant group in the south, and about 30 percent are Afar, the main group in the north. Arab, French, and other minorities make up the remaining population. Of the Somali, more than half belong to the dominant Issa clan. Djibouti’s official languages are French and Arabic, but Somali is the most widely spoken language in the south, including the capital. The Afar language prevails in the north. Almost all Djiboutians are Sunni Muslims.
Education is free and, theoretically, compulsory for six years of primary schooling starting at age 6, but in 2002–2003, the latest year for which figures are available, only 40 percent of primary school-aged children attended school. Only 20 percent of the teenage population attended secondary school. In 2000 only 51.4 percent of Djibouti’s adult population was literate. Pốle University, the country’s first university, opened in 2000.
Historically, most Afar and Somali lived a nomadic life in patriarchal societies organized into clans. They herded sheep, goats, and camels. Until recent years, the Afar and Somali languages lacked written forms. These two nomadic peoples consequently developed rich rural traditions of folk music, dance, and oral literature. Somali are renowned for their poetry. These rural traditions survive today, although most Djiboutians now live in the capital city.
IV ECONOMY
Djibouti’s economy revolves around the capital city’s modern seaport, which serves not only Djibouti but landlocked Ethiopia and parts of Somalia as well. The country also relies heavily on economic aid from France and other countries. In 2006 Djibouti’s gross domestic product (GDP), the total value of goods and services produced within a country, was $769 million, or $939.50 per capita. Services accounted for about 80 percent of GDP, industry made up 16 percent, and agriculture about 4 percent. Estimates indicate that about three-quarters of the labor force works in agriculture. Djibouti’s dry and barren landscape supports little crop farming, but subsistence livestock herding is a significant economic activity. Although the population is mostly urban, many city dwellers periodically tend family livestock herds in rural areas. Estimates suggest that almost half the labor force lacks formal employment.
Lacking significant crop farming, Djibouti must import almost all of its food. Djibouti lacks major industries. The government is the main service sector employer, but port-related services, such as transport, communications, and warehousing, are more important economically. A rail link connects the port to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Djibouti has an international airport, and its telecommunication system is among the best in Africa. Most households, however, lack telephones, televisions, or computers.
The national currency is the Djibouti franc (177.72 Djibouti francs equal U.S.$1, rate fixed since 1973). The country has a strong banking sector. Djibouti’s main exports are animal hides and coffee, but its service activities—related to the port facilities and banking sector—provide most of its earnings. Its main imports are petroleum, food products, and manufactured goods. The country relies entirely on imported oil for its electrical power and other energy needs.
V GOVERNMENT
Djibouti is a republic with a strong central government and a democratic constitution, which was adopted in 1992. All adults aged 18 and over are eligible to vote. Principal executive power lies with the president, who is popularly elected for a six-year term and is limited to two terms. The president appoints a cabinet, headed by a prime minister, who is also appointed by the president. The legislature consists of a single house, the Chamber of Deputies, whose members are popularly elected to five-year terms. Codes based on French civil law are administered in a lower court and a court of appeals in the capital. Local courts administer a combination of customary and Islamic law. A supreme court rules on constitutional questions, and all judges are appointed by the president. Djibouti is divided into five cercles (administrative divisions). Military service is mandatory for men aged 18 to 25; the armed forces totaled 9,850 soldiers in 2004. Djibouti belongs to the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Djibouti had a one-party political system until the promulgation of the 1992 constitution, which allowed for the existence of a maximum of four political parties. A 2002 constitutional amendment removed the limit on the number of political parties. The main political party is the Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès (RPP; Popular Movement for Progress), whose mostly Issa leadership has relied on a system of patronage to rule Djibouti since independence. The Front pour la Restauration de l’Unité et de la Démocratie (FRUD; Front for the Renewal of Unity and Democracy) represents the Afar minority. The Parti National Démocratique (PND; Democratic National Party) and the Parti du Renouveau Démocratique (PRD; Democratic Renewal Party) are both small opposition parties favoring democratic reforms.
VI HISTORY
Djibouti lies at a major global crossroads where, some 100,000 years ago, early humans migrated from Africa to the Middle East. Livestock herding, which remains important to Djibouti’s people, was introduced to this region by nomads more than 10,000 years ago. The ancient region’s small ports, inhabited by the ancestors of the Afars, hosted merchants from Persia, Arabia, Ethiopia, and the Mediterranean. In the first centuries AD, a series of kingdoms dominated the region and its rich trade, paying tribute to the powerful inland kingdom of Aksum, in what is now Ethiopia. Arab traders brought Islam to the coastal ports by the 9th century and founded the Islamic sultanate of Adal at Zeila, a port to the southeast in what is now Somalia. Somali people moved into what is now southern Djibouti by the 14th century. By 1500 Adal ruled Djibouti. Starting in 1527 Ahmed al-Ghazi, the ruler of Adal, led Afar and Somali troops in a holy war against Christian Ethiopia. The Muslims won a major victory in 1529, destroying an entire Ethiopian army, and they went on to capture several Ethiopian provinces. However, in 1543 an Ethiopian force with Portuguese assistance defeated and killed Ahmed, and Adal collapsed. Subsequently, small Afar sultanates, including Obock and Tadjoura, emerged on the northern side of the Gulf of Tadjoura. These sultanates still survive, though the sultans have little formal power. During the second half of the 16th century, European merchants began a lucrative trade in Ethiopian coffee and perfumes with these Djiboutian sultanates.
France sought to challenge British dominance of the Indian Ocean trade by establishing a base at the strategic entrance to the Red Sea, so France signed a treaty with the sultan of Obock in 1862. Beginning in 1881 France set up a trading mission in Obock and concluded a series of treaties with other local rulers that recognized French control. In 1888 France established the colony of French Somaliland—encompassing what is now Djibouti—and chose the town of Djibouti as the colony’s capital in 1892 because it offered a good site for a rail link to Addis Ababa. The French completed the railroad in 1917, and the port of Djibouti grew rapidly. Large numbers of Somalis and Arabs migrated to the port to take advantage of the opportunities for employment and trade.
A Independence for Djibouti
French rule met some resistance from Afar and Issa nomads, but the French mainly ignored the interior of the territory and focused their attention on the port. In 1946 France made French Somaliland an overseas territory with limited self-rule. Ethnic conflicts soon arose over representation in the territory’s legislature. The French adopted a policy of favoritism toward the Afars because the Somali population generally sought independence from France and possible unification with Somalia. In a 1967 referendum, Djiboutians voted to remain under French administration, and the colony’s name was changed to the French Territory of the Afars and Issas. Ten years later, however, increased nationalist sentiment and international pressure led France to hold another referendum, and this time Djiboutians overwhelmingly voted for independence. The Republic of Djibouti achieved full independence on June 27, 1977.
The people of Djibouti elected Hassan Gouled Aptidon, an Issa, as its first president. Gouled quickly monopolized power and established a single-party state in 1981. Gouled dominated the RPP—the sole party—and rewarded his supporters with patronage. The population of the capital city grew, and the subsequent lack of clean water, sanitation, and adequate employment caused growing dissatisfaction and tension. Afars and other dissidents organized resistance movements, but the government acted to suppress any opposition.
B Afar Rebellion
Beginning in 1991 an armed Afar rebellion destabilized Djibouti. By mid-1992 Afar rebels controlled two-thirds of Djibouti’s territory. Later that year the government, under pressure from France, held a referendum in which voters approved a new constitution permitting opposition parties. However, the constitution required opposition groups to gain government approval in order to compete in elections, and the government rejected the application of FRUD, the party of the Afar rebels. The government defeated the rebels in a 1993 military offensive. In late 1994 the two sides signed a peace agreement. However, over the next two years several factions split off from FRUD and vowed to continue armed resistance. Under the peace agreement, the government granted cabinet posts to two Afar leaders, incorporated former rebels into the military, and recognized FRUD as a legitimate political party. With its economy devastated by the war, Djibouti was forced to cut government spending to gain international financial assistance. Government austerity measures further worsened Djibouti’s chronic unemployment and poverty.
Gouled’s health began to deteriorate in 1995, and in early 1999 he announced that he would not run for another term. Ismail Omar Guelleh, an aide of Gouled’s who had built a power base within the RPP, won a solid victory in presidential elections in April 1999. The outbreak of border clashes between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1998 proved a boon to Djibouti, which became virtually the only outlet for Ethiopia’s external trade during the ensuing war. Growing port traffic improved the country’s economy, but persistent unemployment and ongoing attacks by Afar rebel factions continued to threaten Djibouti’s stability.
A peace agreement between the government and a radical Afar FRUD faction was signed in February 2000 in Paris. This brought to an end seven years of guerrilla fighting. In March the former prime minister and leader of the splinter group of FRUD, Ahmed Dini Ahmed, returned from his nine-year exile to lead the political opposition.
C First Multiparty Elections
The January 2003 election was the first to be opened up to many political parties. The parties formed into two electoral coalitions: the Union for a Presidential Majority (UMP) and the Union for a Democratic Change (UAD). The UMP secured more than 62 percent of the vote. In April 2005 President Guelleh ran unopposed in presidential elections and was reelected.

DENMARK

Denmark
I INTRODUCTION
Denmark, nation in northwestern Europe. Denmark’s official name in Danish is Kongeriget Danmark (Kingdom of Denmark). The Vikings founded the Danish kingdom more than 1,100 years ago, making it one of Europe’s oldest continuous kingdoms. The national flag, the Dannebrog, has been in use since 1219, when it is said to have fallen from heaven to inspire battle-weary troops to victory. Copenhagen (København in Danish) is Denmark’s capital and largest city.
Historically and culturally, Denmark is part of Scandinavia. In centuries past, the Danish monarch at times ruled all or parts of both Norway and Sweden, as well as the island nation of Iceland. Geographically, Denmark remains a bridge between continental Europe and the more northerly Scandinavian countries.
Today, Denmark is a small country that occupies most of the Jutland Peninsula (Jylland in Danish), as well as the hundreds of islands of the Danish archipelago. The southern border of Jutland touches Germany, Denmark’s only land boundary with the European mainland. The boundary measures just 68 km (42 mi) long. Denmark’s principal islands lie to the east, between Jutland and Sweden. The largest and most important island is Sjælland (also called Zealand). The greater part of Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital for 600 years, covers the eastern shore of Sjælland.
The Kingdom of Denmark also includes the Faroe Islands, a collection of 18 islands that lie northwest of Scotland; and Greenland, far to the northwest across the North Atlantic Ocean, near North America. Politically, both Greenland and the Faroe Islands are part of Denmark, but they are self-governing in all matters except defense and foreign affairs.
Despite its northerly location, Denmark’s climate is relatively mild. The climate is moderated by the warm waters of the North Atlantic Drift, a part of the Gulf Stream, which sweeps north along Denmark’s west coast. Denmark is a low-lying country of rolling hills, tidy farms, and green moorlands. The sea is never more than 64 km (40 mi) away, giving the country a seacoast atmosphere. Rain, fog, and gray skies are common.
Denmark is a wealthy and thoroughly modern country, and its citizens enjoy one of the highest standards of living in Europe. Through skill and imagination, the Danes have made very effective use of limited natural resources. Denmark maintains one of Europe’s oldest and most extensive welfare states. Denmark’s contributions to the arts are numerous, especially in fashion, industrial design, cinema, and literature. Denmark’s best-known writers include Hans Christian Andersen, whose fairy tales are famous throughout the world, and the religious philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.
II LAND AND RESOURCES
Excluding the Faroe Islands and Greenland, Denmark has an area of 43,094 sq km (16,639 sq mi), making it about twice the size of the state of Massachusetts. The Jutland Peninsula, or Danish mainland, accounts for about three-quarters of Denmark’s total land area.
Apart from the border with Germany to the south, the Danish mainland is bounded on all other sides by water. The North Sea lies to the west of Jutland and the Baltic Sea to the east. The Skagerrak and Kattegat, two straits that link the two seas, separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively. To the east, a narrow strait called the Øresund (Öresund in Swedish; The Sound in English), separates the island of Sjælland from the Danish mainland.
A Islands
Of the approximately 500 islands in the Danish archipelago, only a few are large and fewer than 100 are inhabited. Apart from Sjælland, the principal islands are Fyn, Lolland, Falster, Langeland, and Møn. Bornholm, a small island in the Baltic Sea, lying about 145 km (90 mi) east of Sjælland Island, is also a part of Denmark. Bridges connect many of the islands.
B Surface Features
Denmark is a lowland area. The average elevation is just 30 m (about 100 ft) above sea level. A ridge of low, rounded hills extends the length of central Jutland. They include Yding Skovhøj (173 m/568 ft), the highest point in Denmark.
The western coast of the mainland is low and rimmed by dunes and sandbars, which shelter the land from North Sea storms. The eastern coast, which is slightly higher in elevation, is deeply indented by a series of fjords. The Limfjorden, the most northerly of these indentations, extends in a generally east to west direction and cuts across the entire breadth of the peninsula from the Kattegat strait to the North Sea.
Denmark has no large lakes or long rivers. However, the land is dotted with small lakes and bogs and threaded with short streams. For centuries, farmers have drained sensitive, low-lying wetlands to create arable land. As a result, few of Denmark’s original meandering streams remain intact; most have been artificially straightened. The longest river is the 158-km (98-mi) Guden River in eastern Jutland, which flows into Randers Fjord and is navigable as it nears the sea.
C Climate
Denmark has a temperate maritime climate, with cool summers and generally mild winters. The winds are strong for much of the year and have a prevailing direction from the west. The mean temperature in summer is about 16°C (about 61°F); in winter, about 0°C (about 32°F), with slightly cooler average temperatures in the eastern part of the country. Average annual rainfall is about 610 mm (about 24 in). The wettest months are typically July through October.
D Natural Resources
Some 53 percent of the total land area of Denmark is cultivated—a relatively large percentage for an industrialized nation. Much of Denmark’s energy needs are met by petroleum and natural gas reserves located in Denmark’s sector of the North Sea. Other minerals are limited. The most common include the clays, peat, and other deposits common to boggy country.
The gray soils of Denmark are only moderately fertile. Because the soil is acidic and tends to quickly drain minerals, it must be heavily fertilized to permit intensive cultivation.
E Plants and Animals
In ancient times Denmark was heavily forested. Relatively little wild vegetation remains in Denmark because so much of the land is urbanized or under cultivation. The forests, which cover just 11.6 percent of the country, include conifers (mainly fir, spruce, larch, and pine), beech, oak, birch, and ash. Several varieties of ferns and mosses common to the northern European mainland are also found. Wild animals are scarce. Natural animal life is limited to deer and small animals such as foxes, squirrels, hares, wild ducks, pheasants, and partridges. Numerous species of freshwater fish live in Denmark’s streams and lakes.
F Environmental Issues
Considered highly advanced in environmental planning and world environmental activism, Denmark is a leader in pollution control and was the first industrialized country to establish a ministry of the environment. Denmark recognizes most of its protected areas as special zones rather than setting them aside as parks and reserves. Commercial activity is strictly regulated to preserve natural and historical value of the landscape. About one-third of the country falls into these protected zones.
Virtually all of the nation’s sewage is treated, and sulfur dioxide emissions—a source of acid rain—were significantly reduced during the 1990s. Nevertheless, challenging problems remain to be solved. Agricultural runoff, which contains high levels of fertilizers, has caused harmful algal blooms (see algae) in the North Sea and increasingly contaminates drinking water supplies.
Denmark has ratified an international convention on wetlands and protects many designated sites. There is an immense tundra reserve in northeastern Greenland, a Danish dependency. Other international environmental agreements ratified include those pertaining to air pollution, biodiversity, climate change, endangered species, hazardous wastes, marine dumping, marine life, the ozone layer, ship pollution, tropical timber, and whaling. Regionally, Denmark is party to agreements to protect terrestrial and marine habitats.
III PEOPLE
Ethnically, the majority of Danes are of Scandinavian descent. The Scandinavians are a Germanic people who have occupied Norway, Sweden, and Denmark since pre-Viking times. The languages of the three countries are closely related. A small German-speaking minority lives in southern Jutland near the border with Germany. A largely Inuit population inhabits the Danish territory of Greenland, and the Faroe Islands have a Nordic population, the descendents of Viking colonizers. About 6 percent of Denmark’s people are classified as immigrants.
A Population Characteristics
Denmark is heavily urbanized, with 86 percent of the Danish population living in urban areas. The population of Denmark proper is 5,484,723 (2008 estimate), giving the country an overall population density of 129 persons per sq km (335 per sq mi).
B Principal Cities
Copenhagen is the capital and by far the largest city in Denmark, with a population of 501,158 (2006 estimate). About one-quarter of all Danes live in Copenhagen and its surrounding suburbs. Copenhagen is Denmark’s major port and is the leading commercial, social, and cultural center. Most of Copenhagen spreads out on the eastern coast of Sjælland Island. A smaller section of the city lies on Amager, an island east of Sjælland; bridges connect sections of the city. The city was founded in the 12th century and has served as Denmark’s capital since 1443.
Århus, Denmark’s second largest city, had a population of 222,559 in 2003. Århus is a seaport and commercial center on the east coast of Jutland. Home to Århus University, the city is the cultural center of Jutland and is noted for its lively music scene and nightlife. Odense, on the island of Fyn, is a port and industrial city with a population of 145,374 (2003 estimate). It dates from the 10th century and is famed as the birthplace of the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. Ålborg, a port on the Limfjorden, is the commercial center of northern Denmark, with a population of 121,100 (2003 estimate).
C Religion
The Evangelical Lutheran Church, a Protestant denomination, is Denmark’s national church. Nearly 90 percent of Danes are affiliated with the church. Due to accelerating immigration in the late 20th century, Islam is now the second largest religion in Denmark. The nation is also home to a small Roman Catholic minority. By law toleration is extended to all religions.
D Language
Danish is the official language. See Danish Language. Many Danes also speak a second language, especially English, which is a required school subject.
E Education
Organized institutional education in Denmark had its beginnings in the latter part of the 11th century, with the founding of cathedral schools under church auspices and grammar schools. The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479. Throughout the early modern period the educational system was administered in conjunction with the established church. Religious instruction was required in all the state schools. In 1739, under the influence of teacher and dramatist Ludvig Holberg, the Danish language replaced Latin as the language of instruction. An important experiment at Sorø by German educational reformer Johann Bernhard Basedow introduced nature study and handicrafts into the school curriculum.
In the mid-19th century, the first program of adult education was initiated in Denmark at the Folk High School in Rødding, Jutland. Under the leadership of Bishop Nicolai Frederick Severin Grundtvig and Kristen Kold, the school became a model for similar institutions in Europe and the United States. Franz Nachtegall founded the Danish system of gymnastics, which was considered useful for military training, and in 1804 he was appointed the first director of Denmark’s influential Military Gymnastic Institute. The International People’s College, founded in 1921 at Helsingør, also had a far-reaching influence. The college introduced programs of study for people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds as a way to promote better understanding among the world’s nations. Recent trends in Danish education have included the extension of higher education and the raising of the level of teacher training.
Elementary education has been compulsory since 1814. All children must attend school from age 7 to 16. Students may attend either private schools or free public schools. Primary education consists of a nine-year comprehensive school. All students may continue school through a tenth year of studies, and talented students are encouraged to continue their education beyond that point. Denmark’s adult literacy rate is 99 percent.
E1 Specialized Schools
Denmark is home to hundreds of folk high schools, agricultural schools, and vocational schools. The well-regarded folk high schools are a distinctive Danish contribution to education. They are designed primarily for people over the age of 18 and offer many opportunities for further education through lectures and seminar discussions. No exams or degrees are given. Many of the schools are private, but the state contributes to their support regardless of their religious, political, or ethnic orientations.
E2 Universities and Colleges
Among the universities in Denmark are Ålborg University (1974), Århus University (1928), the University of Copenhagen, the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (1856), and the Technical University of Denmark (1829), all in Copenhagen; Odense University (1964); and Roskilde University (1972). Other institutions include the Århus School of Architecture (1965), the Copenhagen Business School (1917), and the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music (1867) and Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (1754).
F Libraries and Museums
All major cities and most towns have public libraries, with some 50 million volumes on the shelves. The Royal Library in Copenhagen, founded in 1673, serves as the national library of Denmark. It contains collections of music, manuscripts, maps, and pictures. Among the collections are 5,000 incunabula, books printed before the year 1501.
Denmark is home to more than two dozen major museums, many within or near Copenhagen. Among the most important is the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, in Hillerød. Built in the early 17th century on an artificial island north of Copenhagen, it boasts finely manicured gardens and contains some 10,000 exhibits. The Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, also a 17th-century building, holds a collection of weapons, apparel, and furniture, as well as the crown jewels. The Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen contains the works of famous 19th-century Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.
The National Museum in Copenhagen displays Denmark’s archaeological treasures, including the famous Gundestrup Cauldron, in an excellent collection of prehistoric and Viking-age artifacts (see Viking Art); important satellite museums include the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde and the open-air museum in Århus, in which visitors can tour a reconstructed provincial town. The Louisiana Museum north of Copenhagen holds a collection of modern art, as does the North Jutland Art Museum in Ålborg. The Silkeborg Museum in central Jutland displays the famous Tollund man, a 2000-year-old natural mummy found in a bog.
G Culture
Denmark has won international renown for its many contributions to modern intellectual and cultural life. Danish culture draws inspiration largely from modern European influences and local folk tradition. The influence of Denmark’s folk heritage can be seen in its fine handicrafts, including beautifully designed ceramics and porcelain, silverware, and home furnishings. Copenhagen has a permanent exhibition of arts and crafts where artisans from all over the country may display and sell their work. The European—and increasingly global—influences in Danish culture can be seen in modern trends in music, architecture, cinema, sculpture, and literature.
In many fields of research the Danes have a long tradition of scholarship and discovery. The observations and careful measurements of Tycho Brahe helped open the way for the development of modern astronomy. Danes such as Rasmus Rask and Vilhelm Thomsen made important advances in linguistics and philology. The brilliant Niels Bohr made major discoveries in the field of nuclear physics, and Niels Finsen studied the medical and therapeutic uses of light; both men received Nobel prizes for their pioneering work.
G1 The Visual Arts
Numerous Danish architects and designers have achieved worldwide fame. Modern Danish architecture is exemplified by the works of Kay Fisker, Hack Kampmann, Aage Rafn, Arne Jacobsen, and Povl Baumann with their designs for Århus University, the Copenhagen Police Building, many modern apartment houses, and the headquarters of the Danish Broadcasting Company. The Danish architect Jørn Utzon, best known for designing the magnificent Sydney Opera House in Australia, produced numerous influential public works in the modern style. Many Danish designers have worked for specialized industries, especially in ceramics, silver work, and furniture, bringing artistic beauty and functionality to many commercial products.
In recent decades, Danish cinema has won growing international acclaim. Perhaps the most famous Danish film director is Carl Dreyer, who directed such influential masterpieces as La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc, 1928). Other well-known Danish film directors include Gabriel Axel, whose film Babette’s Feast (1987) won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film; Bille August, whose Pelle the Conqueror (1988) also won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film; and Lars von Trier, whose Breaking the Waves won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1996. In 2000, von Trier’s film Dancer in the Dark captured the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) award as the best film at the Cannes Film Festival. A strong willingness to experiment with new techniques has pushed Danish filmmakers to the vanguard of modern cinema.
H Literature
Literature is a vital part of Danish culture, and many of the country’s writers are known worldwide. Ludvig Holberg is often acknowledged as the literary father of Denmark; his poetry and drama pioneered the wide acceptance of the Danish language. Hans Christian Andersen, a 19th-century Danish writer, is best known for his fairy tales, which are considered classics of children’s literature. Another influential 19th-century thinker and writer is Danish religious philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Novelists Henrik Pontoppidan and Johannes V. Jensen were each awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in the first half of the 20th century. Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen), Martin A. Hansen, and Peter Høeg are among the more recent Danish writers who have also achieved widespread acclaim. See Danish Literature.
I Music and the Performing Arts
Modern Danish musicians have been deeply influenced by earlier Danish composers such as Carl August Nielsen, Finn Høffding, Ebbe Hamerik, and Niels Viggo Bentzon. Nielson conducted the Royal Society and the Music Society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He wrote more than 100 operas, symphonies, and music scores for piano, violin, and string quartet. Among the most famous Danish composers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries are Hans Abrahamsen and Per Noergaard. The much-beloved Danish pianist and entertainer Victor Borge emigrated to the United States during World War II.
The two major symphony orchestras of Denmark are the Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra and the State Radio Orchestra. Both orchestras are known for their willingness to perform new compositions by younger artists.
Perhaps Denmark’s most famous playwright is the 18th-century satirist Ludvig Holberg. Kaj Munk, a Danish dramatist and clergyman, wrote dramas that were widely popular in the 1930s. He was executed by Germans during World War II for his opposition to the Nazi regime (see National Socialism). The Royal Theater in Copenhagen presents drama, opera, and ballet under the auspices of Denmark’s ministry of cultural affairs. The Royal Theater was founded in 1748, and an annex, the New Stage, was opened in 1931.
The Royal Danish Ballet has had an excellent reputation since the 18th century, perhaps reaching its height in the 19th century under Auguste Bournonville. The Royal Danish Ballet still specializes in Bournonville’s works. Danish ballet dancers also perform regularly in the United States. Perhaps the best-known is Peter Martins, a Danish dancer who heads the New York City Ballet.
IV ECONOMY
Once dependent on agriculture, Denmark today is a highly industrialized country. The Danes enjoy one of the world’s highest standards of living. Denmark’s prosperity is largely the result of the Danish peoples’ ability to adapt to changing economic conditions. The Danes have concentrated on producing high-quality manufactured goods, including machinery and metals, furniture, and food products, and providing services—especially banking and finance, insurance, transportation, and tourism. Because Denmark’s economy depends heavily on imported raw materials and exports of finished goods, the nation promotes a liberal trade policy. Foreign trade accounts for about two-thirds of Denmark’s gross domestic product (GDP). Denmark’s GDP in 2006 was $275.4 billion.
In 1973 Denmark joined the European Economic Community (EEC), a predecessor of the European Union (EU). Denmark conducts about two-thirds of its trade with other EU member nations. However, Denmark has been a somewhat skeptical member of the EU, viewing membership as a potential threat to aspects of Danish sovereignty. In 1992 Danish voters narrowly rejected the Maastricht Treaty (or Treaty on European Union) in a national referendum but later accepted it with reservations. With its fundamentally strong economy and stable currency, Denmark qualified to participate in the European Monetary Union (EMU) and adopt the EU’s common currency, the euro, when it was introduced in 1999. Danish voters decisively rejected EMU in a 2000 national referendum, however, choosing to retain the national currency, the Danish krone (or crown). Since then, popular support for EMU appears to be growing stronger.
A Agriculture
Although large areas of western Jutland are unsuited for agriculture, and the soils of the rest of the land are generally of only average fertility, nearly 55 percent of Denmark’s land is under cultivation. Danish farmers have shown extraordinary resourcefulness in adapting the land for crops, through heavy use of fertilizers and intensive scientific farming practices. Most Danish farms are in Jutland. Fewer than 3 percent of Denmark’s population work as farmers.
The principal agricultural activities are hog farming and dairy farming. The Danes have an old saying that “the pig hangs on the cow’s tail.” This means that after the cream has been removed from the cow’s milk and made into dairy products, the remaining skim milk and whey are fed to pigs. Denmark is a major exporter of live pigs and pork products, including bacon and ham, as well as dairy products such as butter and cheese. Throughout the 1990s, demand for organic dairy products significantly expanded; today, nearly one-third of dairy products are produced according to organic principles.
Crops are raised mainly for livestock feed, with limited production of food crops for human consumption. The major crops are wheat, barley, corn, and other grains, and potatoes, beets, and other root crops. Vegetables, including cabbage, peas, carrots, onions, and leeks, are produced mainly for local consumption.
For many years, the Danish government favored small landholdings, and the merger of small holdings to form large estates was discouraged by law. However, legislation passed in 1989 legalized the formation of larger farms. In 1970 the average farm was 22 hectares (54 acres). Today, the average size is 55 hectares (136 acres).
A notable feature of agriculture in Denmark is the influence of the cooperative movement. Cooperative associations dominate the production of dairy and pork products. Much of the nation’s agricultural produce is sold through marketing cooperatives. Most cooperatives are organized in national associations, which are members of the Danish Agricultural Council, the central agency for the cooperatives in dealings with the government and industry and in foreign trade.
B Fishing
Denmark’s large fishing fleet plays a significant role in the economy. The fleet is modern and efficient. However, since the early 1980s, the catch gradually declined, the result of overfishing and the effects of North Sea pollution. The total catch in 2005 was 0.9 million metric tons, almost all of which were marine fish. The most important fish caught are herring, plaice, and cod.
C Mining
Denmark heavily exploits its known natural resources, the most valuable of which are the natural gas and petroleum reserves discovered in Denmark’s sector of the North Sea in the mid-1960s; mining of the reserves began in the early 1970s. The output of crude oil was 137 million barrels in 2004. Kaolin is found on the island of Bornholm, but the deposits are not of high quality, and it is used chiefly in the manufacture of coarse earthenware and brick. Other minerals produced commercially include limonite, lignite, limestone, chalk, and marl. By the late 1980s, it was established that sand reserves in Jutland held deposits of titanium, zircon, and yttrium.
D Manufacturing
Denmark is home to a great variety of manufacturing enterprises, which are widely dispersed across the country. The most important manufacturing industries include food products (especially pork and dairy products); machinery; appliances, such as televisions and refrigerators; iron, steel, and other metals; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; windmills and windmill technology; and furniture, which has been in high demand since the 1920s.
Denmark is well-known for its production of high-quality agricultural machinery, including beet harvesters and milking machines. Among the most famous Danish manufactured products are the plastic toy building blocks made by LEGO that are popular throughout the world. Taken together, Danish industry produces about one-quarter of the nation’s annual GDP.
E Energy
Because Denmark lacks coal reserves and its low terrain offers little waterpower potential, the nation had to import almost all of its energy before 1980. In 1966 petroleum and natural gas reserves were discovered beneath the Danish sector of the North Sea. Production began in 1972. By 1996 Denmark had achieved energy self-sufficiency. Today, Denmark is a net exporter of energy. The offshore petroleum and natural gas industry operates out of Esbjerg in western Jutland. Most of Denmark’s electricity is produced in thermal plants using domestically produced fossil fuels, as well as some imported coal. Production in 2003 was 43.3 billion kilowatt-hours.
Denmark supports the development of renewable energy sources, including solar power, wind power, waste incineration, and biofuel generation. Thousands of state-of-the-art windmills dot the Danish landscape. Taken together, renewable energy accounts for 18.4 percent of Denmark’s electricity generation. In 1985 Denmark passed legislation banning the construction of nuclear power plants in the country (see Nuclear Energy).
F Services
As in most developed nations, the service sector, backed by a sound educational system, has grown into the dominant force of Denmark’s economy. In 2006 services accounted for about 72.4 percent of Denmark’s GDP. Public administration accounts for about one-third of all services. Private services include banking and finance, insurance, transportation and communications, and the important tourism industry.
Visitors to Denmark enjoy the nation’s great wealth of cultural activity, from its world-class museums to its impressive medieval castles. In Copenhagen, many visitors are attracted to the Strøget, said to be the world’s longest pedestrian shopping street, and to the famed Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park with cafes, pavilions, and manicured gardens. One of Denmark’s most famous attractions is LEGOLAND, a park in Billund in central Jutland. The 10-hectare (25-acre) theme park features elaborate models of miniature towns, including Copenhagen and London, constructed from tens of millions of LEGO toy building blocks.
G Transportation
The sea separates Denmark’s lands, so ships are vital for passenger and freight traffic, both within and beyond the country. Ferries link Jutland with the islands in the Baltic Sea, the Baltic islands with one another, and both Jutland and the Baltic islands with Germany, Sweden, and Norway. In addition, bridges link many of the islands. In 1998 a suspension bridge linking the islands of Fyn and Sjælland opened to traffic. Two years later a 16-km (10-mi) bridge and tunnel opened connecting Copenhagen with the Swedish city of Malmö. The link, called the Øresundsbron (Øresund Bridge), makes it possible to travel between the two countries in 15 minutes. Bicycles are a popular form of transportation throughout the country.
Denmark has 2,212 km (1,374 mi) of operated railroad track, more than 80 percent of which is part of the Danish State Railways system. The main rail route leads south through Jutland to Hamburg, Germany. Motor vehicle traffic runs on 71,847 km (44,644 mi) of roads. Danish Airlines is part of the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). Danair provides domestic air service. The international airport is at Kastrup, near Copenhagen.
H Communications
The government telephone service operates long-distance lines, but many of the local services in Denmark are operated by private companies. Radio and television programs are produced by the state-owned Radio Denmark, which operates two television networks and national and regional radio stations. Programs on these channels are commercial-free, and are supported by licensing fees from set owners. TV2, a national public service television station, receives some government funding. In 2003 two commercial television stations began broadcasting and quickly attracted significant audiences. Danish law protects freedom of expression, and Denmark’s numerous newspapers and periodicals reflect a wide variety of political viewpoints.
V GOVERNMENT
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, and succession to the throne is hereditary. Queen Margrethe II succeeded to the throne on the death of her father, Frederick IX, in 1972. Denmark is governed under a constitution adopted in 1953, which included a provision that for the first time permitted women to inherit the throne. All Danish citizens 18 years of age or older are permitted to vote.
A Executive
National executive power is ceremonially vested in the Danish monarch, but the real executive authority is vested in the prime minister. The prime minister, who represents the political party or parties that hold a majority in the Danish parliament, is formally appointed by the monarch. The prime minister heads a council of ministers, or cabinet, which administers the various departments of government. The prime minister must resign or call new elections if the government receives a vote of no confidence to form the parliament.
B Legislature
Denmark’s unicameral (single-house) parliament is called the Folketing. Legislative power is held jointly by the monarch and the Folketing. The approval of the monarch and the Folketing is necessary to enact legislation, declare war, or sign treaties. Members of the Folketing serve a term of four years, but the monarch has the power to dissolve the Folketing at any time. The 179 members are popularly elected; the Faroe Islands and Greenland are represented by two members each. Elections are conducted chiefly on the basis of proportional representation.
Measures approved by the Folketing may be submitted to a popular referendum with the consent of one-third of the members; if at least 30 percent of the eligible voters disapprove the measure, it is defeated.
C Judiciary
Judicial power in Denmark is vested in 82 lower courts presided over by individual judges. There are two high courts, each with a panel of judges, and a supreme court, which sits in Copenhagen.
D Local Government
For administrative purposes, Denmark is divided into the borough of Frederiksberg, the city of Copenhagen, and 14 counties: Århus, Bornholm, Copenhagen, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkøbing, Roskilde, Sønderjylland, Storstrøm, Vejle, Vestsjælland, and Viborg.
District councils of between 7 and 31 members, headed by elected mayors, administer the 275 municipalities of Denmark. The city of Copenhagen is administered by a 55-member city council and by a smaller executive body. County councils headed by mayors administer the 14 counties. The ministry of interior supervises the counties, the city of Copenhagen, and the borough of Frederiksberg. Local committees supervise the municipalities.
E Political Parties
The most significant political parties in Denmark include the center-right Liberal Party; the right-wing Conservative People’s Party and Danish People’s Party; the center-left Social Democratic Party; the left-wing Socialist Party; and the Radical Left (also called the Danish Social Liberal Party). The New Alliance, formed in 2007 as the country’s first significant new party in a decade, represented a centrist position between the two polarized positions to the right and left in Denmark.
F Health and Welfare
Denmark’s social welfare system dates from the 1890s, and today it is one of the world’s most comprehensive. Health insurance, covering all of the Danish population, provides free medical care and hospitalization, payment for some essential medicines, and some dental care. Most hospitals are municipal. All persons are entitled to a retirement pension. Other benefits include employment injuries insurance; unemployment insurance; social assistance for the aged, blind, and disabled; and provisions for the care of children, including daytime care for children.
G Defense
Denmark abandoned its neutrality after World War II (1939-1945), and in 1949 became a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Yet Denmark remained somewhat ambivalent toward NATO for many years. In the 1990s, Denmark began taking a more active stance, including sending military personnel to the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), the Balkan Peninsula during the Wars of Yugoslav Succession (fought mainly between 1991 and 1995), and voicing support for military cooperation in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.
Every male citizen from the ages of 19 to 25, except citizens of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, may be conscripted for four months of military service. In 2004 the army maintained a strength of 12,500 soldiers. The navy includes a small fleet and a coast-defense force and has 3,800 members. The Royal Danish Air Force, with 4,200 members, is tactically under NATO command. Each service has a volunteer home guard. The volunteer home guard comprises about 64,000 members.
VI HISTORY
People have lived on the Jutland Peninsula for thousands of years, since shortly after the last ice age ended about 10,000 years ago. The earliest inhabitants were nomadic hunters and gatherers. By about 3000 BC, a farming people inhabited parts of the peninsula. They were replaced by warriors from the south about 2000 BC. By the 1st century AD, small farming villages had been reestablished on Jutland. In the 5th and 6th centuries AD, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, who then inhabited parts of Denmark and northern Germany, invaded England.
A Age of the Vikings
The Vikings were Scandinavian warrior-sailors who dominated the seas of Europe from about the 9th century to the 11th century. They were excellent shipbuilders and the finest seafarers of their age. As both plunderers and traders, they were known from Russia to Iceland and from the British Isles to the shores of the Black Sea. The Vikings originally lived along the shores of Denmark and Norway. By the 10th century they had established settlements in eastern England and in Normandy, in northern France (see Normans). They had also ventured east across the Atlantic Ocean to Iceland, Greenland, and even North America. By the middle of the 10th century, Denmark had become a united kingdom under King Harold Bluetooth.
Harold Bluetooth had forsaken paganism for Christianity, and he initiated the Christianization of the Danes. Harold’s son, Sweyn I, conquered all of England in 1013 and 1014. During the reign of Sweyn’s son, Canute II, the Danish realm expanded to include Norway. The unified kingdom, which also included part of southern Sweden, declined after Canute’s death in 1035, and by 1042 Denmark’s union with England and Norway had been dissolved. For the next century, Denmark was torn by civil wars and outbreaks of violence.
B Expansion and Prosperity
In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, the Danes expanded to the east. They conquered the greater part of the southern coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, establishing a powerful and prosperous realm twice the size of modern Denmark. In this era of expansion, feudalism in Denmark attained its zenith. The kingdom became wealthier and more powerful than it had ever been. Most of the country’s once-free peasantry saw their rights reduced. The era saw marked economic progress, principally in the development of the herring-fishing industry and in raising livestock. This progress promoted the rise of merchants and craftsmen and of a number of guilds.
Growing discord between the Danish crown and the nobility led to a struggle in which the nobility, in 1282, compelled King Eric V to sign a charter, sometimes referred to as the Danish Magna Carta. By the terms of this charter, the Danish crown was subordinated to law, and the assembly of lords, called the Danehof, became an integral part of the administrative institutions.
A temporary decline in Danish power after the death of Christopher II in 1332 was followed, in the reign of Waldemar IV, by the reestablishment of Denmark as the leading political power on the Baltic Sea. However, the Hanseatic League, a commercial federation of European cities, controlled trade.
C The Kalmar Union
In 1380 Denmark and Norway were joined in a union under one king, Oluf III (called Olaf IV in Norway), a grandson of Waldemar IV. With Norway came the possessions of Iceland and the Faroe Islands. After Oluf’s death in 1387, his mother, Margaret I, reigned in his place. In 1389 she obtained the crown of Sweden and began the struggle, completed successfully in 1397, to form the Union of Kalmar, a political union of the three realms. Denmark was the dominant power, but Swedish aristocrats strove repeatedly—and with some success—for Sweden’s autonomy within the union.
The Kalmar Union lasted until 1523, when Sweden won its independence in a revolt against the tyrannical Christian II. The revolt leader, Gustav Vasa, was elected king of Sweden as Gustav I shortly afterward. A period of unrest followed as Lübeck, the strongest Hanseatic city, interfered in Danish politics. With help from Sweden’s king, Lübeck’s interference ended and Christian III consolidated his power as king of Denmark.
D The Reformation Period
During Christian III’s reign (1534-1559) the Protestant Reformation triumphed in Denmark, and the Lutheran church was established as the state church. At this time the Danish kings began to treat Norway as a province rather than as a separate kingdom. Denmark’s commercial and political rivalry with Sweden for domination of the Baltic Sea intensified. From 1563 to 1570 Sweden and Denmark fought the indecisive Nordic Seven Years’ War and later, the War of Kalmar (1611-1613).
The intervention of Christian IV in the religious struggle in Germany on behalf of the Protestant cause in the 1620s led to Danish participation in the Thirty Years’ War. Continued rivalry with Sweden for primacy in the north led to the Swedish Wars of 1643 to 1645 and 1657 to 1660. Denmark was badly defeated and lost several of its Baltic islands and all of its territory on the Scandinavian Peninsula except Norway.
E Absolute Monarchy
Economic reverses resulting from these defeats had far-reaching consequences in Denmark. The growing commercial class, hard hit by the loss of foreign markets and trade, joined with the monarchy to curtail the power and privileges of the nobility. In 1660, capitalizing on the nobility’s unpopularity after its poor military performance in the Swedish Wars, Frederick III carried out a coup d’état against the aristocratic Council of the Realm. The monarchy, which until then had been largely dependent for its political power on the aristocracy, was made hereditary, and in 1661 it became absolute. The monarchy ended the tax-exemption privileges of the nobility, and nobles were replaced by commoners as local administrators.
In the 18th century Denmark began the colonization of Greenland. Danish trade in East Asia expanded, and trading companies were established in the Caribbean Sea in the Virgin Islands (see Virgin Islands of the United States). In 1788 the Danish crown abolished constraints on the liberties of the peasants, and in the following decades an agricultural enclosure movement greatly enhanced the production of livestock and crops.
During the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815), efforts by England to blockade the European continent led to naval clashes with Denmark. Copenhagen was twice bombarded by British fleets, first in 1801 and again in 1807, and the Danish navy was destroyed. As a result, Denmark was largely cut off from Norway. The Danish monarch reluctantly sided with French emperor Napoleon I. By the Peace of Kiel (1814) Denmark ceded the island of Helgoland to the British and gave Norway to Sweden. In return, Denmark obtained Swedish Pomerania (see Pomerania), which it later exchanged for Lauenburg, previously held by Prussia.
F Constitutional Monarchy
A growing demand for constitutional government in Denmark led to the proclamation of the constitution of 1849. Denmark became a constitutional monarchy, in which civil liberties were guaranteed and a bicameral (two-chamber) legislature was established to share legislative power with the Crown. German nationalism in Schleswig and Holstein (see Schleswig-Holstein), both hereditary duchies held by the kings of Denmark, presented the Danes with serious problems in the wake of the Revolutions of 1848. The two duchies had long been objects of dispute between Danish kings and German monarchs. With diplomatic aid from Russia, Denmark prevailed in a first test of strength in mid-century, but in 1864 Prussia and Austria went to war with the Danes to prevent incorporation of Schleswig into Denmark’s territory and constitutional structure. The Danes were defeated and lost possession of the two duchies and of other territory.
In 1866 the Danish constitution was revised, making the upper chamber (Landsting) more powerful than the lower house (Folketing). During the last decades of the 19th century, commerce, industry, and finance flourished. Dairy farming and the cooperative movement expanded, and the working class grew in size as industry expanded. After 1880 the newly organized Social Democratic party played a major role in the Danish labor movement and in the struggle for a more democratic constitution. The principle of parliamentary government was recognized in 1901, ending a long political deadlock between the Crown and the Landsting on one side and democratic forces in the Folketing on the other side.
G Territorial Changes During the World Wars
Denmark declared its neutrality during World War I (1914-1918). In 1917 Denmark sold the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea to the United States. Constitutional reforms enacted in 1915 established many of the basic features of the present governmental system. Universal suffrage went into effect in 1918. The same year Denmark recognized the independence of Iceland, but continued to exercise pro forma control of the foreign policy of the new state, and the Danish king remained the head of state in Iceland. In 1920 North Schleswig was incorporated into Denmark as a result of a plebiscite carried out in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles; the southern part of Schleswig had voted to remain in Germany.
In May 1939 Denmark signed a ten-year nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany (see National Socialism). Despite this agreement, in April 1940 Germany invaded and occupied Denmark, although the Danish government was able to maintain control over much of its legal and domestic affairs until 1943. The Danish police helped Denmark’s 6,000 Jews to escape safely to neutral Sweden on the eve of their arrest and deportation. The United Kingdom occupied the Faroe Islands, and in 1941 the United States established a temporary protectorate over Greenland, building various weather stations and air bases on the island. In 1944 Iceland, following a national referendum, severed all ties with Denmark and proclaimed itself an independent republic.
H International Engagement and Constitutional Reform
After World War II Denmark became a charter member of the United Nations (UN) and was one of the original signatories of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. Subsequently Denmark became a member of other international organizations, including the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Economic Community (a forerunner of the European Union, or EU).
In 1953 Denmark adopted a revised constitution. The constitution created a unicameral parliament, permitted female accession to the throne, and included Greenland as an integral part of Denmark. Greenland was granted home rule in 1979.
Four decades of dominance by the Social Democratic party ended with the 1968 elections. Hilmar Baunsgaard, leader of the Radical Liberal party, formed a coalition government that lasted until 1971, when Jens Otto Krag, a former Social Democratic prime minister, retained office. King Frederick IX died in 1972 and was succeeded by his daughter, Margrethe II, the first queen to reign over Denmark since Margaret I more than five and a half centuries earlier. Later that year Krag resigned and was replaced as prime minister and party leader by Anker Jørgensen.
I Economic Troubles
From 1973 to 1984, Denmark was ruled by a series of weak governments. No single party or group of closely allied parties held a working majority. During this period, the global economic slowdown triggered by the 1973 oil crisis hit Denmark sharply. Inflation and trade deficits increased and unemployment, which had virtually disappeared in the late 1960s, became chronically high. Denmark’s economic slowdown continued throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
Liberals and Social Democrats headed the governments until September 1982, when Poul Schlüter became Denmark’s first Conservative prime minister in nearly a century. Elections in 1984, 1987, 1988, and 1990 returned Schlüter’s center-right coalition to office as a minority government. Under Schlüter, the government instituted a series of austerity measures to increase economic growth. They included an effort to suppress inflation by not indexing wages to the cost of living and imposing modest wage settlements when collective bargaining failed.
J Foreign Policy Shifts
Although the Schlüter coalition enjoyed solid support for its domestic reforms, the government’s foreign policy remained controversial. The revival of the Cold War in Europe in 1979 disappointed many Danes. The Social Democrats challenged Denmark’s national security policies, putting forward an agenda that was anti-NATO, pacifistic, skeptical of military confrontation in Europe, and strongly anti-nuclear. In 1985 the Folketing passed legislation barring future construction of nuclear power plants in the country, and the government agreed to help establish a Nordic nuclear-free zone.
The dramatic end of the Cold War and the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe after 1989 changed the Danish foreign policy agenda. Denmark demonstrated a new international activism through modest participation in the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), active encouragement and support for the newly independent Baltic states, and support for the rapid integration of the former communist states into a democratic and capitalist Europe. Denmark sent significant military forces for peacekeeping in the Balkan Peninsula during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia (Wars of Yugoslav Succession).
During this period, however, the Danes themselves demonstrated skepticism regarding European integration. In 1992 Danish voters narrowly rejected the Maastricht Treaty, which provided for increased political and monetary integration within the European Community (now the European Union). After modifications to the pact that promised exemptions from certain standards for Denmark—including the right not to participate in a common European defense force or to adopt the EU’s common currency, the euro—the Danes voted their approval in May 1993.
K Growing Tensions Over Immigration
In the wake of a scandal over immigration visas, Prime Minister Schlüter abruptly resigned in January 1993. The scandal demonstrated a deeper change among the Danish people, for centuries an ethnically homogenous society. During the 1990s, a soaring number of refugees, especially from lands of the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East, and South Asia, fueled high levels of immigration in Denmark. Efforts by the Schlüter government to prevent political refugees from Sri Lanka from joining their families already in Denmark led to a scandal of historic proportions. The government’s illegal administrative measures forced Schlüter’s resignation and shone a spotlight on emergent social tensions within Denmark.
After Schlüter stepped down, a new majority coalition government was formed, with Social Democrat Poul Nyrup Rasmussen as prime minister—the first majority coalition government since 1971. In elections held in September 1994, the coalition headed by Rasmussen retained power, but it lost its majority in the Folketing. After shuffling his coalition slightly, Rasmussen was returned to office once again in 1998 with a majority of just one seat. In September 1999 Rasmussen issued an official apology to a group of Greenland Inuit (known as the Inughuit) who were evicted illegally from their homes and hunting grounds nearly 50 years earlier to allow for the expansion of a key United States airbase at Thule. The apology followed a ruling by a Danish court that Denmark’s government had violated Inughuit rights.
L Denmark in the 21st Century
In November 2001, following a surge of support for his government after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the prime minister called a snap election. Despite a high turnout, however, the Social Democrat-led government was defeated, and the center-right Liberal Party emerged as Denmark’s largest political party. A minority coalition government composed of the Liberal Party and the Conservative People’s Party replaced the Social Democrat-led government. Liberal Party leader Anders Fogh Rasmussen was named prime minister. The far right, anti-immigration Danish People’s Party, which became the third largest party in the Folketing, agreed to support the Liberal-Conservative coalition.
As prime minister, Rasmussen vowed to halt the growth of taxes while maintaining the nation’s social welfare system. In 2004 Rasmussen’s government succeeded in pushing through a package of modest tax cuts. Rasmussen’s government also announced that it would move quickly to impose new immigration and asylum restrictions, and a new ministry of refugees, immigration, and integration was created. In July 2002 the government succeeded in passing the tough new restrictions—among the most stringent in Europe—into law. By 2004 immigration to Denmark had declined by nearly 80 percent from its 2001 level.
L1 Denmark on the World Stage
During the controversial U.S.-led military invasion of Iraq beginning in March 2003, Denmark sent two naval vessels and a small contingent of troops to help oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (U.S.-Iraq War). The Rasmussen government’s strong support for the invasion sparked deep divisions within the Danish public; a bare majority of the Folketing voted in favor of the action. After the ouster of Hussein, Denmark deployed a peacekeeping force in Iraq. However, allegations that the Danish government exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq to justify the invasion forced the resignation of the government’s defense minister, Svend Aage, in April 2004. Four months later, in August, a scandal broke out over the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by Danish soldiers.
In 2006 Denmark became the center of an international controversy after protests began to spread throughout the Islamic world against cartoons published in September 2005 in Denmark’s largest-circulation newspaper. The cartoons depicted the prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Any attempt to depict Muhammad is generally regarded as blasphemous among Muslims. One cartoon portrayed Muhammad as a terrorist.
Leaders of Denmark’s Muslim community, which numbers about 200,000, objected when the cartoons were published, saying it was part of a growing climate of hostility against Muslims in Denmark. The editor-in-chief of the Danish newspaper apologized for the offense, but a number of newspapers in Europe and elsewhere reprinted the cartoons as an issue of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. In response, demonstrations, often violent, took place throughout the Islamic world. A number of Islamic countries withdrew their ambassadors from Denmark, and in early February Danish embassies and consulates were attacked and burned in Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. Many Muslim leaders also called for boycotts of Danish goods.
L2 Recent Elections
Buoyed by a healthy economy, the popular curbs on immigration, and a pledge to keep taxes from rising, Prime Minister Rasmussen scheduled a snap election for February 2005. Despite some lingering concerns over Denmark’s Iraq policy, Rasmussen and his center-right coalition secured a second term in office, winning about 54 percent of the vote.
Rasmussen again called early elections in late 2007, counting on high approval ratings and a strong economy to give his government a fresh mandate for additional reforms in the public sector. His Liberal Party and its coalition allies won 90 seats in the 179-seat Folketing—a narrow, one-seat majority. The opposition led by the Social Democratic Party secured 84 seats. The New Alliance, a newly formed party led by a Syrian-born Muslim, Naser Khader, won 5 seats. It represented a moderate centrist position between the two polarized extremes in Denmark. Although the party generally agreed with the Liberal Party on many issues, it supported the relaxation of immigration laws.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC THE CONGO

Democratic Republic of the Congo
I INTRODUCTION
Democratic Republic of the Congo or Congo-Kinshasa, nation in central Africa, a vast country of dense forests traversed by the powerful Congo River. Rich in natural resources, the country is nonetheless economically stunted due to decades of misrule in the second half of the 20th century, under dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. The region was first united as the Congo Free State, a colony created by Belgian king Leopold II in the late 19th century. The colony was called the Belgian Congo from 1908 until 1960, when it gained independence as the Republic of the Congo. Its name was changed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1964 and then to Zaire in 1971.
Mobutu seized control of the country in 1965. During his 32-year-long rule he grew wealthier as the economy stagnated. After he was overthrown in 1997 the country’s name was changed back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). After Mobutu’s overthrow the DRC endured years of civil war. Although the war officially ended in 2003, regional armed conflict and a humanitarian crisis continued. By mid-2007 an estimated 5.4 million people had died from violence, malnutrition, and disease. The conflict ranked as the world’s deadliest since World War II (1939-1945).
The DRC is bounded on the north by the Central African Republic and Sudan; on the east by Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Lake Tanganyika (which separates the DRC from Tanzania); on the south by Zambia and Angola; and on the west by the Republic of the Congo and the Angolan exclave of Cabinda. The equator crosses the northern DRC. Kinshasa is the capital and largest city.
II LAND AND RESOURCES
The DRC has a total area of 2,344,885 sq km (905,365 sq mi) and is the third largest country in Africa, after Sudan and Algeria. The Congo is comparable in size to the area of the United States east of the Mississippi River. The country’s greatest width from west to east is about 1,900 km (about 1,200 mi); its greatest length from north to south is about 2,010 km (about 1,250 mi).
A Natural Regions
The country’s most significant physical feature is the Congo Basin, which encompasses the entire country. This region consists of a vast depression, constituting the DRC’s entire central area, and surrounding plateaus and mountains. Many rivers cross the Congo Basin and mountain regions. The valleys of these rivers are covered with dense vegetation. In the southern Congo Basin, forest gives way to savanna, drier grasslands interspersed with trees. In the southeast the basin is fringed by the rugged Katanga Plateau. This region, about 1,000 m (about 4,000 ft) above sea level, contains rich deposits of copper, diamonds, uranium, and other minerals. Virtually impenetrable equatorial forests occupy the northeast of the country. The largest, known variously as the Ituri, Great Congo, Pygmy, and Stanley Forest, covers about 65,000 sq km (about 25,000 sq mi). The Ruwenzori Range, on the Ugandan border, contains the DRC’s highest point, Margherita Peak (5,109 m/16,762 ft). Near Rwanda are the Virunga Mountains, which include eight active volcanoes. In the extreme west the country narrows to a wedge terminating at a strip 37 km (23 mi) wide along the Atlantic Ocean.
B Rivers and Lakes
The country is dominated by the Congo River. At 4,374 km (2,718 mi), the Congo is the second longest river in Africa and one of the longest in the world. Formed on the Katanga Plateau in the southern DRC, it flows north as far as the city of Kisangani, where Stanley Falls, a series of wide cataracts, impedes navigation. Downstream from this point the river is navigable and arcs west, then south to Kinshasa, forming much of the boundary between the Republic of the Congo and the DRC. The Ubangi River is the Congo’s chief northern tributary, while the Kasai is its main southern tributary. Other rivers feeding the Congo are the Luvua, Aruwimi, and Lomami. Southwest of Kinshasa, the Congo flows through the Crystal Mountains forming rapids and waterfalls that prevent direct access to the sea. Below these rapids and waterfalls, the Congo’s estuary is navigable to the South Atlantic Ocean, a distance of 134 km (83 mi). The total length of navigable routes on the Congo and its tributaries is about 14,500 km (about 9,000 mi), most of which is in the DRC. Rapids along the Congo system, particularly on the Congo itself and its tributaries in Kasai and Katanga, give the country enormous potential for producing hydroelectric power.
In its lower course, the Congo widens to form a lake, Pool Malebo. Just below the lake, Kinshasa sits on the south bank of the Congo, and Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of the Congo, sits on the north bank. The only other significant lake in the western Congo Basin is Lac Mai-Ndombe, in the west central DRC. On the country’s eastern borders, several lakes are important for transportation and fishing. Lake Albert and Lake Edward are on the Ugandan border. Lake Kivu is shared with Rwanda. Lake Tanganyika, the sixth largest in the world, covers the entire border zone with Tanzania. Lake Mweru straddles the Zambian border. The Katanga region has a number of smaller lakes, including Lakes Upemba and Tshangalele.
C Plants and Animals
The DRC’s vegetation is extremely rich and diverse. Most of the northern two-thirds of the country is covered in dense rain forest. Rubber trees of various species, coffee, cotton, and oil palms are indigenous. Among the native fruit trees are banana, coconut palm, and plantain. Timber trees occur abundantly. Species include teak, ebony, African cedar, mahogany, iroko, and redwood. In all, about 57 percent (2005) of the country’s total area is forested. Animal life is abundant and varied. Larger mammals found in the forests include elephants, gorillas, buffalo, chimpanzees, hippopotamuses, and okapis, rare relatives of giraffes that are found only in the Congo Basin. Important savanna mammals include lions, leopards, giraffes, zebras, and wolves, as well as elephants, hippopotamuses, and chimpanzees. Very rare mountain gorillas live in the mountains in the far east. Mambas, pythons, and crocodiles are among the numerous reptiles. Among the many species of birds are parrots, pelicans, flamingos, cuckoos, sunbirds, herons, and plovers. Insects are plentiful, particularly ants, termites, and mosquitoes, including the Anopheles mosquito, host of the parasite that causes malaria. Another disease-bearing insect, prevalent in lowlands, is the tsetse fly, which spreads sleeping sickness.
D Natural Resources
The DRC is richly endowed with natural resources. It has vast mineral deposits, notably cobalt, copper, uranium, gold, and diamonds. The country’s forest reserves are considered the most extensive in Africa. Many areas are well suited for growing crops. The highlands of the eastern DRC, with their rich volcanic soils, are especially productive. The Congo River and its tributaries provide a vast network of navigable waterways and have great hydroelectric potential. Development of some of the DRC’s resources has caused environmental problems, however. Deforestation, caused by forestry and clearing for agriculture, is an increasing environmental problem, especially in the Bas-Congo region and around Kinshasa.
E Climate
Except in the high elevations, the country’s climate is very hot and humid. The average annual temperature in the low central area is about 27°C (about 80°F). Temperatures are considerably higher in February, the hottest month. At altitudes above about 1,500 m (about 5,000 ft) the average annual temperature is about 19°C (about 66°F). Average annual rainfall is about 1,500 mm (about 60 in) in the north and about 1,300 mm (about 50 in) in the south. Frequent heavy rains occur from April to November north of the equator and from October through May south of the equator. In the center of the country, rainfall is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year. These extreme conditions have limited settlement and development to areas along rivers and at higher altitudes.
F Environmental Issues
Biodiversity in the DRC is among the highest in Africa because of the vast extent of the country’s biologically rich forests. Important endangered or rare large mammals include the elephant, rhinoceros, gorilla, hippopotamus, pygmy chimpanzee, and okapi. Altogether, 450 (2000) mammal species are known, with 29 (2004) threatened. Of the 929 (2000) known species of birds, 30 (2004) are threatened.
The DRC has several major national parks—including Virunga National Park and Garamba National Park—that were created mainly to protect large game species. Several of these have been designated World Heritage sites. There are also faunal reserves, special hunting areas, and several biosphere reserves under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program. Protected land totals about 8.2 percent (2007) of the country’s land area. Historically, local people did not participate in the management of protected areas and were frequently relocated to accommodate new parks. Wildlife poaching, soil erosion, and increasingly, deforestation, are the major environmental threats. Many people do not have access to safe water and sanitation, and waterborne diseases contribute to a low life expectancy in the DRC. The southern region is subject to periodic drought.
III PEOPLE AND SOCIETY
The DRC has a population (2008 estimate) of 68,008,922, with a density of 30 persons per sq km (78 per sq mi). Largely rural, the population is concentrated in the eastern highlands and along rivers. Only about 33 percent of the population lives in cities. In 2004 the DRC also had a refugee population of about 199,323, many of whom were exiles from instability in Rwanda. The remainder were Burundians, Angolans, and Sudanese, all fleeing upheavals in their countries. Meanwhile, about 462,203 DRC citizens had taken refuge in neighboring countries due to violence in the eastern DRC.
The capital and largest city of the DRC is Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville). Among other major cities are a southeastern copper-mining city, Lubumbashi (formerly Elisabethville); a south central diamond-mining center, Mbuji-Mayi (formerly Bakwanga); a southeastern industrial city, Kolwezi; and a northeastern Congo River port, Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville). Matadi, on the Congo estuary, is the DRC’s principal seaport.
A Ethnic Groups
The DRC has as many as 250 ethnic groups, about 80 percent of whom are Bantu-speaking peoples who migrated into the area from the northwest beginning around 300 BC. Peoples speaking Nilo-Saharan languages—including the Mangbetu, Azande, and small Nilotic groups—live in the north. The largest single groups are the Lunda, Luba, Kuba, Bakongo (Kongo), Mongo, Mangbetu, and Azande. Pygmy groups are scattered throughout the rain forest zone. A small number of people of European descent live in the DRC. Since independence in 1960, political uncertainty has led to an emphasis on ethnic affiliation, often accompanied by conflict.
B Language
About 700 languages and local dialects are spoken in the DRC. French is the official language and principal business language. Four African languages are also widely spoken: Swahili in the east, Kikongo in the area between Kinshasa and the coast, Tshiluba in the south, and Lingala along the Congo River.
C Religion
Most of the DRC’s people are nominally Christians, primarily Roman Catholics, who account for about 52 percent of the total population. Most of the rest adhere to traditional African beliefs or belong to syncretic sects, which combine practices of different religions. One of the most popular sects is Kimbanguism, which fuses Christian and traditional elements. There is also a small Muslim community.
D Education
Founded by European and American missionaries, the Congolese education system still depends on missionary schools to provide a significant amount of public education. Although six years of primary education is officially compulsory, only 47 percent of primary school-age children attended school in 1998–1999. Under the constitution approved in 2005, education at the primary level is free. Attendance at secondary school has risen since independence, but is still only 18 percent of those of eligible age. The nation has four universities, two in Kinshasa and one each at Lubumbashi and Kisangani, and a number of teacher-training colleges and technical institutes. These institutions of higher education had a total enrollment of 60,341 in 1998. The adult literacy rate in 2005 was 89.8 percent (95 percent for men and 84.9 percent for women).
E Way of Life
There are vast differences between the modern, urban way of life and traditional rural cultures in the DRC. Belgium began to colonize the region in the late 19th century, which led to urbanization, adaptation to foreign ideas and values, and the loss of local traditions for many. Modern and traditional values and practices remain at odds in the DRC, despite attempts by former president Mobutu Sese Seko to promote “African authenticity” over Western customs.
Since independence, the gap between rich and poor has also widened. Wealthier city dwellers tend to live in modern houses or apartment buildings, and they drive Western automobiles. The urban poor live in crowded, unhealthy conditions in slums, shantytowns, or other informal residences. Most rural Congolese live in round or rectangular thatched huts, depending on their region and ethnic group. Some groups scatter homesteads while others cluster dwellings into villages.
Family life is central to both urban and rural society. Congolese women are clearly regarded as inferior to males, even though many ethnic groups trace family membership through the mother. Both sexes generally dress in light, brightly colored clothes. Women often wear headscarves. Many people have adopted Western clothes, despite government efforts to encourage “African authenticity.” For instance, in the 1970s Mobutu banned suits and ties in favor of the abas-cost, a light short-sleeved shirt.
The most popular dish in the DRC is moambé, a spicy stew of peanuts, palm oil, and chicken served with yams, native loso rice, or, most commonly, fufu, a paste of mashed manioc (cassava). The Congolese diet also consists of sweet potatoes, bananas, plantains, fruits, and fish, particularly perch. Beef is generally only eaten in the higher regions of the country that are free of the tsetse fly. Protein deficiency is a serious problem. Pastimes include music, dance, and mancala, a board game common throughout Africa. Soccer is also popular.
F Social Issues
Ethnic rivalry has plagued Congolese society since independence in 1960. This severe problem is compounded by political instability, poverty, a high crime rate, inadequate health care, and a high incidence of tropical diseases and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Mobutu’s government attempted, with some success, to counter tribalism (belief in the superiority of one’s own tribe) by banning ethnic organizations and publications. However, government efforts to address the root causes of poverty and the country’s problems in health, education, and the environment have been scant.
G Social Services
Western missionaries are a major source of health care, education, and welfare in the DRC. AIDS, malaria, and sleeping sickness are major health problems. Child malnutrition, exacerbated by food shortages and years of warfare in the DRC, is a chronic problem.
IV ARTS
The arts are particularly important in Congolese life. The government has supported artists, writers, and architects mainly to bolster political agendas. Kinshasa’s Monument to the Martyrs of Independence is an example of this. However, most Congolese artistic activity exists outside of officially sponsored circles.
A Literature
The Congo has produced a number of noted writers since independence, including playwrights Valérin Mutombo-Diba, Mwilambwe Kibawa, and Elebe ma Ekonzo; novelists Paul Lomami-Tshibamba and Mbwil a Mpaang Ngal; and prolific poets Lisembe (Philippe) Elébé and Vumbi Yoka Mudimbe. French is the main literary language. Writers have focused on themes such as Congolese identity, colonialism, tribalism, and conflicts between modernity and tradition.
B Art
A wide range of traditional arts and crafts enriches Congolese culture. They include metalworking, basketry, painting, jewelry making, and wood carving, particularly mask making. Groups such as the Kuba and Luba peoples carve masks with distinctive traditional styles that are occasionally used in traditional rituals. Throughout the country, well-established, informal artistic gatherings are common, and numerous street artists and artisans display and sell their works.
C Music, Dance, and Theater
Two important Congolese contributions to music and dance are Congo jazz and soukous, a type of guitar-based dance music. Both of these musical forms developed in Kinshasa and are known throughout Africa and in other parts of the world. Famous Congolese musicians and vocalists include Franco and his band O.K. Jazz, Tabu Ley, Pépé Kallé, Papa Wemba, Koffi Olomide, Mbilia Bel, and M’Pongo Love. Traditional folk music is also highly valued. Traditional instruments include the likembe (a hand-held board with mounted metal strips that are plucked with the thumbs) and drums of various types. The Mbuti pygmies of the Ituri rain forest in the northeast are famous for their distinctive polyphonic singing style, in which multiple voices pursue independent melodies. Dance ranges from a wide variety of traditional forms to colorful, coordinated mass dances, often held as part of political rallies. In urban areas, dance clubs playing popular music are a vibrant part of the social scene.
D Museums and Libraries
The country’s major archaeological and ethnological museums are the National Museum of Kinshasa and the National Museum of Lubumbashi. The Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa exhibits and sells paintings and sculptures. The universities, government, and certain private organizations maintain libraries.
V ECONOMY
The DRC is potentially one of Africa’s richest states, with extensive agricultural, mineral, and energy resources. However, instability after independence in 1960 contributed to a sluggish economy that grew only about 1 percent a year until the mid-1980s. Nationalization, corruption, inexperience, heavy borrowing, a deteriorating infrastructure, and inappropriate development took a high toll throughout the 32-year regime of Mobutu Sese Seko (1965-1997). The country dropped from having one of Africa’s highest standards of living to one of its lowest. In 1990 the DRC’s gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to be $8.1 billion ($220 per capita). However, by the early 1990s the nation’s formal economy began to disintegrate, and GDP plummeted. Hyperinflation of nearly 40 percent a month, government deficits in which expenditures exceeded revenues by more than four times, and plunging mineral production combined to make the country one of the world’s poorest. In 1994 the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) declared the DRC insolvent, and the country was suspended from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The 1996-1997 rebellion that culminated in Mobutu’s overthrow virtually halted economic activity throughout the country. The post-Mobutu administrations have tried to rebuild the nation’s economy, but continued unrest in the DRC has hampered economic progress. The United Nations (UN) classifies the DRC as a least developed country. Smuggling and black market activities are very common and may account for income equal to the nation’s official GDP. In 2006 GDP was $8.5 billion, or $140.90 U.S. dollars per person.
A Labor
In 2006 the DRC’s labor force numbered 24,213,136; 41 percent were women. A significant proportion of children from age 10 to 15 participated in the labor force, working in agriculture, street vending, and other pursuits. The principal labor organization is the National Union of Congolese Workers, an alliance of 16 unions founded in 1967. However, most Congolese workers are agricultural and nonunionized.
B Mining
Mineral deposits constitute the DRC’s principal source of wealth. The Katanga and Kasai regions are among the world’s largest producers of cobalt and industrial diamonds. Other minerals produced in significant quantities include copper, uranium, tin, gold, silver, coal, zinc, manganese, tungsten, and cadmium. Offshore petroleum reserves have been drilled since 1975. Mineral production declined severely in the 1990s, but mining continued to account for almost 90 percent of the DRC’s export earnings in the early 21st century.
C Agriculture
Agriculture, including forestry and fishing, employs 68 percent of the working population and accounts for 46 percent of GDP. However, only 3 percent of the country’s area is under cultivation. Large areas of the Congo Basin are suitable for farming but are currently covered with forests. Cash crop production declined markedly after Mobutu nationalized foreign-owned plantations in the 1970s, and again during political disturbances in the 1990s. Much of the farmland has reverted to subsistence farming. The principal food crops are manioc, plantains, sugarcane, corn, peanuts, bananas, rice, and yams. Cash crops include palm kernels, coffee, cottonseed and cotton lint, and rubber. Chickens, goats, pigs, and sheep are raised. Cattle raising is confined to elevated regions that are free of the tsetse fly, which spreads sleeping sickness.
D Forestry and Fishing
The DRC contains an estimated 6 percent of the world’s forests. However, timber cutting has largely been limited to the western DRC, close to the Congo River, because of the country’s poor infrastructure. Most of the trees cut are not processed in the DRC, but floated downriver and exported as logs. Almost all of the fish caught in the DRC are freshwater fish and are consumed locally. Fish caught include perch, tilapia, and eels.
E Manufacturing
The most important manufacturing activities in the DRC are mineral processing and the production of cement and textiles. Other manufactured products include tires, shoes, cigarettes, beer, and processed food. During the 1990s, when the country experienced significant unrest, industrial activity declined substantially. In 2006 manufacturing accounted for 7 percent of GDP. Industry, which includes manufacturing, mining, and construction, provided 13 percent of employment.
F Services
Services account for 27 percent of GDP and 19 percent of employment. The most important areas are transportation, government, communications, and banking. Tourism has never accounted for a significant sector of the economy. Before the instability of the 1990s, which virtually eliminated tourism, the DRC received only a small number of tourists, mainly from Europe. The most important tourist destinations were Kinshasa and national parks such as Virunga National Park and Garamba National Park, both in the northeast.
G Energy
The DRC’s hydroelectric plants produce virtually all of the energy the country needs. The major hydroelectric plant is on the lower Congo River at Inga (opened in 1972). Other generating plants have been built in the southern DRC to serve mining operations. The plant at Inga alone could produce 15 times the amount of electricity needed by the DRC. In 2003 the DRC exported 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to other African nations. The small percentage of energy not produced by hydroelectric plants comes from thermal plants.
H Transportation
Roads in the DRC are in generally poor repair, hindering the transport of crops to markets and contributing to the decline of export agriculture. The total length of the national road system is about 153,497 km (about 95,379 mi). The country’s 3,641 km (2,262 mi) of aging railways provide important connections domestically as well as with the Angolan port of Benguela and with southern Africa. Inland waterways are used extensively. The Congo River is navigable from its mouth to Matadi, a distance of 134 km (83 mi). The river is unnavigable from Matadi to Kinshasa, which are linked by a railway 401 km (249 mi) long. Beyond Kinshasa navigation is possible for more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi) until Stanley Falls impedes navigation at Kisangani. The unnavigable portions of the Congo require exports from the southeast region of Katanga to be sent through other countries. Navigable inland waterways total about 14,500 km (about 9,000 mi). For most Congolese, the chief modes of river transportation remain aging river steamers and long canoes, known as pirogues. The principal seaports are Matadi and Boma, on the lower Congo River, and Banana, at the river’s mouth. The country has international airports at Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kisangani, Goma, and Bukavu. State-owned Congo Airlines provides domestic and international service.
I Communications
The DRC’s wired telephone system is almost nonexistent, so most people use mobile telephones. The country depends heavily on air and telegraph services for internal communication. A government-controlled national broadcasting system, based in Kinshasa, operates several national radio stations and one national television station. Broadcasts are in French and numerous African languages. Several private radio and television stations are also located in Kinshasa. Daily newspapers are published in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and Kisangani.
J Foreign Trade
The DRC’s principal exports include diamonds, crude petroleum, cobalt, copper, and coffee. Exports in 2000 totaled $580 million, and imports totaled $396 million. The principal trading partners for exports were Belgium and Luxembourg (which constitute a single trading entity), the United States, Zimbabwe, Finland, and Italy. For imports, principal partners were South Africa, Belgium and Luxembourg, Nigeria, France, and Kenya. The DRC is a signatory of the Lomé Convention, a trade and aid agreement between the European Union and African, Caribbean, and Pacific nations.
K Currency and Banking
The unit of currency in the DRC is the Congolese franc, consisting of 100 centimes (468.30 Congolese francs equal US$1; 2006 average). The Congolese franc was issued in mid-1998, replacing the new zaire. The government controls the currency’s rate of exchange. The Bank of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964) is the national bank. A number of domestic banks and branches of foreign banks also function.
VI GOVERNMENT
After the Congo received its independence from Belgium in 1960, it experienced five years of political turmoil. In 1965 army chief of staff Joseph Désiré Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko) seized power in a coup. For 32 years Mobutu ran a corrupt, undemocratic regime, concentrating power in the executive branch and favoring those loyal to him. His party, the Popular Movement for the Revolution (Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution, or MPR), became the sole legal political party, and dissidents were suppressed. After significant opposition to Mobutu’s one-party system, he initiated nominal political reforms in 1990. A national conference was convened to draft a new constitution, but Mobutu successfully blocked its progress.
In May 1997 rebels led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila seized control of the country and overthrew Mobutu. Kabila suspended the constitution, dissolved the country’s powerless legislature, and declared himself president. A constitutional commission drafted a new constitution in mid-1998, but it was never submitted to a national referendum due to the start of another civil war in eastern DRC. Despite promises of democratization and the establishment of a 300-member transitional legislative body in 2000, Kabila ruled by decree.
Kabila was assassinated in January 2001 by one of his bodyguards. Kabila’s administration named his son Joseph Kabila as the new president. After months of negotiations, in July 2003 Joseph Kabila established a power-sharing government, swearing in four new vice presidents and a new cabinet. Two of the new vice presidents were leaders of the two major rebel groups involved in the civil war, one was a member of the civilian political opposition, and one was allied with Kabila. The new cabinet posts were similarly shared out to different political groups.
In May 2005 the country’s transitional parliament adopted a new constitution, which was approved by referendum in December 2005. The new constitution went into effect in February 2006. It recognized as citizens all ethnic groups living in the DRC at the time of independence in 1960. Anyone 18 years or older is eligible to vote, and voting is compulsory.
A Executive
Under the 2006 constitution the president is the head of state. The head of government is the prime minister, who is appointed by the president. The president is limited to two five-year terms and must be at least 30 years old.
B Legislature
The legislature is a bicameral body consisting of a 500-member National Assembly (lower house) and a 120-member Senate (upper house). All members serve five-year terms. In the National Assembly, 60 members are elected by majority vote and 440 by proportional representation. Senators are elected by indirect vote.
C Judiciary
The DRC’s legal system is based on Belgian law and on local traditions. The highest court is the Supreme Court in Kinshasa. There are also county courts and courts of appeal. The president appoints all judges.
D Local Government
Until the new constitution was approved in 2005, the DRC was divided into one city, Kinshasa, and ten administrative regions. The administrative regions were Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Équateur, Orientale, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Katanga, and Sud-Kivu. Each was administered by a commissioner appointed by the president. To promote a looser form of federalism, the new constitution created 26 provinces in the DRC.
E Political Parties and Groups
Many parties formed in the 1990s, largely divided along ethnic or regional lines. A ban on the formation of political associations was lifted in 1999, and all restrictions on the registration and operation of political parties were removed in 2001. The party of current president Joseph Kabila is the Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et le Developpement (PPRD), also known as the Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie. Main opposition parties include Union pour la Democratie et le Progres Social (UDPS), Forces du Futur (FDF), Forces Novatrices pour l’Union et la Solidarite (FONUS), Parti Democrate Social Chretien (PDSC), Mouvement Social Democratie et Developpement (MSDD), Mouvement Populaire de la Revolution-Fait Prive (MPR-FP), Union des Nationalistes et des Federalistes Congolais (UNAFEC), and Mouvement National Congolais/Lumumba (MNC/L). Former rebel movements that became political parties include the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie (RCD), Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo (MLC), and independent splinter groups of the RCD (RCD-ML, RCD-N).
F Defense
In 2004 military forces consisted of a total of 64,800 personnel, dominated by an army of 60,000. There is also an air force of 3,000 members, and a navy of 1,800 members. Paramilitary forces and a civil guard totaled more than 31,000 members. Military service is voluntary. Defense expenditures in 1997 accounted for 14 percent of the national budget. Because the military was the main source of support for Mobutu, the Kabila regime reorganized the armed forces, placing its own supporters in command.
G International Organizations
The DRC is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, and the African Development Bank.
VII HISTORY
The early history of what is now the DRC is still largely unknown. The earliest inhabitants of the Congo Basin are believed to have been pygmies. Bantu groups moved into the area from the north and spread east and south beginning about 2,000 years ago. The northern Bantu groups settled in stateless communities in the rain forest. The Nilo-Saharan-speaking groups of the far north formed hierarchical systems with complex judicial structures. In the southern savanna zone, the Luba, Lunda, and other Bantu groups set up centralized kingdoms by 1500.
A Kongo Kingdom
The most important early Congolese state was the kingdom of the Kongo people around the mouth of the Congo River. The Portuguese had some contact with the Kongo around 1482, when navigator Diogo Cam visited the mouth of the Congo River and claimed the surrounding region as Portuguese territory. The Portuguese named the river Rio de Padrão (Pillar River). At its height, the Kongo kingdom extended from present-day northwestern Angola to Gabon. In 1489 a Congolese embassy was sent to the Portuguese king, and in 1491 Franciscan missionaries and Portuguese craftsmen visited the area. Soon thereafter, the manikongo, or king, of Kongo converted to Christianity, but his attempts to impose the religion on his people provoked violent opposition. His son Afonso succeeded him in 1507. Literate in Portuguese, Afonso modeled his government on the Portuguese system and built many churches. Under Afonso, Kongo participated in slave raids in neighboring regions and in slave trade with the Portuguese, making Kongo a significant supplier to the Atlantic slave trade. The slave raiding brought unrest to the region, however, and the Kongo kingdom declined by the end of the 16th century, in part because of invasions by the Jaga, an eastern warrior people. Centuries elapsed before another serious European expedition to the region was undertaken. However, Arabs from the sultanate of Zanzibar in East Africa reached the region west of Lake Tanganyika in the mid-18th century, establishing plantations and conducting extensive slave raids. By the late 18th century 50,000 to 70,000 slaves were taken every year to Zanzibar and the Middle East.
B European Control
Foreign encroachment on the area increased during the 19th century. In 1816 British explorers attempted to follow the Congo River inland, reaching a point between present-day Matadi and Kinshasa, before illness forced them to retreat. Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone, who brought the injustices of the Zanzibari slave trade to the attention of Europe, reached Lualaba River from the east in 1871. Growing European interest in Africa as a source of wealth was stimulated by the accounts of explorers, notably Anglo-American journalist Henry Morton Stanley, who explored the Congo between 1874 and 1877. The first explorer to fully investigate the river, Stanley descended the Congo River system from the upper Lualaba to its mouth, traveling more than 2,600 km (more than 1,600 mi).
B1 King Leopold’s State
Upon his return to Europe, Stanley petitioned the British government to colonize the region, but he was refused. However, King Leopold II of Belgium engaged Stanley to return to the Congo to set up trading stations and establish relations with the native chiefs. This territorial acquisition was pursued under the guise of an ostensibly philanthropic organization, created and controlled by Leopold, with the stated purpose of promoting the exploration and “civilization” of Central Africa in order to end the slave trade. Stanley founded a number of posts, including Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), and secured for Leopold the rights to extensive regions bordering the Congo River.
Conflicting territorial claims advanced by various nations, notably Portugal and France, around the mouth of the Congo led in 1884 to the Berlin West Africa Conference. The conference, which was attended by representatives of all European powers with colonial interests in Africa, outlawed the slave trade and established rules for the division of the continent of Africa among them. Leopold’s personal sovereignty over the region, now called the Congo Free State, was recognized in 1885.
Leopold quickly occupied his territory with Belgian soldiers and traders and commissioned the construction of railways around unnavigable sections of the Congo River. According to agreements reached at the Berlin conference, the Congo Free State was to be open to the trade of all nations. After Leopold laid claim to all the ivory and rubber trees in the Congo in the early 1890s, however, there was little else for any nation to trade. Rubber proved to be the most lucrative product in the Congo. Starting in the early 1890s, Congolese people were systematically forced to collect rubber as the only means of paying new taxes levied on them. Ironically, in the same period that this system of virtual slavery was imposed by the colonists, the Belgian colonial army, the Force Publique, destroyed the Zanzibari slave trade in the eastern Congo. The violent suppression of the slave trade and the new system of forced labor caused severe hardships in the region. As colonial rule was asserted, minor local uprisings were quelled, including three mutinies by Congolese members of the Force Publique.
B2 Belgian Congo
In the first decade of the 20th century, the administration of the Congo Free State became increasingly oppressive in its exploitation of Congolese workers, and word of the exploitation led to international protest. Reports by British diplomat Roger David Casement and journalist E. D. Morel publicized the lack of development in the Congo and the regular use of torture by Leopold’s rubber collection agents. Public opinion forced Leopold to establish a commission of inquiry in 1904. The commission revealed that the Congolese were victims of a slave labor system and other human rights abuses. The king instituted certain reforms, but these proved ineffective. As a result, in 1908 the Belgian parliament voted to annex the Congo Free State, making it a colony that became known as the Belgian Congo. While the most unfair labor practices were eliminated, most Congolese people fared little better under the new administration.
During World War I (1914-1918) Congolese troops aided the Allied cause in Africa, conquering the German territory of Ruanda-Urundi (now Rwanda and Burundi). After the war Belgian colonialism changed greatly. Labor practices were liberalized, and schools and hospitals were established. The standard of living rose significantly. However, the Belgian colonial attitude toward the Congolese remained extremely paternalistic. The Africans were treated like children, disciplined when judged to behave disobediently or immorally, and taught to abandon traditional lifestyles in favor of laboring on colonists’ farms. In addition, the Congolese were not taught modern technical or administrative skills.
Substantial industrialization and urbanization took place in the colony during World War II (1939-1945). This process was particularly marked in the uranium, copper, palm oil, and rubber industries. Uranium from the Congo was used to develop the first atomic weapons. During the postwar years, industrial productivity increased, and a limited series of reforms, designed to prepare the Congolese for eventual self-government, was initiated. Africans were allowed to own land, and a very small number of Africans, under extremely subjective criteria, were officially recognized as having the same legal status as white colonists. Municipal council elections, the first ever for the Congolese, were scheduled for December 1957. The Belgian government believed these reforms would be the first step in a prolonged, gradual movement toward Congolese autonomy. However, the social and cultural effects of colonialism and rapid modernization had left the colony unbalanced economically and inexperienced politically.
In the December elections, Congolese Africans won 130 of 170 local municipal council seats. Political parties, which were not permitted in these elections, were allowed to operate only after violent nationalist riots in Léopoldville in January 1959. As political parties quickly sprouted across the colony, the Belgian government announced a schedule for national elections, which were to inaugurate limited autonomy. But a congress of leading nationalist parties insisted upon immediate full independence. The two principal parties were the Abako (Bakongo Alliance), led by Joseph Kasavubu, and the Congolese National Movement, led by militant nationalist Patrice Lumumba. Belgium, faced with rapidly escalating tensions and nationalist unrest, agreed to relinquish the unprepared colony. In preindependence elections in May 1960 some 40 parties presented candidates. Lumumba’s Congolese National Movement showed the greatest strength, followed by Abako. By agreement between the two leading parties, Lumumba became prime minister, and Kasavubu became president. The independent Republic of the Congo was proclaimed in Léopoldville on June 30, 1960.
C Postindependence Turmoil
Violent disorders—stemming from ethnic disputes, the disappointment of the parties excluded from power, and a revolt of Congolese armed forces—began within a week of independence. With the intention of restoring order and protecting Europeans, Belgium mobilized its forces still in the Congo and flew additional troops into the country, despite Lumumba’s objections. The military action, interpreted as an attempt to reimpose Belgian authority, provoked even greater violence against Europeans. Virtually all remaining Europeans fled, leaving the new country without administrators, professionals, and technicians.
C1 Secession of Katanga
The political scene in the Congo was further complicated in July when Moise Tshombe, the Belgian-supported premier of mineral-rich Katanga Province, proclaimed Katanga to be an independent country. In response to an appeal from Prime Minister Lumumba, the United Nations (UN) Security Council demanded that Belgian forces withdraw, and it authorized Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to send a peacekeeping force to the Congo to restore order. The UN force, comprising units from African countries, Sweden, and Ireland, gradually began to replace Belgian troops. When the Security Council ruled that no UN forces should be used to affect the outcome of any internal conflict in the province, Tshombe permitted UN troops to enter Katanga. Disappointed by the UN’s refusal to use force to put down the secession, Lumumba then requested military assistance from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). This caused Western nations to view Lumumba as a Communist sympathizer, and opposition to his rule increased both inside and outside the Congo.
In early September, President Kasavubu, with Western support, turned against Lumumba and dismissed him, replacing him with Joseph Ileo (later called Sombo Amba Ileo). Lumumba rejected the legality of the dismissal and in turn dismissed Kasavubu. The Congolese government was deadlocked. On September 13 the UN forces gave up control of the airports and radio station to Lumumba. However, the next day the Congolese army—led by army chief of staff Colonel Joseph Désireé Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko)—seized control of the government. While maintaining Kasavubu as president, Mobutu transferred executive and administrative authority to a caretaker government, the College of High Commissioners. Lumumba was placed under house arrest.
In December 1960 Antoine Gizenga, former deputy prime minister in Lumumba’s government, proclaimed himself prime minister and designated Stanleyville (now Kisangani) as the capital of the Congo. Over the next months his government was recognized by most Communist and Arab nations and by Ghana, and the USSR began sending arms and advisers. In January 1961 pro-Lumumba soldiers invaded northern Katanga, and the UN sent troops there to prevent civil war. Meanwhile, Lumumba was captured while escaping his UN-guarded villa in Léopoldville to join his supporters in Stanleyville. On Mobutu’s orders, he was flown to Katanga, where troops loyal to Tshombe murdered him on arrival on January 17, 1961. Lumumba subsequently became a national hero and an inspiration for African nationalists and leftists. In February 1961, with Mobutu’s assent, Kasavubu replaced Mobutu’s caretaker government with a new provisional government headed by Ileo as prime minister.
C2 UN Peace Efforts
In February 1961 the Security Council authorized the UN to use force to prevent civil war in the Congo, and it demanded withdrawal of all foreign military personnel not under UN command. Opposing the council decision and hoping to forestall further UN intervention, 18 leaders of Congolese factions (not including Gizenga) agreed in March to abolish the central government in favor of a confederation of sovereign states. At a later meeting convened in April, Tshombe withdrew his cooperation. Arrested and charged with treason, he secured his release by agreeing to dismiss all foreign advisers and military forces in Katanga. However, on his return to Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi), in Katanga, Tshombe reneged on his agreement. The UN force in the Congo launched limited military action against Tshombe’s forces in September and again in December. While trying to arrange a cease-fire between UN and Katangan forces in September, Secretary-General Hammarskjöld was killed under mysterious circumstances in an airplane crash near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Meanwhile, Gizenga agreed to join the central government after the new prime minister, Cyrille Adoula, promised to follow the policies of Lumumba. Gizenga was made vice prime minister, but he was removed from his post in January 1962 for defying a parliamentary resolution that he go to Léopoldville to face secession charges.
During the first half of 1962 Tshombe held intermittent talks with Adoula, but the two leaders failed to resolve the Katanga conflict. To compel Tshombe to come to terms, acting UN secretary general U Thant proposed a three-stage plan for ending Katanga’s secession. Tshombe announced his acceptance of the plan but made little effort to implement it. Adoula demanded that the plan be put into effect, by force if necessary. In December UN forces moved decisively against Katanga and gained control of Elisabethville. Tshombe, fleeing before UN troops, established his last stronghold at Kolwezi. On January 15, 1963, he surrendered to integration demands and was promised amnesty for himself and his followers. A few months later, Adoula formed a new cabinet, which included Katangan representatives and gave strongest representation to the Lumumbist party. However, Adoula dissolved the parliament in September 1963. Several key Lumumbist figures turned against Adoula, fled to the east, and plotted revolutions. Strikes and rebellions flared across the country. In June 1964 Adoula resigned as prime minister and was replaced in July by Tshombe. A new constitution was adopted in August 1964. This constitution created new, smaller administrative units and defined the country as a confederation, giving the units a higher degree of autonomy. At the same time, the country was also renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Then, in August, Stanleyville fell to Lumumbist rebels. After government troops, aided by European mercenaries, began a drive to recapture the city, the rebels threatened to kill Europeans and Americans being held hostage. On November 24, Belgian paratroops, carried in U.S. aircraft, landed in Stanleyville and, together with Congolese troops, recaptured the city. Also in 1964 Laurent-Désiré Kabila, the future Congolese president, led another Lumumbist rebellion, in the eastern province of Kivu. (Kabila later founded the People’s Revolutionary Party [PRP]), which in 1967 established a short-lived rebel state in the mountains west of Lake Tanganyika.)
D The Mobutu Years
A fragile coalition organized by Prime Minister Tshombe won parliamentary elections in early 1965, but shortly thereafter Kasavubu ousted Tshombe, who was believed to be plotting to oust him. In November 1965 Mobutu again intervened, overthrowing Kasavubu, installing himself as president for five years, and canceling elections scheduled for the next year. On October 26, 1966, Mobutu dismissed the prime minister and established a presidential form of government. This change was formalized by a new constitution adopted in 1967. In his first years as president, Mobutu brought political stability to the country, although there were a number of revolts, and students occasionally protested his dictatorial rule. Some foreign-owned mining firms were nationalized, and in 1966 the European names of cities were replaced with African ones (Léopoldville became Kinshasa; Stanleyville, Kisangani; and Elizabethville, Lubumbashi).
D1 Authenticity and Kleptocracy
In 1970 Mobutu’s political party, the Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR), was declared the only legal party, and all citizens were obliged to join. Unopposed, Mobutu was elected to a seven-year term as president. He undertook a major program of “African authenticity,” in which ostensibly traditional African values and practices were promoted over Western ones. In 1971 the country’s name was changed to the Republic of Zaire, after an old, supposedly more authentic local name for the Congo River. In 1972 the president renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko and compelled other Zairians to drop their non-African names and adopt more traditional African dress. In a policy dubbed “Zairianization,” Mobutu’s government took over some 2,000 foreign-owned businesses in 1973. Most of the newly nationalized companies were distributed among Mobutu and MPR loyalists. Many later failed because of inexperience, mismanagement, and corruption. Some economic development projects were completed, but Zaire remained dependent on income from copper and other mineral exports. World copper prices fell sharply in the mid-1970s; Zaire’s export earnings dropped, and the country’s foreign debt rose to nearly $4 billion by 1980. At the same time, Zaire experienced high rates of unemployment and inflation. Nevertheless, Western nations backed Mobutu’s regime as a bulwark against the spread of Communism in Central Africa. The West provided military aid to Zaire, particularly in the late 1970s, to repulse invasions by Katangan secessionists backed by Communist forces in Angola, who were backed in turn by the USSR and Cuba. Mobutu crushed political dissent, using propaganda, executions, censorship, imprisonment, intimidation, and other forms of harassment to solidify his control. In 1982 opponents of Mobutu’s one-party rule formed the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). The leaders of UDPS were frequently imprisoned throughout the 1980s.
While the nation’s economy struggled, Mobutu’s wealth grew to an estimated $4 billion. After coming to power Mobutu profited from personal sales of huge amounts of state-owned mineral reserves and occasional transfers of millions of dollars directly from the Bank of Zaire. He purchased hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate in Morocco, South Africa, and throughout Europe. Mobutu’s supporters in the country’s administration and industry were regularly rewarded with large sums of money. This system, often described as a kleptocracy, played a key part in Mobutu’s firm grip on power. In this atmosphere, corruption prevailed at all levels of Zairian administration and business, choking the nation’s economy. The country’s foreign debt was rescheduled in 1981, and the IMF provided a $1 billion loan. In exchange for further aid, Zaire agreed to devalue its currency and adopt other austerity measures in 1983 and 1984. However, seeing little economic improvement, Zaire abandoned the IMF program in 1986, and its economy took a downturn. The government was forced to embrace economic reform again in 1989. In 1990 the United States, which had supplied hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Mobutu since 1965, cut direct military and economic assistance to Zaire because of the regime’s corruption and human rights abuses.
D2 Political Maneuvers
Discontent with Mobutu intensified in the early 1990s, and he spent more and more time away from Kinshasa at a palace he had built near his ancestral village of Gbadolite. Under pressure from the opposition, Mobutu announced the creation of a multiparty democratic system in April 1990. In August 1991 a national multiparty conference convened to draft a new constitution and prepare for elections. However, the chaotic conference, attended by almost 3,000 delegates, disintegrated after only a week. Meanwhile, outbreaks of violence and looting led many European and American civilians to flee the country. In September 1991 Mobutu agreed to form a coalition government with UDPS leader Étienne Tshisekedi as prime minister. Mobutu fired Tshisekedi a month later. The conference reopened in January 1992, only to be closed again by Mobutu’s hand-picked prime minister for seemingly unreasonable objections. In retaliation, some soldiers attempted to overthrow the government, but were crushed by loyalist troops. In April 1992, amid continuing unrest, the conference reassembled to draw up a new constitution. The conference soon declared itself the rightful governing body of Zaire. In August the conference appointed Tshisekedi prime minister, this time to head a newly assembled transitional government. Mobutu consented to recognize this arrangement in return for retaining control of the army and his position as head of state.
In November 1992 the conference adopted a draft constitution that shifted most executive and military powers to the prime minister, set up a bicameral parliament, and called for a popularly elected but largely ceremonial president. The conference dissolved itself and an interim government, the High Council of the Republic (HCR), was established to organize elections. Although some foreign nations recognized this body, led by Tshisekedi, Mobutu refused to acknowledge its authority and appointed a different transitional government and prime minister. Throughout 1993 Mobutu and the HCR operated as rival governments, each claiming authority. In 1994 Mobutu declared the HCR and his own government dissolved, replacing both with a transitional legislature known as the High Council of the Republic-Parliament of Transition (HCR-PT). In April the HCR-PT approved the Transitional Constitutional Act, calling for a constitutional referendum and presidential and legislative elections within 15 months. Léon Kengo wa Dondo, a more moderate opposition figure than Tshisekedi, was elected prime minister by the HCR-PT, but Tshisekedi maintained his claim to the office. The rivalry between HCR members and the HCR-PT further confused an already chaotic political scene, effectively fracturing the anti-Mobutu movement. With the opposition powerless and disorganized, Mobutu continued to dodge the democratization process. In June 1995 the HCR-PT voted to extend the transition period for another two years.
D3 Refugee Problem
In July 1994 refugees from Rwanda began streaming into Zaire because of the ethnic conflict between Hutu and Tutsi in that country. More than 1.3 million Rwandans gathered in camps along Zaire’s eastern border. The Zairian government and the UN struggled to find a way of safely returning the refugees to Rwanda. In February 1995 the UN sent Zairian troops to maintain order in the camps. In August the Zairian government ordered that refugees be forcibly expelled from the camps. After about 15,000 refugees had been forced back into Rwanda, the government halted the operation in response to international pressure. In November 1995 Mobutu attended a summit in Cairo, Egypt, with the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, and a representative from Tanzania to discuss the situation. The leaders agreed on a plan to encourage the exiles to return to Rwanda, but most refugees resisted being repatriated. The Hutu, who feared reprisals from Rwanda’s Tutsi regime, were particularly resistant. Many camps were controlled by armed Hutu militias made up of former members of the Rwandan army, some of whom had been responsible for genocidal killings in Rwanda. The militias had begun to use these camps as staging areas for raids into their homeland.
E Rebellion and Civil War
In September 1996, near the refugee camps along the border with Rwanda and Burundi, a small minority of Zairian Tutsi known as the Banyamulenge became targets of harassment by local non-Tutsi and Zairian troops. Recent legislation had established new criteria for Zairian citizenship, and locals decided to expel the Banyamulenge, who had lived in the area for about 200 years. The Banyamulenge, armed and trained by the Tutsi Rwandan government in preparation for such an attack, retaliated and, reinforced by Rwandan Tutsi, successfully fought off the Zairian army in October. Tension between Zaire and Rwanda led to brief cross-border mortar fire around Lake Kivu. By late October the resistance had been organized into the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), led by longtime Lumumbist and veteran anti-Mobutu guerrilla fighter, Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Backed by five neighboring countries, the uprising swiftly grew into an anti-Mobutu rebellion. The governments of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, and Zambia had long been hostile to Mobutu because of the Zairian leader’s support for various rebel groups in neighboring countries. Rwandan and Ugandan leaders also had close personal ties with Kabila. Meanwhile, Western governments failed to come to Mobutu’s aid because of his reputation as a corrupt, ineffective dictator. The AFDL began capturing border towns, easily defeating disorganized Zairian forces. Undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, Mobutu avoided the rebellion by staying at his villa in France.
While continuing to fight the Zairian army, the AFDL, probably at the bidding of Rwanda, also began in November to attack Hutu refugee camps. As each camp was attacked, its population fled to another, creating a number of gigantic, unmanageable refugee camps. The refugee population at Mugunga camp, northwest of Lake Kivu, grew to more than 500,000. A U.S. military task force was drawn up to intervene and coordinate the repatriation of refugees. Just before it was to be deployed in mid-November 1996, the AFDL routed Hutu militias in several camps, forcing them west. The imperiled refugee population in eastern Zaire split, with about 800,000 streaming home to Rwanda and several hundred thousand moving west, deeper into the jungles.
The AFDL captured more of eastern Zaire in the next months. The Zairian army was consistently routed, as its underpaid and inexperienced soldiers frequently surrendered or fled instead of fighting. Meanwhile, the AFDL, with its stated intention of overthrowing Mobutu, drew volunteers from every region it captured. Despite employing foreign mercenaries, the Zairian army lost strategically located Kisangani to the rebels in March 1997. Lubumbashi, Zaire’s second largest city, fell in April. Under pressure from UDPS protests in Kinshasa and Kabila’s rapid advance, Mobutu approved Tshisekedi’s reappointment as prime minister in April. A week later he replaced Tshisekedi with his hardline army chief of staff, General Likulia Bolongo.
E1 Laurent-Désiré Kabila’s Rule
On May 16, 1997, with the rebels nearing Kinshasa, Mobutu relinquished power and left the capital. He fled the country for Morocco, where he died in exile in September. Days after Mobutu’s flight the AFDL captured Kinshasa with minimal resistance, and the rebels found themselves in control of the country, which they renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Kabila declared himself president with sweeping powers and promised to establish a democratic system of government. Almost immediately, Tshisekedi’s UDPS clashed with the new regime, demanding a leading role in a transitional government, which Kabila rejected. Tshisekedi, who had long struggled against Mobutu, accused Kabila of lacking commitment to democracy. Breaking up opposition demonstrations with troops, Kabila’s popularity and the euphoria generated by Mobutu’s ouster waned rapidly.
In 1997 and 1998 the Kabila administration faced international condemnation for obstructing UN investigations of alleged massacres of Hutu refugees by the AFDL during its takeover of the country. At the same time, Kabila alienated his former allies Rwanda and Uganda. In response to public sentiment that he was a puppet of the Rwandan Tutsi elite, Kabila expelled Rwandan military advisers from the DRC and systematically removed Tutsi from positions within the DRC administration. In mid-1998 a string of events occurred that were strikingly similar to those of late 1996. The DRC government sought to strip the eastern Banyamulenge Tutsi of Congolese citizenship, and the Banyamulenge rose up in armed revolt with the help of Rwandan soldiers expelled by Kabila. This rebel army became known as the Congolese Rally for Democracy (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie, or RCD). The RCD, backed by the Rwandan government, began capturing towns in eastern DRC with the stated aim of overthrowing Kabila. Soon thereafter the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), a rebel group supported by Uganda, began operating in northern DRC. Kabila was successful in rallying military support from a number of regional allies, including Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan, and kept both rebel armies from threatening the capital.
In 1999 the United Nations established the UN Observer Mission in DR Congo (MONUC), which became the largest UN peacekeeping mission in the world with 17,000 troops stationed in the country. However, the civil war persisted into the early 21st century despite numerous peace treaties and cease-fires. Many international observers accused the intervening foreign nations of exploiting the war for economic gain by looting the DRC of its resources in the process of fighting. The civil war was staggeringly costly to the DRC, both economically and in terms of human lives. In mid-2007 the International Rescue Committee (IRC) estimated that 5.4 million people had died due to violence, starvation, and disease since the beginning of the conflict in 1998. The IRC also reported that since 2003, when the civil war officially ended, the mortality rate had remained essentially unchanged, with as many as 45,000 additional deaths every month. The IRC survey found that the vast majority died from preventable causes such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and malnutrition, indicating the severity of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country.
E2 New Administration
In January 2001 Laurent-Désiré Kabila was assassinated by one of his bodyguards and his son Joseph Kabila was named president. At the age of 31, Joseph Kabila thus became Africa’s youngest head of state. His succession was met with skepticism from many observers both inside and outside the DRC, but the new leader pursued peace talks more earnestly than did his father. In late 2002 he succeeded in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan, Ugandan, and Zimbabwean troops from the DRC. After a series of peace agreements, in July 2003 Kabila and representatives of the RCD, the MLC, and the civilian political opposition entered into a transitional, power-sharing government. Although this arrangement officially ended the civil war, heavy fighting continued in the eastern provinces and UN peacekeeping forces remained in the country.
In May 2005 the DRC’s new transitional legislature approved a draft constitution, which was submitted to voters and approved in a referendum in December. The new constitution, which went into effect in February 2006, permitted a greater degree of federalism as well as greater autonomy for some of the mineral-rich regions of the country. The constitution also lowered the minimum age for the president to 30, permitting Kabila to run for office in elections scheduled for 2006.
The country’s first direct, multiparty elections in 40 years commenced in July 2006. Congolese voters cast ballots to choose a new government from more than 9,700 parliamentary candidates, and a new head of state from 32 presidential candidates. In the parliamentary elections, no party gained a majority in the 500-seat National Assembly. Kabila’s party, the Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Developpement (PPRD), won more seats than any other party. The Mouvement pour la Libération du Congo (MLC) party, led by opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, won the second most seats.
In the concurrent presidential election, Kabila and Bemba emerged as the top two contenders in the first round of voting. A runoff election was held in October in which Kabila gained 58 percent of the vote, becoming the first democratically elected president of the country since independence in 1960.