Con·go (k ng g )1. Officially Democratic Republic of the Congo. Formerly (1971-1997) Za·ire (z  îr, zä-îr) and (1960-1971) Congo and (1908-1960) Belgian Congo and (1885-1908) Congo Free State. A country of central Africa astride the equator. Inhabited originally by Pygmy peoples and later by migrating Bantu and Nilotic groups, the region came under the control of Leopold II of Belgium in the late 1870s and was annexed outright in 1908. Full independence was achieved in 1960. Army general Mobutu Sese Seko took control of the country in 1965, ruling until his ouster by rebel forces in 1997. Kinshasa is the capital and the largest city. Population: 65,800,000. 2. Officially Republic of the Congo. A country of west-central Africa with a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. It was part of French Equatorial Africa before becoming independent in 1960. A Marxist state was established in 1970, but in the early 1990s Marxism was abandoned in favor of a multiparty system, and a new constitution was adopted. Brazzaville is the capital and the largest city. Population: 3,800,000. |   top: Democratic Republic of the Congo bottom: Republic of the Congo |
Congo [ˈkɒŋgəʊ]
n
1. (Placename) Democratic Republic of. a republic in S central Africa, with a narrow strip of land along the Congo estuary leading to the Atlantic in the west: Congo Free State established in 1885, with Leopold II of Belgium as absolute monarch; became the Belgian Congo colony in 1908; gained independence in 1960, followed by civil war and the secession of Katanga (until 1963); President Mobutu Sese Seko seized power in 1965; declared a one-party state in 1978, and was overthrown by rebels in 1997. The country consists chiefly of the Congo basin, with large areas of dense tropical forest and marshes, and the Mitumba highlands reaching over 5000 m (16 000 ft.) in the east. Official language: French. Religion: Christian majority, animist minority. Currency: Congolese franc. Capital: Kinshasa. Pop.: 53 625 000 (2001 est.). Area: 2 344 116 sq. km (905 063 sq. miles) Former names Congo Free State (1885-1908) Belgian Congo (1908-60) Congo-Kinshasa (1960-71) Zaïre (1971-97)
2. (Placename) Republic of. a former name (1960-99) of Congo-Brazzaville
3. (Placename) the second longest river in Africa, rising as the Lualaba on the Katanga plateau in the Democratic Republic of Congo and flowing in a wide northerly curve to the Atlantic: forms the border between Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo Length: about 4800 km (3000 miles). Area of basin: about 3 000 000 sq. km (1 425 000 sq. miles). Former Zaïrese name (1971-97) Zaïre
4. (Social Science / Peoples) (Linguistics / Languages) a variant spelling of Kongo (the people and language)
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  Congo - a republic in central Africa; achieved independence from Belgium in 1960Goma - a city in eastern Congo at the northern end of Lake Kivu near the border with Rwanda Kananga, Luluabourg - a city in southwestern Congo; former name (until 1966) was Luluabourg Kinshasa, Leopoldville - the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the Congo river opposite Brazzaville Elisabethville, Lubumbashi - a city in southeastern Congo near the border with Zambia; a copper mining center; former name (until 1966) was Elisabethville Nyamuragira - an active volcano in eastern Congo Nyiragongo - an active volcano in eastern Congo Africa - the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean Congo River, Zaire River, Congo - a major African river (one of the world's longest); flows through Congo into the South Atlantic Kasai, Kasai River, River Kasai - a river of southwestern Africa that rises in central Angola and flows east and then north (forming part of the border between Angola and Congo) and continuing northwest through Congo to empty into the Congo River on the border between Congo and Republic of the Congo Lake Edward - a lake in the Great Rift Valley between Congo and Uganda Congolese - a native or inhabitant of the Republic of the Congo |
| 2. |  Congo - a major African river (one of the world's longest); flows through Congo into the South AtlanticBelgian Congo, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zaire - a republic in central Africa; achieved independence from Belgium in 1960 | |
| 3. |  Congo - a republic in west-central Africa; achieved independence from France in 1960Brazzaville - the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo Africa - the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean | |
| 4. |  congo - black tea grown in China black tea - fermented tea leaves |
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