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| − | :''This article is about the various names applied to a region of central Africa; for other uses, see [[Congo (disambiguation)]].''
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| − | [[Image:Congo-Brazzaville-Congo-Kinshasa.png|right|frame|{{legend|#0d0|[[Republic of the Congo]]}}{{legend|#090|[[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]}}]]
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| − | '''Congo''' is a name shared by two neighbouring countries in [[Central Africa]], largely drained by the [[Congo River]], and usually distinguished by their full official names and occasionally by adding their capital cities; the name is also used in [[Congo#Historical usage of Congo and alternate spelling .22Kongo.22|prior political entities]]. It also refers to the [[Africa]]n [[subregion]] drained by the Congo River, located between the [[Gulf of Guinea]] and the [[African Great Lakes]].
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| − | "'''The Congos'''" may be used to refer to both countries. The adjective "Congolese" (as in "Congolese music" or "Congolese culture") can refer to either or both countries.
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| − | ==Republic of the Congo==
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| − | {{main|Republic of the Congo}}
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| − | The '''[[Republic of the Congo]]''' ('''ROC'''), also known as '''Congo-[[Brazzaville]]''' (and locally as "Braza"), is the smaller of the two countries and lies to the west.
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| − | It was long a [[French colonial empires|French colony]], most of the time called '''Middle Congo''' (or part of an entity Middle Congo-[[Gabon]]), informally also known as [[French Congo]], and since 1886 part of [[French Equatorial Africa]]. On 3 January 1970 it became officially the People's Republic of Congo, since 15 March 1992 simply the Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997 (and also in some recent publications<ref>The [[List of countries by Human Development Index|2005 UN Human Development Index]] refers to the Republic of the Congo as "Congo", and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as "Congo, Dem. Rep. of the" [http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/pdf/presskit/HDR05_PKE_HDI.pdf].</ref>) it was also simply referred to as "Congo".
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| − | The area was dominated by [[Bantu]] tribes throughout most of its history. It was annexed as a colony of [[France]] in the 1880s as part of [[French Equatorial Africa]], and Brazzaville was the symbolic capital of [[Free France]] during [[World War II]].
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| − | The country gained its independence from France in 1960 as the '''Congo Republic'''. It has had decades of political struggle since, with fragile elected governments often subject to military coups.
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| − | ==Democratic Republic of the Congo==
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| − | {{main|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
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| − | The '''[[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]''' ('''DRC'''), known as '''[[Zaïre]]''' from 1971 to 1997, is sometimes also referred to as "'''Congo-[[Kinshasa]]'''". It is the larger of the two countries and lies to the east. It was once the personal property of [[King Leopold II]] of [[Belgium]], when it was known as the [[Congo Free State]], and later a Belgian colony when it was renamed the [[Belgian Congo]]. When DRC was called Zaïre, the other Congo was known simply as "Congo".
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| − | [[Category:Nations and places]]
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| − | [[Category:Divided regions]]
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| − | {{credit|60812270}}
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