central Africa is an incredibly beautiful region of the world and home to the world's second largest rainforest and within this region is the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo two countries that share a rainforest River and almost the exact same name but are otherwise very different from each other here's why the Republic of the Congo only has around 5 million people compared to the over 100 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo hello and welcome to geography by Jeff today we're off to explore the two Congolese countries and while
the two countries share a name they're actually quite distinct in many ways not least in the sheer amount of people the Democratic Republic of Congo has over the Republic of Congo now from this point on I'm largely going to be referring to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the DRC and the Republic of the Congo as Congo brazzaville otherwise it's going to be very hard for you to follow along with the episode so make that mental note here and of course I need to plug my sub stack just a little bit if you like
my videos and want to continue to support me and my geography then head on over to sub stack free subscribers get additional geography every week and premium subscribers get access to all of these amazing perks so sign up today there's literally nothing to lose [Music] foreign before we dive into the colonial history of central Africa it's worth taking a minute to explain that the modern day borders that exist within this region are not based on historic ethnic lingual or tribal boundaries the entire region we're talking about today was home to both the Bantu and pygmy
peoples and each of those groups have dozens of different ethnicities and tribes within them all that's to say Africa as a whole is a complicated continent that has been unfairly simplified by European Colonial organizers But Central Africa a region encompassing nine countries as determined by the African Union has a particularly long and brutal history shaped significantly by the forces of these same European countries from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s almost the entire continent was under the rule of several European powers the impacts of which continue to reverberate across the region only Ethiopia can claim
that it was never fully colonized the colonization of this region commenced during the Scramble for Africa in the late 1800s a period of Rapid European Colonial invasion occupation Division and annexation of African territory this scramble was driven by Europe's increasing industrialization needs and the Quest for new markets and resources central Africa with its abundant natural resources offered an ideal ground for such economic exploitation as such central Africa was largely divided amongst France Germany Belgium and Portugal France dominated the largest portion with colonies that now formed the countries of Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Republic of
Congo and Gabon meanwhile Belgium controlled the vast Congo free state now the DRC Germany held what is now Burundi and Rwanda and Portugal took hold of Angola this period of time in Africa was marked by unimaginable exploitation and human rights abuses but Belgium's rule in the Congo Free State under King Leopold II was especially brutal originally established as a European pet project to quote unquote civilized the indigenous people it quickly evolved into a brutal regime of forced labor to extract Rubber and Ivory leading to millions of Congolese deaths International outcry eventually forced Belgium to Annex
the region as a proper Colony though Belgium's violent exploitative conditions persisted similarly French equatorial Africa a Federation of French colonies that include the country that would become Congo brazzaville would also devolve into an exploitative regime the indigenous people of the area were coerced to work on public projects and in the extraction of resources such as rubber Timber and palm oil like with Belgium's Congo free state France's colonial rule would lead to a significant decline in the Congolese population and would incite several revolts eventually both countries would gain their independence from Belgium and France respectively the
DRC would officially be free from Belgium on June 30th 1960 and would quickly change its name to Zaire from 1965 to 1997 when it would then change back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo meanwhile Congo brazzaville would officially gain its freedom just two months later in August of 1960 but despite sharing the French language a similar name and even an exceptionally large river the two countries would remain completely independent from each other the two Congolese countries had a similar exploitative experience but at the hands of two distinct European powers and this left an impact
that stretches well into today Belgium left their Congo colony in a hurry without any preparations for Independence France however left Congo brazzaville with a constitution and having overseen early elections this difference in managing the colonial exit has resulted in differences between the relative stability of the two countries ever since the DRC and Congo brazzaville are two neighboring countries that share a very similar official name but as we're about to find out that's really where the similarities end but before we get to the differences between these two countries if you're enjoying this video hit that subscribe
button more fun geography videos are just a single click away thank you [Music] while both of these countries are nestled within central Africa Congo brazzaville and the DRC share more than just a name both exhibit remarkable Geographic diversity with an array of ecosystems mineral resources and climates but despite being neighboring countries the scale topography and natural features vary significantly between them in the west Congo brazzaville is the smaller of the two countries covering an area of approximately 132 000 square miles the country is located on the equator and has a diverse range of geographic features
the coastal plain with its lagoons sandy beaches and tidal Flats gives way to a fertile Central Plateau known as nyari the terrain then gradually ascends to the myombe mountains in the southwest the north of the country is covered by the vast Congo rainforest the second largest tropical rainforest in the world rich in biodiversity and a significant carbon sink meanwhile the DRC is the second largest country on the continent spanning approximately 906 thousand square miles the geographic diversity of the DRC is found and the country is renowned for its natural resources the central part of the
DRC is dominated by the central Congo Basin a massive flat region filled with swamps and rainforests the same rainforest that exists in Congo brazzaville in fact most of this rainforest is within the DRC the Eastern and Southern borders of the DRC are marked by high plateaus and mountains including the matumba mountains and the legendary ruinsori range the albertine rift along the drc's Eastern borders hosts some of Africa's highest peaks and the deepest lake Lake Tanganyika meanwhile the Congo River with its numerous tributaries plays an equally vital role for both a DRC and Congo brazzaville providing
a major transportation route and diverse ecosystems the river also features the impressive Inga Falls which has the potential to generate vast amounts of hydroelectric power it's this River where each country gets its name and provides the Everlasting dividing line between the two countries both Congo brazzaville and the DRC boast diverse geography traffic Landscapes featuring everything from Coastal Plains to high mountains vast rainforests and significant river systems but despite being neighbors the difference between each country's geography has played into the huge population difference between the two [Music] foreign [Music] countries share a border and exist largely
within the same region there maintains a significant population difference between the two of them as of 2023 according to the cia's World Factbook Congo brazzaville is home to just about 5.7 million people and the DRC is home to over 111 million people though it should be noted that some DRC population estimates go as low as about 95 million people regardless this extreme difference between the two Congolese countries rests on a variety of factors first and foremost the DRC is an absolutely massive country and the second largest country in Africa and with its vast land mass
lies areas that are conducive to farming particularly in its Southern areas in contrast Congo brazzaville is considerably smaller in much of its territory is dominated by the tropical rainforests particularly in the north restricting the amount of land available for human habitation and agriculture this provides a natural limiting factor for Congo brazzaville which would struggle to feed a population as large as the Dr RCS that said the DRC gets approximately 80 percent of its food from Imports as well but that still means it supports upwards of 20 to 25 million people on its own agricultural industry
something Congo brazzaville would not be able to do additionally historic fertility rates and population growth patterns are critical to understanding the current population disparity according to the United Nations as of 2023 the DRC had the third highest fertility rate of every country in the world with about 6.1 births per woman this is far higher than Congo brazzaville with about four births per woman and with improving health and medicines over the last 50 years this has seen a DRC population that was a little over 15 million people in 1960 balloon to over 100 million by contrast
Congo brazzaville had a population of about 1.1 million in 1960 growing much more slowly to its 5.7 million today but natural birth rate is only part of the equation migration has also played into the story of why the DRC has grown so much over the last few decades the DRC has experienced significant internal and cross-border migration throughout its history much of this on the back of the drc's incredibly valuable natural resources that it has had historically and continues to have today when the country became independent in 1960 it was already fairly industrialized due to the
extensive mining operations and this industrialization continued well into the modern day as laborers traveled to the DRC in order to capitalize on the country's vast reserve of minerals such as Cobalt unfortunately despite so many moving to the DRC for this reason it rarely works out for anyone thank you the DRC is extraordinarily rich in natural resources including diamonds Cobalt copper gold and other minerals it also holds significant reserves of Colton and ore used in electronic devices but despite its natural wealth the country remains one of the poorest in the world with many of its citizens
living in abject poverty a paradox often referred to as the resource curse and this is because of the way the country has continually allowed the natural resource industry to manage itself right now as you watch this video people are being exploited on the backs of the extraction industry which is Rife with corruption and mismanagement widespread corruption permeates all levels from local officials to national government entities undermining the potential benefits of this wealth for the broader population reports of funds being siphoned off by corrupt officials instead of being invested in public services like Health Care education
and infrastructure are very common but even more than that the resource extraction industry has been linked to severe human rights violations minors many of whom are children work in perilous conditions with insufficient safety measures they often toil for long hours earning meager wages while being exposed to hazardous substances without adequate protective equipment and it's this vast mineral wealth that has fueled conflicts within the region at large earning some minerals coming out of the country to be labeled conflict minerals various armed groups exploit the minerals to fund their activities contributing to a cycle of violence and
instability the competition for control of these valuable resources has led to brutal conflicts leading to loss of life displacement of people and a Severe humanitarian crisis similar conflicts across Africa have brought the infamous Russian mercenary group Wagner and as of recent reports there's reason to believe Wagner's troops are within the DRC now as well and this is also sad because the drc's vast natural resources should have served as a springboard for economic development and prosperity for the people in the country but the reality is one of exploitation corruption human rights violations conflict and environmental degradation
and unfortunately that doesn't appear likely to change anytime soon Congo brazzaville and the DRC share a name a river and a rainforest and that's about it Congo Brazil while not without its own problems is still markedly better off in almost every metric than its neighbor and that's something that's likely to continue well into the future I hope you enjoyed learning about the two Congolese countries in central Africa if you did please subscribe to my channel and if you want to watch more of my videos you can do so here thanks for watching see you next
