Description
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as DR Congo, the DRC, DROC, Congo-Kinshasa (its capital), or simply the Congo, is a country located in Central Africa. It was formerly called Zaire (1971–1997). It is, by area, the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, the second-largest in all of Africa (after Algeria), and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of over 84 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country, the fourth-most-populous country in Africa, and the 16th-most-populous country in the world. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is named after the Congo River, which flows throughout the country. The Congo River is the world’s deepest river and the world’s second-largest river by discharge.
The national flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a sky blue flag, adorned with a yellow star in the upper left canton and cut diagonally by a red stripe with a yellow fimbriation. It was adopted on 20 February 2006. A new constitution, ratified in December 2005 and which came into effect in February 2006, promoted a return to a flag similar to that flown between 1963 and 1971, with a change from a royal blue to a sky blue background. Blue represents peace. Red stands for “the blood of the country’s martyrs”, yellow the country’s wealth; and the star a radiant future for the country.