Economy

The Congo is one of the most potentially wealthy nations in Africa, with the natural resources and raw materials necessary to develop a modern, diversified economy. However, large-scale economic growth has been hindered by political instability, inadequate transportation facilities, and a lack of skilled labor and capital for investment. Mining, originally developed by the Belgians, and agriculture are the leading sectors of the economy, followed by manufacturing.

Only a small portion of the Congo's area is devoted to crops. Agriculture accounts for about 65 per cent of the work force and about 10 per cent of the gross domestic product. Most farmers have small plots, growing cassava, plantains, corn, rice, beans, and peanuts for their own use and for local markets. Traditional shifting cultivation, whereby a plot is worked until no longer productive and then temporarily abandoned, is widely practiced.

Coffee is the Congo's principal export crop. Other crops grown primarily for export include tea, sugar, and rubber. Many crops are grown commercially for the domestic market. These include cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, palm kernels (for palm oil), and a variety of tropical fruits.

Goats, hogs, sheep, and chickens, kept mainly on small farms, account for most of the Congo's livestock. There is little cattle raising in the north because the tsetse fly, which transmits diseases to animals and humans, infests much of that area. Only in the east and south are sizable herds kept.

The Congo has abundant and varied mineral resources, and mining is a major industrial activity. Mineral products account for more than three-fourths of the country's exports.

The Congo is one of the world's leading producers of diamonds, which are mined in the south-central part of the country. The Congo's Shaba province, in the southeast, has long been one of the world's leading producers of copper and cobalt. During the late 1980's and early 1990's, however, production declined dramatically, largely because of obsolete mining equipment and labor unrest. Small amounts of petroleum are also produced.

Manufacturing industries are better developed in the Congo than in many African countries. They are concentrated in the major cities, especially Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. Consumer goods, including foods, beverages, textiles, clothing, and household items, account for much of the production. The making of light industrial products such as fabricated metal goods and chemicals is also significant. Heavy industries include the smelting and refining of minerals and the making of cement.

Despite abundant forests, the lumbering industry has developed slowly in the Congo, hampered by inadequate transportation and the scattered occurrence of valuable trees. The chief forest products are raw lumber, plywood, and veneer.

Fish abound in virtually all the nation's rivers and lakes and are a locally important source of food.

The Congo River system, navigable by barge traffic throughout much of the country, provides the main transportation routes. Railways supplement the waterways and bypass such obstacles to navigation as falls and rapids. Roads are generally poor and unpaved, except in and around major cities.

Ocean shipping is conducted primarily through the port at Matadi, on the Congo River about 80 miles (130 km) from its mouth. Kinshasa is the chief river port. Most international traffic, including that of foreign airlines, is through the airports near Kinshasa and Lubumbashi.