Congo: Random Facts and Trivia

Some random facts and trivia for the country of the world Congo including the origins and variations of its name.

CONGO

NOTES

The name of the country has been a point of confusion for some time. In 1884 it was dubbed "Moyen Congo" by the French, after the Congo River which borders it. In 1960, when Moyen Congo got its independence, it did a strange thing: It took the very same name that its neighbor, the former Belgian Congo, had taken not 2 months earlier, on the occasion of its independence. The name, "Republique du Congo," serving 2 countries at once, led to the use of each nation's capital to distinguish them. The former Belgian Congo became Congo Republic (Kinsasha), and the former Moyen Congo became Congo Republic (Brazzaville). Now, the former has changed its name to Zaire, and the latter has become the People's Republic of the Congo.

You Are Here: Trivia-Library Home » World Country: Congo » Congo: Random Facts and Trivia
« Congo: Location, History, Size, Population, & Government