Information about Congo (disambiguation)

Congo commonly refers to either one of the two neighbouring countries in Central Africa drained by the river from which they get their name. "The Congos" is used to refer collectively to both countries, and the adjective "Congolese" (as in "Congolese music" or "Congolese culture") can refer to either or both countries. The Congos are usually distinguished by their full official names and occasionally by adding their capital cities.

• The Republic of the Congo (ROC), also known as Congo-Brazzaville (and locally as Brazza), is the smaller of the two countries and lies to the west. It was called the People's Republic of Congo from 1970 to 1992.
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo is commonly abbreviated as DRC or DR Congo, and sometimes known as "Congo-Kinshasa".
• Between 1960 and 1964 it as known as the Republic of the Congo.
• Between 1964 and 1971 it was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Between 1971 and 1997 it was known as Zaire, during which time the other Congo (ROC) was referred to simply as "Congo".
• The Congo River, Africa's second longest and largest by discharge (volume of water).
• The entire subregion between the Gulf of Guinea and the African Great Lakes drained by the Congo River.

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Historical entities

The predecessors of the nations named Congo, and some neighbouring regions, include several entities that used the name "Congo", derived from the Kingdom of Kongo, a Central African kingdom, dating back before the 1400s, which was eventually divided by European colonisers into:

• Belgian Congo, a former colony of Belgium located in the present-day area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It took over from the Congo Free State, a corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians through a dummy non-governmental organization, the Association Internationale Africaine.
• French Congo, a former French colony in the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo (ROC), also known as central Congo. It was one of four territories of French Equatorial Africa.
• Portuguese Congo, now the Angolan exclave of Cabinda, between the ROC and DRC.

In geology

• Congo Basin of the River Congo
• Congo craton, an ancient and stable piece of continental crust

In music

• Congo music, a genre of music from the Congos, also known as Soukous, Lingala, or African rumba
• Panamanian congo music, a genre of Afro-Latino music in Panama and Brazil
• Kid Congo Powers, American singer and guitarist
• "Congo" (song), a 1997 single by rock group Genesis
• The Congos, a Jamaican reggae duo
• Congo, a cylindrical Caribbean drum

In entertainment

• Congo (novel), by Michael Crichton
• Congo (film), a movie based on Crichton's novel
• , a Sega Saturn video game based upon the film
• Congo Bongo, an arcade and video game

Miscellaneous

• Congo (loa), a spirit in Haitian vodou mythology
• Congo (chimpanzee), an ape that produced works of art
• Congo Peafowl, a bird species
• Congo, a common name for the venomous snake Agkistrodon piscivorus

See also

• Kongo (disambiguation)