Protection & Enforcement of IPRs in Zaire
Republic of Zaire[a] République du Zaïre (French) Repubilika ya Zaïre (Kituba) Republíki ya Zaïre (Lingala) Jamhuri ya Zaïre (Swahili) Ditunga dia Zaïre (Luba-Lulua) | |||||||||||
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1971–1997 | |||||||||||
Motto: Paix — Justice — Travail[1] "Peace — Justice — Work" | |||||||||||
Anthem: La Zaïroise "The Song of Zaire" | |||||||||||
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Capital and largest city | Kinshasa[b] 4°19′S 15°19′E / 4.317°S 15.317°E | ||||||||||
Official languages | French | ||||||||||
Recognised national languages | |||||||||||
Ethnic groups | See Ethnic groups section below | ||||||||||
Religion (1986)[2] |
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Demonym(s) | Zairian | ||||||||||
Government | Unitary Mobutist one-party[d] presidential republic under a totalitarian military dictatorship | ||||||||||
President | |||||||||||
• 1971–1997 | Mobutu Sese Seko | ||||||||||
Legislature | Legislative Council | ||||||||||
Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||
24 November 1965 | |||||||||||
• Country renamed | 27 October 1971 | ||||||||||
15 August 1974 | |||||||||||
• Country renamed back following the First Congo War | 16 May 1997 | ||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||
• Total | 2,345,409 km2 (905,567 sq mi) | ||||||||||
• Water (%) | 3.32 | ||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||
• 1971 | 18,400,000[5] | ||||||||||
• 1996 | 46,498,539 | ||||||||||
GDP (nominal) | 1983 estimate | ||||||||||
• Total | ![]() | ||||||||||
HDI (1990) | 0.294[6] low | ||||||||||
Currency | Zaïre (ZRN) | ||||||||||
Time zone | UTC+1 to +2 (WAT and CAT) | ||||||||||
Driving side | right | ||||||||||
Calling code | +243 | ||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | ZR | ||||||||||
Internet TLD | .zr | ||||||||||
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Today part of | Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||||||||||
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Zaire
Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country was a Western Bloc state aligned with the United States and China during the Cold War. Zaire was, by area, the third-largest in all of Africa, and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of over 23 million inhabitants, Zaire was the most-populous officially Francophone country in Africa, as well as one of the most populous in Africa.