DRC

Despite being rich in natural resources, the DRC is one of the world's poorest and least developed countries, having suffered from political instability, lack of infrastructure, rampant corruption, and centuries of commercial and colonial extraction and exploitation. The nation is a prominent example of the "resource curse". Aside from Kinshasa, the next largest cities, Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi, are mining communities. DRC's main exports are raw minerals and metal, which accounted for 80% of exports in 2023, with China being its largest trade partner. The DRC's level of human development was ranked 171 out of 193 countries by the Human Development Index in 2023. As of 2022, following two decades of civil wars and internal conflicts, around one million Congolese refugees were still living in neighbouring countries. Two million children are at risk of starvation, and the fighting has displaced 7 million people. The DRC is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, African Union, COMESA, Southern African Development Community, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and Economic Community of Central African States.