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Since 1997 the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been consumed by civil war, which was instigated by the influx -- in the mid-1990s -- of refugees from Rwanda and Burundi. Though now a provisional government remains tentatively in place, the civil war caused more deaths than any other conflict in African history, and more loss of life than any other war since World War II. The impact of the violence on the economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was vast. The country is endowed with plenty of resources, but as war escalated, output fell and foreign businesses curtailed operations. After the 2002 withdrawal of large contingents of foreign troops that had occupied the country, having taken sides in the civil war, the situation in the country stabilized. Currently governmental corruption threatens to undermine reforms, but activity in the mining sector has improved, renewing faith in the idea that Democratic Republic of the Congo's fiscal position will improve. In this photo a Congolese boy gives the camera a peace sign.
Photo Credit: USAID
Sources: CIA World Fact Book, www.migrationinformation.org
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