This chapter analyzes the economic challenges faced by the Democratic Republic of the Congo after gaining independence from Belgium in 1960. It discusses the impact of political turmoil, external interference, and civil unrest on the country's economy and its citizens' living standards.
With GDP per capita of just $2 per day, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the poorest, if not the poorest nation on Earth. However, this does not have to be the case. The country has massive deposits of rare earth minerals including Cobalt, which is an essential input to the production of lithium-ion batteries. The mineral resources are estimated to be worth $24 trillion. So why is the DRC so poor?
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