In 1997 General Laurent Kabila took control of the country and returned it to the name which it held 27 years ago. A new flag was also introduced to the world. Their economic problems and government corruption required intervention from Western nations over the past few decades. The country is about half Catholic has 250 different ethnic groups within its borders. There is inherent geographical confusion in this change due to the fact that the Democratic Republic of the Congo's western neighbor is known as the Republic of the Congo , a name which it has held since 1991.
Major differences exist between the two equatorial neighbors.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is much larger in both population and area. The population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is 47.4 million but the Republic of the Congo has a mere 2.6 million. The official language of both Congos is French. Mobutu is in Europe with prostate cancer so rebels, led by General Laurent Kabila attacked the Zairian army. Zaire becomes the Democratic Republic of the Congo.