Congo, Republic of the

The people of the Republic of Congo are called Congolese. The population belongs to four major ethnic groups—the Bakongo, Bateke, Mboshi, and Sanga—which comprise more than 40 tribes. This chapter begins with an article on the Congolese people as a whole. There is also an article on the Aka, a group that lives in the high forest region and are possibly the Congo's original inhabitants. The Bakongo, profiled in the last article in this chapter, are Congo's largest ethnic group.