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Jean Valjean
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This article is about the fictional character in Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables and its various adaptations. For the novel by Solomon Cleaver, see Jean Val Jean.
"24601" redirects here. For the asteroid, see 24601 Valjean. For the ZIP code, see Amonate, Virginia.
Jean Valjean
Les Misérables character
Jean Valjean disguised as Monsieur Madeleine. Illustration by Gustave Brion.
Created by
Victor Hugo
Information
Full name
Jean Valjean
Nickname(s)
Monsieur Leblanc
Aliases
Monsieur Madeleine
Ultime Fauchelevent
Urbain Fabre
Prisoner 24601
Prisoner 9430
Gender
Male
Occupation
Tree pruner
Convict
Businessman
Mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer
Family
Jean Valjean Sr. (father)
Jeanne Mathieu (mother)
Jeanne (sister)
Unnamed brother
Seven unnamed nieces and nephews
Children
Cosette (surrogate daughter; no legal or blood relation)
Relatives
Unnamed brother-in-law
Marius Pontmercy (adoptive son-in-law)
Religion
Roman Catholic
Nationality
French
Born
1769
Death
1833 (aged 64)
Jean Valjean is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables. Hugo depicts the character's 19-year-long struggle to lead a normal life after serving a prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his sister's children during a time of economic depression and various attempts to escape from prison. Valjean is also known in the novel as Monsieur Madeleine, Ultime Fauchelevent, Monsieur Leblanc, and Urbain Fabre.
Valjean and Police Inspector Javert, who repeatedly encounters Valjean and attempts to return him to prison, have become archetypes in literary culture. In the popular imagination, the character of Jean Valjean came to represent both Hugo himself and leftist sentiment. In 1871, when Hugo was living in Brussels during the radical revolt known as the Paris Commune, anti-revolutionary mobs attacked his house and broke windows shouting "Down with Jean Valjean!"[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 Outline of the novel
2 Jean Valjean in the novel
2.1 Part One: Fantine
2.2 Part Two: Cosette
2.3 Part Three: Marius
2.4 Part Four: Saint-Denis
2.5 Part Five: Valjean
3 Hugo's sources
4 Jean Valjean in the musical
4.1 Differences in the musical
5 Adaptations
6 References
7 External links
Outline of the novel[edit]
As a parolee, Valjean is issued a yellow passport with marching orders to Pontarlier, where he will be forced to live under severe restrictions. This document, often called a "passeport jaune" (yellow passport), identifies him to all as a former convict and immediately brands Valjean an outcast wherever he travels. Bishop Myriel of Digne, from whom he steals valuable silverware, tells the police that he has given the treasure to Valjean. Out of this encounter, Valjean becomes a repentant, honorable, and dignified man. He becomes kind, a devoted father-figure to a girl who loses her mother, Fantine, and a benefactor to those in need. Though a known criminal and a parolee, Valjean yet grows morally to represent the best traits of humanity. Despite being classified as a criminal outcast, Valjean maintains the highest of human virtues and ethics.
His antithesis, Javert, a dedicated and capable police officer, occupies a place of honor in society. The relationship of Javert and Valjean develops as a binary opposition between law and love. Javert sees Valjean only as the convict he once was, rather than the benefactor of humanity he has become. Javert's struggle against this dichotomy leads to his eventual suicide.
Jean Valjean in the novel[edit]
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Part One: Fantine[edit]
After devoting the novel's opening chapters to Bishop Myriel, a kind-hearted old clergyman in the town of Digne, Hugo, without any transition, launches into the story of Valjean. He is a strange man, who arrives one October evening in Digne, searches for a place to stay the night and is turned away. At last he is taken in by the bishop, who trusts him, feeds him supper, and gives him a bed for the night. Hugo then details Valjean's background. He was born sometime in 1769 in a small town and orphaned as a child. He became a pruner and helped support his widowed sister and her seven children. In the winter of 1795, when resources were scarce, Valjean stole a loaf of bread from a local baker by breaking the window. He was caught and imprisoned for five years in the Bagne of Toulon, the Toulon prison. He attempted to escape four times, and each time his sentence was lengthened by three years; he also received an extra two years for once resisting recapture during his second escape. After nineteen years in prison, he was released, but by law must carry a yellow passport that announces he is an ex-convict.
During the night, he awakens and steals the bishop's silverware and silver plates, and runs off. He is arrested and brought back to the bishop. However, the Bishop admonishes Valjean (in front of the police) for forgetting to also take the silver candlesticks that he'd given Valjean, reminding Valjean of his "promise" to use the silver to become an honest man, claiming to have bought Valjean's soul with it, withdrawing it from evil and giving it to God. Despite the Bishop's words, we later find that the police mark the event down in Valjean's permanent record.
Bewildered and not understanding what the bishop is talking about, Jean Valjean heads instead back out into the nearby mountains and meets a young traveling worker from Savoy named Petit Gervais. Valjean places his foot on a coin that Petit Gervais drops, then refuses to return it, despite Gervais' protests, and threatens to beat him. When the boy flees the scene and Valjean comes to his senses, remembering what the bishop told him, he is ashamed of what he has done and searches for the boy in vain.
Hugo introduces Fantine and explains how she came to be abandoned by her child's father. In late 1815, Jean Valjean, now using the name Madeleine, arrives in Montreuil-sur-Mer. He revolutionizes the town's manufacturing and earns a fortune, which he spends mostly for the town's good, paying for the maintenance (including required staff) of hospital beds, orphanages and schools. He is appointed mayor after refusing the first time. He declines the king's offer to make him a Knight of the Legion of Honor.
Madeleine saves an old man named Fauchelevent from death. Fauchelevent had fallen beneath his wagon just as it started settling into the mire and his horse broke its thighs. Javert, who witnessed the rescue, tells Madeleine that he once knew a very strong man, back when Javert had worked guarding prisoners, who had climbed under a mast like the wagon and raised it on his back. Valjean offered to pay anyone who could raise the wagon but when nobody wanted to risk their life climbing under the wagon and the wagon started settling faster than the jack would get there, he jumped down into the mud and lifted the wagon off Fauchelevent. Since Fauchelevent had earlier lost his business and now had a broken kneecap, Valjean arranged a job at a convent for Fauchelevent. Jean Valjean also bought the broken cart and horse as an excuse to give Fauchelevent money.
Later, Javert arrests Fantine, who has become a prostitute, when he saw her spit and try to hit a bourgeois named Bamatabois, who had taunted Fantine and thrown snow down her dress while she walked back and forth trying to get business. Valjean had seen the whole thing and knew that Bamatabois should have been the one arrested and ordered Fantine free. Javert knew only what he'd seen and was furious with Valjean for interfering with police work. When Valjean orders Javert to leave in front of Javert's squad, Javert leaves and denounces "Madeleine" to the prefect of police at Paris, saying that he suspects Madeleine is Valjean. Javert is told that he must be incorrect because the "real" Jean Valjean (who is in reality Champmathieu) had just been found.
Valjean takes Fantine to the local hospital (which is on the side of the mayor's house) and has her cared for. He learns of Cosette, Fantine's daughter, and tries to pay off the Thénardiers (who are abusing Cosette).
Javert then apologizes to "M. Madeleine", and tells him that the "real" Jean Valjean has been found and is to be tried the next day. Javert also asks that he be dismissed in disgrace by Valjean from his job for acting out of revenge incorrectly, saying that since he had been hard on others he could not be less harsh on himself but after Valjean repeatedly refuses, Javert says he will continue acting as police chief until a replacement can be found.
It is only here that the novel finally reveals Madeleine to be Valjean, a fact which was heavily foreshadowed before.
The death of Fantine; Valjean (as Monsieur Madeleine) closes her eyes.
That night, Valjean has a terrific struggle within himself, but finally decides to go to the trial and reveal his identity in order to free Champmathieu (for, if he gave himself up, who would care for Fantine or rescue Cosette?). He gives his evidence and proves that he is the real Jean Valjean, but nobody wants to arrest him, so Valjean says that they know where to find him and he returns to Montreuil-sur-Mer. The judge at the trial, although quite impressed with M. Madeleine's work and reputation, is shocked that Valjean, while mentioning a date that another convict had tattooed on himself (in order to prove that M. Madeleine was actually Jean Valjean) called Napoleon Bonaparte "the Emperor" instead of "Bonaparte" and orders Valjean arrested for the 40-sous theft. Javert comes to arrest him the next day while Valjean is in Fantine's room. Valjean asks for three days to get Cosette from Montfermeil and give her to Fantine before he is arrested and Javert refuses, saying that it would be too easy for Valjean to escape. Fantine (who'd been told by the doctors that Valjean, who'd been at the trial, had been getting her daughter) was shocked to find that her daughter was not there already and that her savior was being arrested, and died of shock (her body had been greatly weakened by her poor living conditions and long illness, probably tuberculosis).
Valjean allows Javert to arrest him, but quickly escapes. It is hinted that Valjean escaped with the help of a file hidden in a coin, an item he is later proved to possess. Valjean returns to his house to pack his clothes and hides behind the door when Javert comes looking for him. Sister Simplice, one of the hospital nuns, who had a reputation for never having told a lie in her life, twice lied to Javert that there was nobody there but her to protect Valjean. Javert believed her and left, giving Valjean an opportunity to escape the town.
Part Two: Cosette[edit]
A short chapter, mainly consisting of two newspaper articles, informs the reader, that Jean Valjean has been re-arrested while getting into the stagecoach to Montfermeil (on his way to get Fantine's eight-year-old daughter, Cosette, whom he had promised to rescue). In July 1823, he was condemned to death for the 40-sous theft and the escape from the jail in Montreuil-sur-Mer, as the prosecutor claims that Valjean was part of a gang of street robbers and the latter refuses to defend himself. His sentence was graciously reduced by the king to only life in prison instead of death. Before he was captured, Jean Valjean had already traveled near to Montfermeil and buried all the money he'd saved as M. Madeleine—a chapter tells of a worker in Montfermeil, a former Toulon convict, who claims having seen, according to a local fairy tale, the devil burying his treasure in the forest. No further explanation is ever given as to why, having buried his money near Montfermeil, Valjean had traveled back to Paris and then attempted to travel back to Montfermeil.
Valjean was assigned a new number of 9430, but escapes from a sailing vessel after only a few months' imprisonment, on 16 November 1823, by apparently falling into the sea after a daring rescue of a sailor who had gotten stuck in a dangerous situation up in the ship's rigging. Thereafter he is officially presumed dead.
Valjean goes to Montfermeil, where he meets Cosette alone in the forest on Christmas Eve 1823. He accompanies her back to the inn; and watches that evening as the Thénardiers mistreat her very badly. He sees the Thénardiers' daughters Éponine and Azelma acting unkindly to her as well, tattling on her to their mother when she tries to play with their temporarily abandoned doll. After seeing this, Valjean briefly leaves the inn and returns with a beautiful new doll to give to Cosette, which she happily accepts. This makes Mme. Thénardier furious with Valjean, affronted that he would do such a thing for Cosette instead of her own daughters. M. Thénardier tells her that Valjean can do as he wishes as long as he pays them. That evening, Mme. Thénardier insists that Cosette will be turned out onto the street the next day.
The next morning, Christmas Day, Valjean offers to take Cosette with him. Mme. Thénardier immediately accepts, but M. Thénardier haggles for a compensation and gets 1500 francs in the end. Valjean takes Cosette with him. Only now does the book confirm that the mysterious man Cosette met is actually Jean Valjean. M. Thénardier is soon overcome with grief at having sold Cosette too cheaply and runs after them. When M. Thénardier demands more money, Valjean gives him the note Fantine signed before she died, saying that the bearer of the note was authorized to take Cosette. M. Thénardier tries to continue following Valjean, but is soon frightened back to the inn.
Valjean takes Cosette to Paris, where they live in No. 50-52 Boulevard de l'Hôpital, in the so-called "Gorbeau House." They cannot live calmly for long—in Spring 1824, Javert, who has been promoted to the police in Paris, finds the house. He has heard of a "kidnapping" from Montfermeil and remembers Valjean's request of three days. He has also heard of a man, poorly dressed, who gives money to other poor people, the "beggar who gives alms", who had a granddaughter with him and who has been heard to say that she came from Montfermeil. Javert goes undercover, discovers that it is Jean Valjean, and makes plans to arrest him.
Valjean recognizes Javert, and taking Cosette, walks out of the house and leaves. They barely manage to get away from Javert, who allowed Valjean to leave the house, believing that Valjean would take him to meet other criminals. Valjean managed to steal a rope from a streetlamp, climb a wall to a convent and pull Cosette up after him. They then climbed down a shed roof into a garden. it turned out that this was the convent where Fauchelevent worked, who wanted to return the favor and save Valjean's life this time. After almost burying Valjean alive in a scheme to get him out of the convent so that he could openly walk back into the convent, Fauchelevent was able to bring in his "brother" Ultimas (fr. Ultime) Fauchelevent (the real name of Fauchelevent's deceased brother). Cosette was admitted to the convent school.
Part Three: Marius[edit]
During this whole part, Valjean and Cosette are unnamed, as the action is seen from Marius Pontmercy's point of view. They are only described as a father and daughter, whom Marius notices on his daily walks in the Jardin du Luxembourg. He ignores them at first, but later he and Cosette fall in love. Marius stalks the two until Valjean is alerted that someone is stalking them and moves from his house in Rue de l'Ouest (today Rue d'Assas).
They meet again by pure luck, six months later: Valjean is known for his generosity. As "the generous man from the St-Étienne-church", Thénardier, Marius' neighbour, asks for charity. He recognises Valjean and decides to build a trap for him. Marius, overhearing the plans, denounces the plot to the police, unfortunately meeting Javert. Valjean walks right into the trap and attempts to escape Thénardier once he realises this. Thénardier forces Valjean to write a letter to Cosette, instructing her to come with the bearer. Valjean, however, gives Thénardier a false name and address and manages to free himself of the ropes tying him with the help of a file concealed in a coin, which is found afterwards. He berates the gang for thinking that they could force him to tell something he does not want to tell and burns his own left forearm with the poker Thénardier had used to threaten him before surrendering to the gang. It is at that moment that Javert enters the scene. Valjean manages to escape before the latter recognises him.
Part Four: Saint-Denis[edit]
Only now do we learn about Valjean's and Cosette's life during the last years: They lived in the convent until Fauchelevent's death, and left in 1829; Cosette is fourteen years old. Valjean buys three houses (so that he will always have somewhere to flee to) in Rue de l'Ouest (today Rue D'Assas), Rue Plumet (today Rue Oudinot) and No. 7 Rue de l'Homme-Armé (today 40, rue des Archives), mostly living in Rue Plumet.
Valjean does not know that Cosette returns Marius' love and does not understand why Cosette seems less attached to "her grandfather" than before. He is happy to see that the brand wound he got during the attack makes her worry and care for him more. During one of their walks, they witness the passing of a chain gang being taken from Paris south. The event leaves a profound impression on Cosette and makes Valjean even more determined to stop his daughter from learning about his past.
Marius, through Éponine, finds Cosette, stalks her house, leaves his daily love journal for her to find then one evening leaps over the gate and surprises her in the garden. They begin meeting every evening to gaze into each other's eyes. But it is also Éponine, jealous, who throws Valjean an anonymous note, telling him to move. Valjean, feeling threatened since the incident with Thénardier and since he believes there has been a man hiding in his garden, decides to move to England. He takes Cosette to the house in the Rue de l'Homme-Armé. This takes places during the first days of June 1832.
It is only there that he learns of Cosette's love for Marius when a young boy (Gavroche) delivers a letter from Marius to Cosette, which mentions that Marius is at the barricade and will die as he promised her, since she left without a forwarding address. Valjean has another long inward struggle, at first feeling relief about Marius' certain death, then guilt about his former feeling. He joins the rebellion without an actual decision about his following actions.
Part Five: Valjean[edit]
Valjean rescues Marius through the sewers. Illustration by Mead Schaeffer
Valjean plays his part in the insurrection and proves an excellent shot. To thank him, Enjolras, the barricade's leader, offers him anything he wants. Valjean asks that he be allowed to kill Javert, who has been captured as a spy. The request is granted and Valjean takes Javert out of sight to kill him but instead of executing him, sets him free, though Javert warns that he will still be bound to arrest Valjean. Valjean agrees and gives Javert his address. After Valjean releases Javert, the fighters on the barricades are all killed with the exception of Marius, whom Valjean carries to safety through miles of Parisian sewers. Valjean finds the sewer exit to the Grand-Caillou locked. Thénardier is there and has the key. He offers Valjean the key in return for payment, believing that Valjean had killed Marius for his money. Valjean gives the few sous he has to Thénardier and unlocks the sewer gate and encounters Javert, now returned to duty and in pursuit of Thénardier. Valjean requests that Javert help him carry Marius to safety and Javert summons his carriage. Valjean asks permission to return home to say goodbye to Cosette and Javert agrees, saying that he will wait out front. As he walks up the stairs, Valjean looks out the window and notices that Javert is gone. Javert confronts his life spent in pursuit of a criminal who has demonstrated a sense of justice outside of the one that Javert has upheld his entire life. Unable to accept this, he commits suicide.
After recovering from his injuries, Marius receives permission from his grandfather to marry Cosette and they wed. The day after the wedding, Valjean reveals to Marius that he is an ex-convict. Marius, horrified, assumes the worst about Valjean's character and begins pushing him out of Cosette's life. After this, Valjean's previously habitual visits to Cosette at Marius' grandfather's house become shorter and shorter, until he ceases to visit at all, having become bedridden with loss of will to live. Some time after he stops coming, Thénardier visits Marius and claims that Valjean is a murderer and shows Marius several newspaper articles to prove this. Marius sees through Thénardier's disguise and, in an attempt to show Marius something that he does not already know, Thénardier shows newspaper clippings proving that M. Madeleine and Jean Valjean are the same person, and that Javert committed suicide. Marius is then told that Valjean was the man who had "assassinated" one of Marius' relatives, carrying the body through the sewers on 6 June. Realizing that Thénardier had seen Valjean saving him, Marius finishes with Thénardier and hurries with Cosette to Valjean's flat. Unfortunately, they are too late and find Valjean is dying. Valjean makes peace with Marius, with whom he had uneasy relations, and tells Cosette the name of her mother, Fantine. He dies content, under the light of the Bishop's candlesticks, and it is stated that an angel awaits to carry his soul to Heaven. He is buried in an unmarked grave, per his request, after death. Only these four lines appear on the gravestone:
Il dort. Quoique le sort fût pour lui bien étrange,
Il vivait. Il mourut quand il n'eut plus son ange ;
La chose simplement d'elle-même arriva,
Comme la nuit se fait lorsque le jour s'en va.
Translation:
He sleeps. Although his fate was very strange,
He lived. He died when he no longer had his angel.
The thing came to pass simply, of itself,
As the night comes when day is gone.[2]
Hugo's sources[edit]
Eugene Vidocq, whose career provided a model for the character of Jean Valjean
Valjean's character is loosely based on the life of Eugène François Vidocq, an ex-convict who became a successful businessman widely noted for his social engagement and philanthropy. Vidocq helped Hugo with his research for Claude Gueux and Le Dernier jour d'un condamné (The Last Day of a Condemned Man).[citation needed] In 1828, Vidocq, already pardoned saved one of the workers in his paper factory by lifting a heavy cart on his shoulders as Valjean does.[3] Hugo's description of Valjean rescuing a sailor on the Orion drew almost word for word on a friend's letter describing such an incident.[citation needed] On 22 February 1846, when he had begun work on the novel, Hugo witnessed the arrest of a bread thief while a Duchess and her child watched the scene pitilessly from their coach.[4]
The revolt of the university students is based on the 1832 June Rebellion.
Jean Valjean in the musical[edit]
See also: Songs from Les Misérables
John Owen-Jones as Jean Valjean
Differences in the musical[edit]
See also: Synopsis of the musical
Javert frequently refers to Jean Valjean as "Prisoner 24601", which is never done in the book. The number only appears twice in the novel, and is never spoken by Javert.
Valjean's assumed name, Monsieur Madeleine, is used in the original French language concept album, but not in the later English version of the musical, where he is only called Monsieur le maire (Mr. Mayor). In the 2012 film adaptation of the musical, the factory foreman breaks up the fight between Fantine and the factory workers, announcing "Monsieur Madeleine's here!". The assumed name can also be seen on the door of his office.
In the novel, Valjean is arrested for the second time after confessing to be a parole-breaker in court. Javert later chases him for escaping prison. In the musical, Valjean neither gets arrested again nor escapes from prison.
Valjean and Cosette do not live in Gorbeau House and take refuge from Javert in a convent in the musical version, but the 2012 movie depicts Valjean inadvertently entering the convent with Cosette while escaping Javert, where he then encounters Fauchelevent. The Gorbeau House episode with the Thenardiers is also omitted in the musical and film adaptation. Instead, Thenardier lures Valjean into a trap on the streets with his gang and later attempts to rob him in his house, which is located on Rue Plumet.
In Act 2, The First Attack, Valjean shoots a sniper who is attempting to kill Enjolras. It is unclear in the musical (due to the sniper being off stage) whether Valjean actually shoots the sniper or if he shoots the sniper's helmet to prevent him from killing Enjolras. In the novel, he shoots only at soldiers' helmets while at the barricade and purposely does not kill anyone.
Valjean reveals his past to Marius before Marius and Cosette's wedding, and he also does not attend it. In the book, he does attend the wedding and confesses to Marius afterwards.
Adaptations[edit]
Main article: Adaptations of Les Misérables
Since the original publication of Les Misérables in 1862, the character of Jean Valjean has been in a large number of adaptations in numerous types of media based on the novel, such as books, films,[5] musicals, plays and games.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Behr, Edward (1989). The Complete Book of Les Misérables. NY: Arcade. p. 24.
Jump up ^ "Chapter VI. The Grass Covers and the Rain Effaces". Les Misérables on The Literature Network. Jalic Inc. 2015.
Jump up ^ Morton, James (2004). The First Detective: The Life and Revolutionary Times of Vidocq, Criminal, Spy and Private Eye. NY: Overlook Press. pp. ??.
Jump up ^ Victor Hugo, Choses vues: nouvelle série (Paris: Calman Lévy, 1900), 129–30
Jump up ^ Jean Valjean (Character) at the Internet Movie Database
External links[edit]
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Les Misérables
Jean Valjean (Character) at the Internet Movie Database
Search for Jean Valjean at the Internet Broadway Database
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Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
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Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette
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Fantine (1886 painting)
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Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Economy of Democratic Republic of Congo
Kinshasa, capital and economic center of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Currency
Congolese Franc (CDF)
Fiscal year
Calendar Year
Trade organisations
AU, African Development Bank, SADC, World Bank, IMF, WTO, Group of 77
Statistics
GDP
$68.691 billion (PPP) (2016 est.)
Rank: 114 (2012 est.)
GDP growth
9% (2015 est.)
GDP per capita
$754 (PPP) (2015 est.)
Rank: 186 (2012 est.)
GDP by sector
agriculture (44.2%)
industry (22.6%)
services (33.1%) (2012 est.)
Inflation (CPI)
4.1% (2015 est.)
Population below poverty line
70% (2011 est.)
Labour force
35.86 million (2012 est.)
Labour force by occupation
N/A
Unemployment
N/A
Main industries
mining (copper, cobalt, gold, diamonds, coltan, zinc, tin, tungsten), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, plastics, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods, beverages), metal products, lumber, cement, commercial ship repair
Ease-of-doing-business rank
184th (2017)[1]
External
Exports
$8.872 billion (2012 est.)
Export goods
gold, diamonds, copper, cobalt, coltan, zinc, tin, tungsten, crude oil, wood products, coffee
Main export partners
China 53.4%
Zambia 24.5%
Belgium 5.6% (2012 est.)[2]
Imports
$8.187 billion (2012 est.)
Import goods
machinery, transportation equipment, fuel, food
Main import partners
South Africa 21.4%
China 15.1%
Belgium 7.9%
Zambia 7.5%
Zimbabwe 6.1%
Kenya 5.1%
France 4.9% (2012 est.)[3]
Gross external debt
$6.089 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Public finances
Revenues
$5.941 billion (2014 est.)
Expenses
$5.537 billion (2012 est.)
Foreign reserves
$1.633 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.
Sparsely populated in relation to its area, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to a vast potential of natural resources and mineral wealth. Its untapped deposits of raw minerals are estimated to be worth in excess of US$24 trillion. Despite this, the economy has declined drastically since the mid-1980s.[4]
At the time of its independence in 1960, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was the second most industrialized country in Africa after South Africa. It boasted a thriving mining sector and its agriculture sector was relatively productive.[4] Since then, corruption, war and political instability have been a severe detriment to further growth, today leaving DRC with a GDP per capita among the world's lowest.
Contents
[hide]
1 Economic Implications of Conflicts
2 Economic history
2.1 After Leopold
2.2 Zaire
2.3 1990s
2.4 2000s
2.4.1 Special Economic Zone
3 Economic implications of instability
4 International Relations
4.1 World Bank
4.1.1 Ease of Doing Business Rank (EDBR)
4.2 International Monetary Fund
5 Sectors
5.1 Agriculture
5.2 Fishing
5.3 Forestry
5.4 Mining
5.5 Copper and Cobalt
5.6 Informal sector
6 Transport
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Economic Implications of Conflicts[edit]
The two recent conflicts (the First and Second Congo Wars), which began in 1996, have dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, have increased external debt, and have resulted in deaths of more than five million people from war, and associated famine and disease. Malnutrition affects approximately two thirds of the country's population.[5]
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, accounting for 57.9% of GDP in 1997. In 1996, agriculture employed 66% of the work force.
Rich in minerals, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has a difficult history of predatory mineral extraction, which has been at the heart of many struggles within the country for many decades, but particularly in the 1990s. The economy of the third largest country in Africa relies heavily on mining. However, much economic activity occurs in the informal sector and is not reflected in GDP data.[6]
In 2006 Transparency International ranked the Democratic Republic of the Congo 156 out of 163 countries in the Corruption Perception Index, tying Bangladesh, Chad, and Sudan with a 2.0 rating.[7] President Joseph Kabila established the Commission of Repression of Economic Crimes upon his ascension to power in 2001.[8]
The conflicts in the DRC were over water, minerals, and other resources. Political agendas have worsened the economy, as in times of crisis, the elite benefit while the general populace suffers. This is worsened as a result of corrupt national and international corporations. The corporations instigate and allow the fighting for resources because they benefit from it. A large proportion of fatalities in the country are attributed to a lack of basic services, which is a reflection of the treatment of the citizens of the DRC. The influx of refugees since the war in 1998 only serves to worsen the issue of poverty. Money of the taxpayers in the DRC is often misappropriated by the corrupt leaders of the country, who often use the money to benefit themselves instead of the citizens of the DRC. The DRC is consistently rated the lowest on the UN Human Development Index.[9]
Economic history[edit]
Evolution of the DRC's GDP.
After Leopold[edit]
Forced labor was important for the rural sector. The corporations that dominated the economy were mostly owned by Belgium, but British capital also played an important role. Independence caused the Congo to become the most industrialized country in Sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa. The 1950s were a period of rising income and expectations. Congo was said to have the best public health system in Africa, but there was also a huge wealth disparity. Belgian companies favored workers in certain areas more and exported them to work in different areas, restricting opportunities for others. Favored groups also received better education and were able to secure jobs for people in the same ethnic group which increased tensions. In 1960 there were only 16 university graduates out of a population of 20 million. Belgium still had economic power and independence gave little opportunity for improvement. Common refrains included “no elite, no trouble” and “before independence = after independence”. When the Belgians left, most of the government officials and educated residents left with them. Before independence there were just 3 out of 5000 government jobs held by Congolese people.[10] The resulting loss of institutional knowledge and human capital crippled the government.
Congolese exports in 2006.
Zaire[edit]
After the Congo crisis, Mobutu arose as the country's sole ruler and stabilized the country politically. Economically, however, the situation continued to decline, and by 1979, the purchasing power was only 4% of that from 1960.[11] Starting in 1976 the IMF provided stabilizing loans to the dictatorship. Much of the money was embezzled by Mobutu and his circle.[11] This was not a secret as the 1982 report by IMF’s envoy Erwin Blumenthal documented. He stated, it is “alarmingly clear that the corruptive system in Zaire with all its wicked and ugly manifestations, its mismanagement and fraud will destroy all endeavors of international institutions, of friendly governments, and of the commercial banks towards recovery and rehabilitation of Zaire’s economy".[12] Blumenthal indicated that there was “no chance” that creditors would ever recover their loans. Yet the IMF and the World Bank continued to lend money that was either embezzled, stolen, or "wasted on elephant projects".[13] “Structural adjustment programmes” implemented as a condition of IMF loans cut support for health care, education, and infrastructure.[11]
1990s[edit]
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Trust Fund for the Congo. Poor infrastructure, an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations remain a brake on investment and growth. A number of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank missions have met with the new government to help it develop a coherent economic plan but associated reforms are on hold.
Faced with continued currency depreciation, the government resorted to more drastic measures and in January 1999 banned the widespread use of U.S. dollars for all domestic commercial transactions, a position it later adjusted. The government has been unable to provide foreign exchange for economic transactions, while it has resorted to printing money to finance its expenditure. Growth was negative in 2000 because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and post-coup instability. Although depreciated, congolese francs have been stable for few years (Ndonda, 2014)
2000s[edit]
Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President Kabila has begun implementing reforms.
Special Economic Zone[edit]
The DRC is embarking on the establishment of special economic zones (SEZ) to encourage the revival of its industry. The first SEZ was planned to come into being in 2012 in N'Sele, a commune of Kinshasa, and will focus on agro-industries. The Congolese authorities also planned to open another zone dedicated to mining (Katanga) and a third dedicated to cement (in the Bas-Congo).[14] There are three phases to the program that each have their own objectives. Phase I was the precursor to the actual investment in the Special Economic Zone where policymakers agreed to the framework, the framework was studied for its establishment, and to predict the potential market demand for the land. Stage one of Phase II involved submitting laws for the Special Economic Zone, finding good sites for businesses, and currently there is an effort to help the government attract foreign investment. Stage two of Phase II hasn’t been started yet and it involves assisting the government in creating framework for the country, creating an overall plan for the site, figuring out what the environmental impact of the project will be, and guessing how much it will cost and what the return can be made on the investment. Phase III involves the World Bank creating a transaction phase that will keep everything competitive. The program is looking for options to hand over the program to the World Bank which could be very beneficial for the western part of the country.
Economic implications of instability[edit]
Ongoing conflicts dramatically reduced government revenue and increased external debt. As Reyntjens wrote, “Entrepreneurs of insecurity are engaged in extractive activities that would be impossible in a stable state environment. The criminalization context in which these activities occur offers avenues for considerable factional and personal enrichment through the trafficking of arms, illegal drugs, toxic products, mineral resources and dirty money.” Ethnic rivalries were made worse because of economic interests and looting and coltan smuggling took place. Illegal monopolies formed in the country where they used forced labor for children to mine or work as soldiers. National parks were overrun with people looking to exploit minerals and resources. Increased poverty and hunger from the war and that increased the hunting of rare wildlife. Education was denied when the country was under foreign control and very few people make money off the minerals in the country. The national resources are not the root cause for the continued fighting in the region, however, the competition has become an incentive to keep fighting.[1] The DRC’s level of economic freedom is one of the lowest in the world, putting it in the repressed category. The armed militias fight with the government in the eastern section of the country over the mining sector or the corruption of the government, and weak policies lead to the instability of the economy. Human rights abuses also ruin economic activity; the DRC has a 7% unemployment rate, but still has one of the lowest GDP’s per capita in the world. A major problem for people trying to start their own companies is that the minimum amount of capital needed to launch the company is 5 times the average annual income, and prices are regulated by the government, which almost forces people to have to work for the larger, more corrupt businesses; otherwise, they won’t have work. It is hard for the DRC to encourage foreign trade because of the regulatory barriers.[15]
International Relations[edit]
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Trust Fund for the Congo. Poor infrastructure, an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations remain a brake on investment and growth. A number of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank missions have met with the new government to help it develop a coherent economic plan but associated reforms are on hold.
Faced with continued currency depreciation, the government resorted to more drastic measures and in January 1999 banned the widespread use of U.S. dollars for all domestic commercial transactions, a position it later adjusted. The government has been unable to provide foreign exchange for economic transactions, while it has resorted to printing money to finance its expenditure. Growth was negative in 2000 because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and post-coup instability. 125 companies in 2003 contributed to the conflict in DRC showing the corruption.
World Bank[edit]
With the help of the International Development Association the DRC has worked toward the reestablishment of social services. This is done by giving 15 million people access to basic health services and giving bed nets to prevent malaria from spreading to people. With the Emergency Demobilization and Reintegration Program more than 107,000 adults and 34,000 child soldiers stood down their militarized posture. The travel time from Lubumbashi to Kasomeno in Katanga went down from seven days to two hours because of the improved roads which led to the decrease of prices of main goods by 60%. With the help of the IFC, KfW, and the EU the DRC improved its businesses by reducing the time it took to create a business by 51%, reducing the time it took to get construction permits by 54%, and reducing the number of taxes from 118 to 30. Improvements in health have been noticeable specifically that deliveries attended by trained staff jumped from 47 to 80%. In education 14 million textbooks were provided to children, completion rates of school have increased, and higher education was made available to students that chose to pursue it.[16]
Ease of Doing Business Rank (EDBR)[edit]
The Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 183 on the low end of the ease of doing business scale as ranked by the World Bank. This measures the difficulties of starting a business, enforcing contracts, paying taxes, resolving insolvency, protecting investors, trading across borders, getting credit, getting electricity, dealing with construction permits and registering property (World Bank 2014:8). [17] Noticeable changes in the Ease of doing business rank from 2015 to 2016 are an 83 rank increase in the ability to start businesses from 172 to 89. Another noticeable change was the rank of dealing with construction permits which increased from 157 to 131.[18]
International Monetary Fund[edit]
The IMF plans on giving the DRC a $1 billion loan after its two-year suspension after it failed to give details about a mining deal from one of its state owned mines and an Israeli billionaire, Dan Gertler. The loan may be necessary for the country because there will be elections in December 2016 for the next president and the cost of funding this would range around $1.1 billion. The biggest problem with the vote is getting a country of 68 million people the size of Western Europe to polling stations with less than 1,860 miles of paved roads.[19]
Sectors[edit]
Agriculture[edit]
Main article: Agriculture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, accounting for 57.9% of the GDP in 1997. Main cash crops include coffee, palm oil, rubber, cotton, sugar, tea, and cocoa. Food crops include cassava, plantains, maize, groundnuts, and rice. In 1996, agriculture employed 66% of the work force.
Fishing[edit]
The Democratic Republic of Congo also possesses 50 percent of Africa’s forests and a river system that could provide hydro-electric power to the entire continent, according to a United Nations report on the country’s strategic significance and its potential role as an economic power in central Africa.[20] Fish are the single most important source of animal protein in the DRC. Total production of marine, river, and lake fisheries in 2003 was estimated at 222,965 tons, all but 5,000 tons from inland waters. PEMARZA, a state agency, carries on marine fishing.
Forestry[edit]
See also: Deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Forests cover 60 percent of the total land area. There are vast timber resources, and commercial development of the country’s 61 million hectares (150 million acres) of exploitable wooded area is only beginning. The Mayumbe area of Bas-Congo was once the major center of timber exploitation, but forests in this area were nearly depleted. The more extensive forest regions of the central cuvette and of the Ubangi River valley have increasingly been tapped.
Roundwood removals were estimated at 72,170,000 m2 in 2003, about 95 percent for fuel. Some 14 species are presently being harvested. Exports of forest products in 2003 totalled $25.7 million. Foreign capital is necessary in order for forestry to expand, and the government recognizes that changes in tax structure and export procedures will be needed to facilitate economic growth.
Mining[edit]
Main article: Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Graphical depiction of DRCongo's product exports in 28 color-coded categories.
Rich in minerals, the DRC has a difficult history of predatory mineral extraction, which has been at the heart of many struggles within the country for many decades, but particularly in the 1990s. Although the economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the second largest country in Africa who has historically relied heavily on mining, is no longer reflected in the GDP data as the mining industry has suffered from long-term "uncertain legal framework, corruption, and a lack of transparency in government policy." The informal sector .[6]
In her book entitled The Real Economy of Zaire, MacGaffey described a second, often illegal economy, "system D," which is outside the official economy (MacGaffey 1991:27).[21] and therefore is not reflected in the GDP.
exploitation of mineral substances as MIBA EMAXON and De Beers The economy of the second largest country in Africa relies heavily on mining. The Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt ore,[22] and a major producer of copper and industrial diamonds. The Congo has 70% of the world’s coltan, and more than 30% of the world’s diamond reserves.,[23] mostly in the form of small, industrial diamonds. The coltan is a major source of tantalum, which is used in the fabrication of electronic components in computers and mobile phones. In 2002, tin was discovered in the east of the country, but, to date, mining has been on a small scale.
[24] Smuggling of the conflict minerals, coltan and cassiterite (ores of tantalum and tin, respectively), has helped fuel the war in the Eastern Congo.
Copper and Cobalt[edit]
Katanga Mining Limited, a London-based company, owns the Luilu Metallurgical Plant, which has a capacity of 175,000 tonnes of copper and 8,000 tonnes of cobalt per year, making it the largest cobalt refinery in the world. After a major rehabilitation program, the company restarted copper production in December 2007 and cobalt production in May 2008.[25]
Informal sector[edit]
Much economic activity occurs in the informal sector and is not reflected in GDP data.[6]
Transport[edit]
All aboard - a train from Lubumbashi arriving in Kindu on a newly refurbished line.
Main article: Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ground transport in the Democratic Republic of Congo has always been difficult. The terrain and climate of the Congo Basin present serious barriers to road and rail construction, and the distances are enormous across this vast country. Furthermore, chronic economic mismanagement and internal conflict has led to serious under-investment over many years.
On the other hand, the Democratic Republic of Congo has thousands of kilometres of navigable waterways, and traditionally water transport has been the dominant means of moving around approximately two-thirds of the country.
See also[edit]
Democratic Republic of the Congo portal
Economy portal
Democratic Republic of the Congo
List of companies based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
References[edit]
This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.
Jump up ^ "Ease of Doing Business in Congo, Dem Rep". Doingbusiness.org. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
Jump up ^ "Export Partners of Democratic Republic of Congo". CIA World Factbook. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
Jump up ^ "Import Partners of Democratic Republic of Congo". CIA World Factbook. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
^ Jump up to: a b Centre National d'Appui au Développement et à la Participation Paysanne CENADEP (23 October 2009). Province orientale :le diamant et l'or quelle part dans la reconstruction socio - économique de la Province ? (Report). Archived from the original on 25 November 2009.
Jump up ^ Seema Shekhawat (January 2009). Governance Crisis and Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (PDF) (Report). Working Paper No. 6. Mumbai: Centre for African Studies, University of Mumbai. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c Dublin - Research and Markets
Jump up ^ J. Graf Lambsdorff (2006). "Corruption Perceptions Index 2006". Transparency International. Archived from the original on 16 April 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
Jump up ^ Werve, Jonathan (2006). The Corruption Notebooks 2006. p. 57.
Jump up ^ "The Democratic Republic of Congo — Global Issues". www.globalissues.org. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
Jump up ^ "Joe Trapido: Africa's Leaky Giant. New Left Review 92, March-April 2015". newleftreview.org. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
^ Jump up to: a b c David van Reybrouck. Congo: The Epic History of a People. HarperCollins, 2012. p. 374ff. ISBN 978-0-06-220011-2.
Jump up ^ Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja. The Crisis in Zaire: Myths and Realities. Africa World Press, 1986. p. 226. ISBN 0-86543-023-3.
Jump up ^ Aikins Adusei (30 May 2009). "IMF and World Bank: Agents of Poverty or Partners of Development?". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
Jump up ^ [1] Le "paradis" où le droit fera la loi, L'Echo, novembre 2010 (in French)
Jump up ^ "Democratic Republic of Congo Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption". www.heritage.org. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
Jump up ^ "News & Broadcast - Democratic Republic of Congo: Country Results Profile". web.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
Jump up ^ Economy Profile: Democratic Republic of Congo (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: [World Bank: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development www.worldbank.org]. 2013. Retrieved 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
Jump up ^ "Doing Business in Congo, Rep. - World Bank Group". www.doingbusiness.org. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
Jump up ^ Beith, Malcolm; Richardson, Paul. "IMF Ready to Lend $1 Billion to Democratic Republic of Congo". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
Jump up ^ Democratic Republic of the Congo economic and strategic significance
Jump up ^ Janet MacGaffey (1991). The Real Economy of Zaire: The Contribution of Smuggling and Other Unofficial Activities to National Wealth. London: James Currey. p. 175.
Jump up ^ "Cobalt: World Mine Production, By Country". Retrieved 2008-06-30.
Jump up ^ "DR Congo poll crucial for Africa" BBC News. 16 November 2006.
Jump up ^ Polgreen, Lydia (16 November 2008). "Congo's Riches, Looted by Renegade Troops". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
Jump up ^ "Katanga Project Update and 2Q 2008 Financials, Katanga Mining Limited,". 8 12 08. Check date values in: |date= (help)
External links[edit]
Janet MacGaffey (1991). The Real Economy of Zaire: The Contribution of Smuggling and Other Unofficial Activities to National Wealth. London: James Currey. p. 175.
Seema Shekhawat (January 2009). Governance Crisis and Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (PDF) (Report). Working Paper No. 6. Mumbai: Centre for African Studies, University of Mumbai. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo at Curlie (based on DMOZ)
Democratic Republic of the Congo latest trade data on ITC Trade Map
First Blood Diamonds, Now Blood Computers? by Elizabeth Dias, Time Magazine, 24 July 2009
Oasis Kodila Tedika et Francklin Kyayima Muteba, The sources of growth in DRC before independence. A cointegration analysis, CRE Working paper, n°02/10, juin 2010
Exenberger, Andreas/Hartmann, Simon (2007): The Dark Side of Globalization. The Vicious Cycle of Exploitation from World Market Integration: Lesson from the Congo, Working Papers in Economics and Statistics 31-2007 7yjmyry
Doing Business in Congo, Dem. Rep. 2013 (Report). World Bank. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
Polgreen, Lydia (16 November 2008). "Congo's Riches, Looted by Renegade Troops". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
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values: اقتصاد جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية – Arabic

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