Democratic Republic of the Congo: Map, History, Flag & Facts
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Map, History, Flag & Facts. Travel to Congo, an overview of the country from The Bespoke African Safari Co.
Previously known as Zaire, the huge nation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (often abbreviated as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, Congo-Kinshasa, and simply the Congo) is located in the heart of sub-Saharan Africa.
There are nine countries that border the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. The country’s only connection to the Atlantic Ocean is a 45-kilometer-wide sliver of shoreline in the west. Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake Kivu, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Mweru form a chain along the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
With a total land area of 2,344,858 km2, the DROC is the second largest country in Africa (after Algeria). It is roughly three times the size of Turkey and slightly smaller than one-quarter the size of the United States.
DR Congo has a population of 71,2 million people (est. 2015), capital and largest city is Kinshasa. French is the official language, although numerous others are used as well, including Lingala (spoken primarily in the north), Kikongo, Kituba (widely used as a lingua franca throughout Central Africa), Swahili, and Tshiluba.
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Congo at a glance
CAPITAL CITY: Kinshasa (pop. 6.5 million)
Other Cities: Bandundu, Bukavu, Goma, Kananga, Kindu, Kisangani, Lubumbashi, Matadi, Mbandaka, Mbuji-Mayi.
LANGUAGE: Amharic
ELECTRICITY: Type C (European 2-pin) Type E (French 2-pin, female earth) Type F (German 2-pin, side clip earth) Type L (Italian 3-pin)
POPULATION: 71 million (2015)
TIME ZONE: UTC +1h
CURRENCY: Congolese Franc (CDF)
CALLING CODE: +243
LARGEST Gorilla Found in Congo!
Democratic Republic of the Congo Factbook
The Republic of the Congo is a west-central African nation situated atop the Equator. Although the country is formally recognized as the Republic of the Congo, it is frequently referred to as Congo (Brazzaville), with the name of its capital appended parenthetically, so as to differentiate it from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is alternatively known as Congo (Kinshasa) or by its acronym, the DRC.
The entirety of Congo is sparsely populated, with over fifty percent of its populace residing in urban areas. Brazzaville, the capital and principal inland port on the Congo River, is situated in the southeastern corner of the nation and is the most populous city.