Congo, Democratic Republic of the Geography Profile 2009

Location

Central Africa, northeast of Angola

Geographic coordinates

0 00 N, 25 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 2,344,858 sq km
land: 2,267,048 sq km
water: 77,810 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US

Land boundaries

total: 10,730 km
border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km

Coastline

37 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors

Climate

tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October)

Terrain

vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m

Natural resources

cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber

Land use

arable land: 2.86%
permanent crops: 0.47%
other: 96.67% (2005)

Irrigated land

110 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

1,283 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 0.36 cu km/yr (53%/17%/31%)
per capita: 6 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes

Environment - current issues

poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Geography - note

straddles equator; has narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands