Here, let us take a look at the Geography of DR Congo.
note 1: second largest country in Africa (after Algeria) and largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa; straddles the equator; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands; the narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River is the DRC's only outlet to the South Atlantic Ocean
note 2: because of its speed, cataracts, rapids, and turbulence the Congo River, most of which flows through the DRC, has never been accurately measured along much of its length; nonetheless, it is conceded to be the deepest river in the world; estimates of its greatest depth vary between 220 and 250 meters
. Mother's mean age at first birth is 19.9 years (2013/14 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 547 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)Location | Central Africa, northeast of Angola |
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Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 25 00 E |
Map references | Africa |
Tarrain | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east |
Natural Resources | cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber |
Natural Hazards | periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); active volcanoes in the east along the Great Rift Valley volcanism: Nyiragongo (3,470 m), which erupted in 2002 and is experiencing ongoing activity, poses a major threat to the city of Goma, home to a quarter million people; the volcano produces unusually fast-moving lava, known to travel up to 100 km /hr; Nyiragongo has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; its neighbor, Nyamuragira, which erupted in 2010, is Africa's most active volcano; Visoke is the only other historically active volcano |
Irrigated Land | 110 sq km (2012) |
Major rivers (by length in km) | Zaïre (Congo) river mouth (shared with Zambia [s], Angola, and Republic of Congo) - 4,700 km; Ubangi river mouth (shared with Central African Republic [s] and Republic of Congo) - 2,270 km note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth |
Major aquifers | Congo Basin |
Land Boundaries | 11,027 km |
Border Countries | Angola 2,646 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province); Burundi 236 km; Central African Republic 1,747 km; Republic of the Congo 1,775 km; Rwanda 221 km; South Sudan 714 km; Tanzania 479 km; Uganda 877 km; Zambia 2,332 km |
Coastline | 37 km |
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) |
Area | |
Total Area | |
Land Area | 2,267,048 sq km |
Water Area | 77,810 sq km |
comparative Area | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US |
Maritime Claims | |
Territorial sea | 12 nm |
Exclusive economic zone | since 2011, the DRC has had a Common Interest Zone agreement with Angola for the mutual development of off-shore resources |
Elevations | |
Highest point | Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m |
Lowest point | Atlantic Ocean 0 m |
Mean elevation | 726 m |
Land Use | |
Agricultural land | 11.4% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 8% (2018 est.) |
Forest | 67.9% (2018 est.) |
Other | 20.7% (2018 est.) |
Urban clusters are spread throughout the country, particularly in the northeast along the border with Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi; the largest city is the capital, Kinshasha, located in the west along the Congo River; the south is least densely populated as shown in this population distribution map
In DR Congo, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: More than 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest groups - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) - make up about 45% of the population
Population | |
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Pop growth rate | 3.11% (2024 est.) |
Birth rate | 39.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Death rate | 7.6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Health expenditure | 4.1% of GDP (2020) |
Physicians Density | |
Hospital bed Density | |
Total fertility rate | 5.49 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
Gross reproduction rate | 2.7 (2024 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate | 28.1% (2017/18) |
Est married women (ages 15-49) | 55.3% (2023 est.) |
Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba |
Education expenditures | 2.7% of GDP (2021 est.) |
Net Migration rate | -0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Nationality | Congolese or Congo | Congolese (singular and plural) |
Languages | |
Religions | Christian 93/1% (Roman Catholic 29.9%, Protestant 26.7%, other Christian 36.5%), Kimbanguist 2.8%, Muslim 1.3%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 1.2%, none 1.3%, unspecified 0.2% (2014 est.) |
Age Structure | |
0-14 years | 45.7% (male 26,584,268/female 26,208,891) |
15-64 years | 51.8% (male 29,845,450/female 29,884,958) |
65 years and over | 2.5% (2024 est.) (male 1,258,442/female 1,621,018) |
Dependency Ratios | |
Total dependency ratio | 98 |
Youth dependency ratio | 92.1 |
Elderly dependency ratio | 5.9 |
Potential support ratio | 17.1 (2021 est.) |
Median Age | |
Total | 16.9 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 16.7 years |
Female | 17 years |
Urbanization | |
Urban population | 47.4% of total population (2023) |
Rate of urbanization | 4.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
Major urban areas (Pop) | 16.316 million KINSHASA (capital), 2.892 million Mbuji-Mayi, 2.812 million Lubumbashi, 1.664 million Kananga, 1.423 million Kisangani, 1.249 million Bukavu (2023). |
Sex Ratio | |
At birth | 1.03 male(s)/female |
0-14 years | 1.01 male(s)/female |
15-64 years | 1 male(s)/female |
65 years and over | 0.78 male(s)/female |
Total population | 1 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
Infant Motality | |
Total | 57.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
Male | 62.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
Female | 51.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life Expectancy at birth | |
Total population | 62.6 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 60.7 years |
Female | 64.6 years |
Drinking Water Sources | |
Improved: urban | urban: 88.8% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 34.7% of population |
Improved: total | total: 59.4% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 11.2% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 65.3% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 40.6% of population (2020 est.) |
Sanitation facility acess | |
Improved: urban | urban: 53.4% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 20.5% of population |
Improved: total | total: 35.5% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 46.6% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 79.5% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 64.5% of population (2020 est.) |
Major Infectious diseases | |
Degree of risk | very high (2023) |
Food or waterborne diseases | bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever |
Vectorborne diseases | malaria, dengue fever, and trypanosomiasis-gambiense (African sleeping sickness) |
Water contact diseases | schistosomiasis |
Animal contact diseases | rabies |
Alcohol consumption per capita | |
Total | 0.56 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Beer | 0.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Wine | 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Spirits | 0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Tobacco use | |
Total | 12.8% (2020 est.) |
Male | 22.7% (2020 est.) |
Female | 2.9% (2020 est.) |
Child marriage | |
Women married by age 15 | 8.4% |
Women married by age 18 | 29.1% |
Men married by age 18 | 5.6% (2018 est.) |
Despite a wealth of fertile soil, hydroelectric power potential, and mineral resources, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) struggles with many socioeconomic problems, including high infant and maternal mortality rates, malnutrition, poor vaccination coverage, lack of access to improved water sources and sanitation, and frequent and early fertility. Ongoing conflict, mismanagement of resources, and a lack of investment have resulted in food insecurity; almost 25% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished as of 2018. The overall coverage of basic public services – education, health, sanitation, and potable water – is very limited and piecemeal, with substantial regional and rural/urban disparities. Fertility remains high at more than 5 children per woman and is likely to remain high because of the low use of contraception and the cultural preference for larger families.
The DRC is a source and host country for refugees. Between 2012 and 2014, more than 119,000 Congolese refugees returned from the Republic of Congo to the relative stability of northwest DRC, but more than 1 million Congolese refugees and asylum seekers were hosted by neighboring countries as of December 2022. In addition, an estimated 5.5 million Congolese were internally displaced as of October 2022, the vast majority fleeing violence between rebel group and Congolese armed forces. Thousands of refugees have come to the DRC from neighboring countries, including Rwanda, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Burundi.
Want to know more about DR Congo? Check all different factbooks for DR Congo below.