Location: Central Africa, between Congo and Zambia

Map references: Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 2,345,410 sq km
land area: 2,267,600 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than one-quarter the size of US

Land boundaries: total 10,271 km, Angola 2,511 km, Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km

Coastline: 37 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it is reported that the indefinite section of the Zaire-Zambia boundary has been settled; long section with Congo along the Congo River is indefinite (no division of the river or its islands has been made)

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

Natural resources: cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower potential

Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 4%
forest and woodland: 78%
other: 15%

Irrigated land: 100 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation
natural hazards: periodic droughts in south
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification

Note: straddles Equator; very 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

NOTE: The information regarding Zaire on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Zaire Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Zaire Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.