Location:
Central Africa, northeast of Angola

Geographic coordinates:
0 00 N, 25 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 2,344,858 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 2,267,048 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 77,810 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 11

Area - comparative:
slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Area comparison map: slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US

Land boundaries:
total: 10,481 km
border countries (9): 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 1,229 km, Rwanda 221 km, South Sudan 714 km, Tanzania 479 km, Uganda 877 km, Zambia 2,332 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
37 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: since 2011 the DRC has a Common Interest Zone agreement with Angola for the mutual development of off-shore resources

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:
mean elevation: 726 m
[see also: Mean Elevation country ranks ]
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:
agricultural land: 11.4% arable land 3.1%; permanent crops 0.3%; permanent pasture 8%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 67.9%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 20.7% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
110 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Natural hazards:
periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); active volcanoes in the east along the Great Rift Valley
volcanism: Nyiragongo (elev. 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

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:
second largest country in Africa (after Algeria) and largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa; straddles the 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