Democratic Republic of the Congo - Tourism and Travel

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country in central Africa. It is located in the Congo River Basin, the second largest river basin on Earth, after the Amazon River Basin.

It was known as Zaire until 1997.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has an area of 905,868 square miles (2,345,410 square kilometers).

It is located in Congo River Basin, the second largest River Basin on Earth, after the Amazon River Basin.

There is tropical rainforest near the equator. To the north and to the south, there is tropical savanna.

The interior of the country is a plateau.

In the west, there is a short coastline along the Atlantic.

The Ruwenzori Mountains in the east, on the border with Uganda, are covered in tropical rainforest.

The Congo River runs through the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Of all the rivers in the world, only the Amazon carries more water than the Congo.

Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is located on the shores of Malebo Pool (Stanley Pool) an expansion of the Congo River that is located on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.

Lake Tanganyika is in the east, along the borders with Burundi and Tanzania.

It is the second deepest lake in the world, after Russia's Lake Baikal.

Lake Tanganyika is the biggest lake in a series of long narrow lakes, known as "ribbon lakes", in a trench in the Great Rift Valley.

66,020,000 people live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

50% are Roman Catholic, 20% are Protestant, 10% are Muslim and 10% are Kimbanguist.

French is the official language. Other languages spoken include Kiswahili, Kikongo, Lingala and Tshiluba.

The land in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is fertile. Many different crops can be grown.

Coffee is the main export.

There are diamonds, copper and cobalt mines.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's "copper belt" has many mineral deposits. They were formed when the African Shield was lifted up, creating intense heat and pressure. The uplifting of the African Shield resulted in the formation of the mountains in the region.

The official currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the Congolese france, which is made up of 100 centimes.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a presidential system of government.