Congo, Democratic Republic of the (DROC) - Location, size, and extent



The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC—formerly Zaire) is situated in central Africa, and is crossed by the equator in its north-central region. It is the third-largest country on the continent, covering an area of 2,345,410 sq km (905,568 sq mi), with a length of 2,276 km (1,414 mi) SSE NNW and a width of 2,236 km (1,389 mi) ENE WSW . Comparatively, the area occupied by the country is slightly less than one-quarter the size of the United States, or about as large as the US east of the Mississippi River. On the N it is bounded by the Central African Republic, on the NE by Sudan, on the E by Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania, on the SE and S by Zambia, on the SW by Angola, and on the W by the Cabinda enclave of Angola and the Republic of the Congo (ROC), with a total boundary length of 10,744 km (6,661 mi). Its extreme western portion is a narrow wedge terminating in a strip of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. The DROC and Zambia dispute the border to the east of Lake Mweru. Kinshasa, the capital, is located in the western part of the country.

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