The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as the Republic of Zaire, is geographically the largest state in Southern and Central Africa. It is situated at the heart of Africa, and lies on the Equator, covering an area of 2,345,095 km². The DRC has 37 kilometres of coastline and geography characterised by a vast central basin low-lying plateau rising to volcanoes and mountains in the east. More than half the country is covered by dense tropical rainforest. The country is traversed by numerous rivers with the Congo River being the largest.

The DRC has a tropical climate with two distinct seasons; the 'dry season (18 to 27oC ) is called 'Congolese Winter', which is from June to August. The 'rainy season' (22 to 33oC) runs from September to May with its heavy, monsoon rains. Temperatures are hot and humid in the central region, cooler and drier in the southern highlands, and cooler and wetter in the eastern highlands.

Background:

The population is estimated at 75,259,000 (2011) and is divided into ten provinces and one city, namely, Kinshasa – the capital. The provinces are Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale and Sud-Kivu. French is the only official language, with four national languages; Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo and Tshiluba. The DRC has over 200 African ethnic groups, of which the majority are Bantu. Continue reading