2,344,885 sq km (905,365 sq miles).

48,040,000 (1997).

20.5 per sq km.

Kinshasa

3,804,000 (1991).

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country in Africa and is bordered to the north by the Central African Republic and Sudan, to the east by Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, to the south by Zambia and Angola and to the west by the Republic of Congo and the Angolan enclave, Cabinda. The country has a coastline of only 27km (17 miles), at the outlet of the Congo River, which flows into the Atlantic. The country straddles the Equator and has widely differing geographical features, including mountain ranges in the north and west, a vast central plain through which the Congo River flows, and the volcanoes and lakes of the Kivu region. The river has given rise to extensive tropical rainforests on the western border with the Republic of Congo.

Republic. Gained independence from Belgium in 1960. Head of State: President Laurent-Désiré Kabila since 1997.

The official language is French. There are many local languages, the most widely spoken being Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba and Kikongo.

Predominantly Roman Catholic, with a minority of Protestant and traditional beliefs.

Kinshasa and Mbandaka: GMT + 1. Haut-Zaïre, Kasai, Kivu and Shaba: GMT + 2.

220 volts AC, 50Hz.