Population 66,660,551

Capital City Kinshasa (9.3 million)

Largest Cities Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Mbuji-Mayi, Kolwezi, Kananga

Currency Congolese Franc (CDF)


Latitude/Longitude 4º31' S, 15º32' E

Languages French (official), Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo, Swahili and Tshiluba



Religions Catholic, Protestant, others

Land

Land Area 2,267,600 sq km (875,520 sq miles) - slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US

Landforms The vast Congo River basin occupies and central and northwestern parts of the country, while further south, savanna grasslands extend to the border with Angola.

In the east, the land rise into a plateau with heights over 5,000 ft., and then into the higher volcanic mountains of the Great Rift Valley. Southeast, the land rises into the peaks of the Shaba Plateau.

A number of lakes front the country's eastern borders, including Lakes Albert, Edward, Kivu, Mweru and Tanganyika.

The country is dominated by the Congo River system and its many tributaries. The river itself is 2,733 miles long, and is navigable for almost 900 miles. Its basin contains the planet's largest rain forest.

Highest Pt. Mt. Stanley (5,110 m) (16,765 ft)

Lowest Pt. Atlantic Ocean (0 m) (0 ft)

Land Divisions 10 provinces and one city* (ville); including Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale and Sud-Kivu.

Natural Resources: cobalt, niobium, tantalum,  silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal,

Minerals of Katanga (Shaba) province (Swahili shaba, “copper”) include copper, cobalt, zinc, cassiterite (the chief source of metallic tin), manganese, coal, silver, cadmium, germanium (a brittle element used as a semiconductor), gold, palladium (a metallic element used as a catalyst and in alloys), and platinum.

The region west of Lake Kivu contains cassiterite, columbotantalite, wolframite (a source of tungsten), beryl, gold, and monazite (a phosphate of the cerium metals and thorium). Lake Kivu has a vast reserve of methane, carbonic, and nitrogen natural gases. There are deposits of iron ore in south-central Congo. Industrial diamonds are found in the central regions, and gem-quality diamonds occur in the south-central part of the country.

There are gold, coal, and iron-ore deposits in northeastern Congo, and there are prospective deposits of gold, monazite, and diamonds in the northwestern regions. The diamond deposits in the western region are insignificant for industrial exploitation. Coastal Congo contains bauxite, gold, and offshore deposits of petroleum. The limestone deposits that occur throughout the country are considered to be among the richest in Africa.

Congo's forest reserves cover more than half of the country and are considered to be the largest in Africa. The wide variety of wild game supplements the local diet and contributes to a certain extent to local commerce. The rivers, lakes, swamps, and ocean contain a vast reserve of fish.

The country's hydroelectric resources have an estimated potential of 13 percent of the world's capacity and 50 percent of Africa's potential capacity. This tremendous potential is derived from the many rapids along the rivers of the Congo system. Thermal energy can be derived from the forests and coal and petroleum deposits, as well as the uranium deposits in Katanga.