Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇨🇩

Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country in Africa with a population of 99,010,212. Its capital is Kinshasa. The official currency is CDF, and the main languages are French.

Quick facts

Capital: Kinshasa
Continent: Africa
Population: 99,010,212
Area: 2,344,858 km²
Density: 42.2 people per km²
Currency: CDF
Languages: French
ISO code: CD

Where Democratic Republic of the Congo sits

Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇨🇩 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Kinshasa. It covers 2,344,858 square kilometres — 11th in the world — and is home to about 99,010,212 people, 15th globally.

The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Tanzania and South Africa. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.

How Democratic Republic of the Congo compares

Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Democratic Republic of the Congo sits closest to Vietnam and Iran. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Algeria and Saudi Arabia.

At 42.2 people per square kilometre it is about 1.4 times below the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.

French is an official language in 30 countries here, among them Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso and Burundi, and 25 others. The CDF is used by Democratic Republic of the Congo and no one else.

To see Democratic Republic of the Congo next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.

How to remember Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kinshasa, once called Léopoldville, faces Brazzaville, the capital of the other Congo, across the Congo River: the two are the world's closest pair of capital cities. Big Congo (DRC) has Kinshasa; little Congo has Brazzaville.

The flag of Democratic Republic of the Congo: sky blue, red and yellow

🇨🇩 The flag is a sky-blue flag crossed diagonally from bottom left to top right by a red stripe edged in yellow, with a yellow five-pointed star in the top left. Blue stands for peace and hope, red for the blood of the country's martyrs, and yellow for its wealth. The star stands for unity and a bright future.

Region and neighbours

Democratic Republic of the Congo is a very large country in Central Africa, centred on the Congo Basin, reaching the Atlantic Ocean in the west, with mountains in the east and southeast. It shares land borders with 9 countries: Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia and Angola. Part of the border with Angola is around Cabinda, an Angolan exclave north of the Congo River mouth.

Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville
Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — capital Bangui
South Sudan 🇸🇸 — capital Juba
Uganda 🇺🇬 — capital Kampala
Rwanda 🇷🇼 — capital Kigali
Burundi 🇧🇮 — capital Gitega
Tanzania 🇹🇿 — capital Dodoma
Zambia 🇿🇲 — capital Lusaka
Angola 🇦🇴 — capital Luanda

Three facts about Democratic Republic of the Congo

The DRC is the second-largest country in Africa by area and the most populous French-speaking country in the world.
Its rainforests are the second-largest in the world, and the okapi that lives there was unknown to science until 1901.
From 1971 to 1997 the country was officially called Zaire.

Sources: Wikipedia: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wikipedia: Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wikipedia: Kinshasa, CIA World Factbook.

Quiz yourself on Democratic Republic of the Congo

African capitals quiz — match Democratic Republic of the Congo to Kinshasa
African flags quiz — spot the Democratic Republic of the Congo flag among its neighbours

Quizzes that include Democratic Republic of the Congo

Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Democratic Republic of the Congo those are:

Africa map quiz — place it on a blank map
Africa flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
Africa capitals quiz — match it to Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of the Congo capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Democratic Republic of the Congo
Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day

Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.

Nearby countries

Algeria 🇩🇿 — capital Algiers
Angola 🇦🇴 — capital Luanda
Benin 🇧🇯 — capital Porto-Novo
Botswana 🇧🇼 — capital Gaborone
Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 — capital Ouagadougou
Burundi 🇧🇮 — capital Gitega
Cabo Verde 🇨🇻 — capital Praia
Cameroon 🇨🇲 — capital Yaoundé
Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — capital Bangui
Chad 🇹🇩 — capital N'Djamena
Comoros 🇰🇲 — capital Moroni
Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville

Frequently asked questions

What are the colours of the Democratic Republic of the Congo flag?

The flag of Democratic Republic of the Congo is a sky-blue flag crossed diagonally from bottom left to top right by a red stripe edged in yellow, with a yellow five-pointed star in the top left. Blue stands for peace and hope, red for the blood of the country's martyrs, and yellow for its wealth. The star stands for unity and a bright future.

Which countries border Democratic Republic of the Congo?

Democratic Republic of the Congo shares land borders with Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia and Angola. Part of the border with Angola is around Cabinda, an Angolan exclave north of the Congo River mouth.