The Democratic Republic of the Congo, known until 1997 as Zaire, is a country located in Central Africa, with a small length of Atlantic coastline. It is the third largest country in Africa by area.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo was formerly, in order, the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo-Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zaire (Zaïre in French). Though it is located in the Central African UN subregion, the nation is economically and regionally affiliated with Southern Africa as a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Read More

The Democratic Republic of the Congo borders the Central African Republic and Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi in the east; Zambia and Angola to the south; the Republic of the Congo to the west; and is separated from Tanzania by Lake Tanganyika in the east. The country enjoys access to the ocean through a 40-kilometre (25 mi) stretch of Atlantic coastline at Muanda and the roughly nine-kilometre wide mouth of the Congo River which opens into the Gulf of Guinea.

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