{{Multiple image
| direction = horizontal
| image1 = Lake Kivu (20875703429).jpg
| alt1 = Lake Kivu
| image2 = 20180531 View from the top of Mt. Kahuzi in Kahuzi-Biega National Park.jpg
| alt2 = Kahuzi-Biéga National Park
| image3 = River in rainforest - North Kivu (21062578875).jpg
| image4 = Mont Mangengenge 5.jpg
| footer = Geography in Congo-Kinshasa, clockwise from the top: Lake Kivu, Kahuzi-Biéga National Park, the Congo River, Mount Mangengenge.
| alt3 = Congo River
| alt4 = Mount Mangengenge
| perrow = 2 / 2
| total_width = 300
}}
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the largest country of sub-Saharan Africa, occupying . The country lies on the equator. Most of the country lies within the vast hollow of the Congo River Basin. The vast, low-lying central area is a plateau-shaped basin sloping toward the west, covered by tropical rainforest and criss-crossed by rivers.
The forest center is surrounded by mountainous terraces in the west, plateaus merging into savannas in the south and southwest. Dense grasslands extend beyond the Congo River in the north. High mountains of the Ruwenzori Range, some above , are found on the eastern borders with Rwanda and Uganda as part of the Albertine Rift montane forests.
Geographic regions
thumb|The Ituri Rainforest
thumb|Masisi Territory
thumb|Lake Kivu in North Kivu province
Several major geographic regions may be defined in terms of terrain and patterns of natural vegetation, namely the central Congo Basin, the uplands north and south of the basin, and the eastern highlands.
The DRC's core region is the central Congo Basin. Having an average elevation of about , it measures roughly , constituting about a third of the DRC's territory. Much of the forest within the basin is swamp, and still more of it consists of a mixture of marshes and firm land.
North and south of the basin lie higher plains and, occasionally, hills covered with varying mixtures of savanna grasses and woodlands. The southern uplands region, like the basin, constitutes about a third of the DRC's territory. The area slopes from south to north, starting at about near the Angolan border and falling to about near the basin. Vegetation cover in the southern uplands territory is more varied than that of the northern uplands.
In some areas, woodland is dominant; in others, savanna grasses predominate. South of the basin, along the streams flowing into the Kasai River are extensive gallery forests. In the far southeast, most of the former Katanga Province is characterized by somewhat higher plateaus and low mountains. The westernmost section of the DRC, a partly forested panhandle reaching the Atlantic Ocean, is an extension of the southern uplands that drops sharply to a very narrow shore about long.
In the much narrower northern uplands, the cover is largely savanna, and woodlands are rarer. The average elevation of this region is about , but it rises as high as where it meets the western edge of the eastern highlands.
The eastern highlands region is the highest and most rugged portion of the country. It extends for more than from above Lake Albert to the country's southern tip and varies in width from . Its hills and mountains range in altitude from about to more than . The western arm of the Great Rift Valley forms a natural eastern boundary to this region. The eastern border of the DRC extends through the valley and its system of lakes, which are separated from each other by plains situated between high mountain ranges.
In this region, changes in elevation bring marked changes in vegetation, which ranges from montane savanna to heavy montane forest. The Rwenzori Mountains between lakes Albert and Edward constitutes the highest range in Africa. The height and location of these mountains on the equator make for a varied and spectacular flora.
Rivers and lakes
thumb|A topographic map of the DRC
The Congo River and its tributaries drain this basin and provide the country with the most extensive network of navigable waterways in Africa. wide at the mid-point of its length, the river carries a volume of water that is second only to the Amazon's. Its flow is unusually regular because it is fed by rivers and streams from both sides of the equator; the complementary alternation of rainy and dry seasons on each side of the equator guarantees a regular supply of water for the main channel. At points where navigation is blocked by rapids and waterfalls, the sudden descent of the river creates a hydroelectric potential greater than that found in any other river system on earth.
Most of the DRC is served by the Congo River system, a fact that has facilitated both trade and outside penetration. Its network of waterways is dense and evenly distributed through the country, with three exceptions: northeastern Mayombe in Kongo Central in the west, which is drained by a small coastal river called the Shilango; a strip of land on the eastern border adjoining lakes Edward and Albert, which is part of the Nile River basin; and a small part of the extreme southeastern DRC, which lies in the Zambezi River basin and drains into the Indian Ocean.
Most of the DRC's lakes are also part of the Congo River basin. In the west are Lac Mai-Ndombe and Lac Tumba, which are remnants of a huge interior lake that once occupied the entire basin prior to the breach of the basin's edge by the Congo River and the subsequent drainage of the interior. In the southeast, Lake Mweru straddles the border with Zambia. On the eastern frontier, Lac Kivu, Central Africa's highest lake and a key tourist center, and Lake Tanganyika, just south of Lac Kivu, both feed into the Lualaba River, the name often given to the upper extension of the Congo River. Only the waters of the eastern frontier's northernmost great lakes, Edward and Albert, drain north, into the Nile Basin.
Climate
thumb|upright=1.2|A map of Köppen climate classification zones in the DRC
Climate ranges from tropical rain forest in the Congo River basin to tropical wet-and-dry in the southern uplands, to tropical highland in eastern areas above in elevation. In general, temperatures and humidity are quite high. The highest and least variable temperatures are in the equatorial forest, where daytime highs range between , and nighttime lows rarely go below . The average annual temperature is about .
In the southern uplands, particularly in the far southeast Katanga region, winters are cool and dry. Summers are warm and damp. The chain of lakes from Lake Albert to Lake Tanganyika in the eastern highlands has a moist climate and a narrow but not excessively warm temperature range. The mountain sections are cooler. Humidity increases with altitude until the saturation point is reached. A nearly constant falling mist prevails on some slopes, particularly in the Rwenzori Mountains.
The seasonal pattern of rainfall is affected by the DRC's straddling of the equator. In the third of the country that lies north of the equator, the dry season, roughly early November to late March, corresponds to the rainy season in the southern two-thirds. There is great variation, and a number of places on either side of the equator have two wet and two dry seasons.
Rainfall averages range from about . Annual rainfall is highest in the heart of the Congo River basin and in the highlands west of Bukavu, and tends to diminish in direct relation to distance from these areas. The only areas marked by long four-month to five-month dry seasons and occasional droughts are parts of the Southeast.
{{Weather box
|location = Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|width = auto
|collapsed = yes
|Jan record high C = 36
|Feb record high C = 36
|Mar record high C = 38
|Apr record high C = 37
|May record high C = 37
|Jun record high C = 37
|Jul record high C = 32
|Aug record high C = 33
|Sep record high C = 35
|Oct record high C = 35
|Nov record high C = 37
|Dec record high C = 34
|Jan high C = 30.6
|Feb high C = 31.3
|Mar high C = 32.0
|Apr high C = 32.0
|May high C = 31.1
|Jun high C = 28.8
|Jul high C = 27.3
|Aug high C = 28.9
|Sep high C = 30.6
|Oct high C = 31.1
|Nov high C = 30.6
|Dec high C = 30.1
|year high C = 30.4
|Jan mean C = 25.9
|Feb mean C = 26.4
|Mar mean C = 26.8
|Apr mean C = 26.9
|May mean C = 26.3
|Jun mean C = 24.0
|Jul mean C = 22.5
|Aug mean C = 23.7
|Sep mean C = 25.4
|Oct mean C = 26.2
|Nov mean C = 26.0
|Dec mean C = 25.6
|year mean C = 25.5
|Jan low C = 21.2
|Feb low C = 21.6
|Mar low C = 21.6
|Apr low C = 21.8
|May low C = 21.6
|Jun low C = 19.3
|Jul low C = 17.7
|Aug low C = 18.5
|Sep low C = 20.2
|Oct low C = 21.3
|Nov low C = 21.5
|Dec low C = 21.2
|year low C = 20.6
|Jan record low C = 18
|Feb record low C = 20
|Mar record low C = 18
|Apr record low C = 20
|May record low C = 18
|Jun record low C = 15
|Jul record low C = 10
|Aug record low C = 12
|Sep record low C = 16
|Oct record low C = 17
|Nov record low C = 18
|Dec record low C = 16
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 163
|Feb precipitation mm = 165
|Mar precipitation mm = 221
|Apr precipitation mm = 238
|May precipitation mm = 142
|Jun precipitation mm = 9
|Jul precipitation mm = 5
|Aug precipitation mm = 2
|Sep precipitation mm = 49
|Oct precipitation mm = 98
|Nov precipitation mm = 247
|Dec precipitation mm = 143
|Jan precipitation days = 12
|Feb precipitation days = 12
|Mar precipitation days = 14
|Apr precipitation days = 17
|May precipitation days = 12
|Jun precipitation days = 1
|Jul precipitation days = 0
|Aug precipitation days = 1
|Sep precipitation days = 6
|Oct precipitation days = 10
|Nov precipitation days = 16
|Dec precipitation days = 14
|Jan humidity = 83
|Feb humidity = 82
|Mar humidity = 81
|Apr humidity = 82
|May humidity = 82
|Jun humidity = 81
|Jul humidity = 79
|Aug humidity = 74
|Sep humidity = 74
|Oct humidity = 79
|Nov humidity = 83
|Dec humidity = 83
|Jan sun = 136
|Feb sun = 141
|Mar sun = 164
|Apr sun = 153
|May sun = 164
|Jun sun = 144
|Jul sun = 133
|Aug sun = 155
|Sep sun = 138
|Oct sun = 149
|Nov sun = 135
|Dec sun = 127
|source 1 = Climate-Data.org (temperature) Weatherbase (extremes)
|source 2 = Danish Meteorological Institute (precipitation, sun, and humidity)
}}
{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Kisangani
|collapsed = Yes
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 36
|Feb record high C = 36
|Mar record high C = 36
|Apr record high C = 35
|May record high C = 34
|Jun record high C = 34
|Jul record high C = 33
|Aug record high C = 33
|Sep record high C = 34
|Oct record high C = 34
|Nov record high C = 35
|Dec record high C = 35
|year record high C = 36
|Jan high C = 31
|Feb high C = 31
|Mar high C = 31
|Apr high C = 31
|May high C = 31
|Jun high C = 30
|Jul high C = 29
|Aug high C = 28
|Sep high C = 29
|Oct high C = 30
|Nov high C = 29
|Dec high C = 30
|year high C = 30.0
|Jan mean C = 26
|Feb mean C = 26
|Mar mean C = 26
|Apr mean C = 26
|May mean C = 26
|Jun mean C = 25.5
|Jul mean C = 24
|Aug mean C = 24
|Sep mean C = 24.5
|Oct mean C = 25
|Nov mean C = 24.5
|Dec mean C = 25
|year mean C = 25.2
|Jan low C = 21
|Feb low C = 21
|Mar low C = 21
|Apr low C = 21
|May low C = 21
|Jun low C = 21
|Jul low C = 19
|Aug low C = 20
|Sep low C = 20
|Oct low C = 20
|Nov low C = 20
|Dec low C = 20
|year low C = 20.4
|Jan record low C = 17
|Feb record low C = 18
|Mar record low C = 17
|Apr record low C = 18
|May record low C = 18
|Jun record low C = 18
|Jul record low C = 17
|Aug record low C = 17
|Sep record low C = 17
|Oct record low C = 18
|Nov record low C = 18
|Dec record low C = 16
|year record low C = 16
|rain colour=green
|Jan rain mm = 53
|Feb rain mm = 84
|Mar rain mm = 178
|Apr rain mm = 158
|May rain mm = 137
|Jun rain mm = 114
|Jul rain mm = 132
|Aug rain mm = 165
|Sep rain mm = 183
|Oct rain mm = 218
|Nov rain mm = 198
|Dec rain mm = 84
|year rain mm = 1620
|Jan sun = 187
|Feb sun = 170
|Mar sun = 187
|Apr sun = 180
|May sun = 187
|Jun sun = 150
|Jul sun = 124
|Aug sun = 125
|Sep sun = 150
|Oct sun = 186
|Nov sun = 150
|Dec sun = 155
|year sun =
|source 1 = BBC Weather Centre Kisangani
|date=August 2010
}}
{{Weather box
|width=auto
|metric first=yes
|single line=yes
|location=Mbuji-Mayi
|collapsed=yes
|Jan high C=30.4
|Feb high C=30.6
|Mar high C=31.4
|Apr high C=31.6
|May high C=32.6
|Jun high C=32.5
|Jul high C=32.2
|Aug high C=31.5
|Sep high C=31.4
|Oct high C=30.9
|Nov high C=30.7
|Dec high C=30.3
|Jan mean C=25.2
|Feb mean C=25.3
|Mar mean C=25.9
|Apr mean C=25.9
|May mean C=26.1
|Jun mean C=25.1
|Jul mean C=24.9
|Aug mean C=25.3
|Sep mean C=25.5
|Oct mean C=25.3
|Nov mean C=25.3
|Dec mean C=25.2
|Jan low C=20.1
|Feb low C=20.1
|Mar low C=20.4
|Apr low C=20.3
|May low C=19.7
|Jun low C=17.7
|Jul low C=17.6
|Aug low C=19.1
|Sep low C=19.7
|Oct low C=19.8
|Nov low C=20
|Dec low C=20.2
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm=150
|Feb precipitation mm=133
|Mar precipitation mm=202
|Apr precipitation mm=161
|May precipitation mm=66
|Jun precipitation mm=20
|Jul precipitation mm=9
|Aug precipitation mm=32
|Sep precipitation mm=140
|Oct precipitation mm=157
|Nov precipitation mm=233
|Dec precipitation mm=207
| source 1 = Climate-Data.org, altitude: 614m
}}
{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Lubumbashi
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|collapsed = yes
|Jan high C = 26
|Feb high C = 26
|Mar high C = 26
|Apr high C = 27
|May high C = 26
|Jun high C = 25
|Jul high C = 25
|Aug high C = 27
|Sep high C = 30
|Oct high C = 31
|Nov high C = 28
|Dec high C = 26
|year high C =
|Jan mean C = 21
|Feb mean C = 21
|Mar mean C = 21
|Apr mean C = 20.5
|May mean C = 18
|Jun mean C = 16.5
|Jul mean C = 16.5
|Aug mean C = 18
|Sep mean C = 21
|Oct mean C = 23
|Nov mean C = 22
|Dec mean C = 21
|year mean C =
|Jan low C = 16
|Feb low C = 16
|Mar low C = 16
|Apr low C = 14
|May low C = 10
|Jun low C = 8
|Jul low C = 8
|Aug low C = 9
|Sep low C = 12
|Oct low C = 15
|Nov low C = 16
|Dec low C = 16
|year low C =
|Jan rain mm = 253
|Feb rain mm = 257
|Mar rain mm = 202
|Apr rain mm = 60
|May rain mm = 4
|Jun rain mm = 1
|Jul rain mm = 0
|Aug rain mm = 0
|Sep rain mm = 4
|Oct rain mm = 37
|Nov rain mm = 163
|Dec rain mm = 257
|year rain mm =
|Jan rain days = 24
|Feb rain days = 23
|Mar rain days = 21
|Apr rain days = 9
|May rain days = 2
|Jun rain days = 0
|Jul rain days = 0
|Aug rain days = 0
|Sep rain days = 1
|Oct rain days = 5
|Nov rain days = 17
|Dec rain days = 24
|year rain days =
|source = https://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/congo-kinshasa/lubumbashi.php
}}
Climate change
As of 2023, the DRC is the 18th highest emitting nation of greenhouse gases and the highest emitter on the African continent. The majority of these emissions arise from land use change and deforestation, as the country uses little fossil fuel and only one-fifth of the population has access to electricity. The DRC is one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change and the least prepared to deal with its impacts. Climate change in the DRC is predicted to cause more frequent and intense floods, droughts and exacerbated disease epidemics. Sectors vulnerable to climate change include agriculture, forestry and energy.
Data
250px|thumb|The Location of the DRC on a world map
Area:
Total:
2,344,858 km2
Land:
2,267,048 km2
Water:
77,810 km2
alt=Idjwi|thumb|Idjwi in South Kivu.
Area - comparative:
11th-largest country in the world (and 2nd in Africa)
smaller than Algeria but larger than Greenland and Saudi Arabia
about the size of the United States as a whole
Australia comparative: slightly smaller than Western Australia
Canada comparative: slightly less than twice the size of the Northwest Territories
About 10 times the size of Romania
thumb|Mount Nyiragongo, which last erupted in 2021.
thumb|Salonga National Park.
Land boundaries:
Total:
10,481 km
Border countries:
"Angola 2,646 km, Burundi 236 km, Central African Republic 1,747 km, Republic of the Congo 1,229 km, Rwanda 221 km, South Sudan 714 km, Tanzania 479 km, Uganda 877 km, Zambia 2,332 km"
Coastline:
.
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
exclusive economic zone:
boundaries with neighbors
Climate:
tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler-cold and wetter in eastern highlands and the Ruwenzori Range; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November to March, dry season April to October
Terrain:
vast central plateau covered by tropical rainforest, surrounded by mountains in the west, plains and savanna in the south/southwest, and grasslands in the north. The high mountains of the Ruwenzori Range on the eastern borders.
Elevation extremes:
Lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
Natural resources:
cobalt, copper, niobium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber
Land use:
arable land:
3.09%
permanent crops:
0.36%
96.55 (2012 est.)
Irrigated land:
105 km2 (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
1,283 km3 (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal
Total:
0.68 km3/yr (68% / 21% / 11%)
Per capita:
11.25 m3/yr (2005)
Natural hazards
Periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Albertine Rift, there are active volcanoes
Environment
thumb|The endangered [[mountain gorilla; half of its population live in the DRC's Virunga National Park, making the park a critical habitat for these animals.]]
Current issues
Poaching threatens wildlife populations (for example, the African wild dog, Lycaon pictus, is now considered extirpated from the Congo due to human overpopulation and poaching); water pollution; deforestation (chiefly due to land conversion to agriculture by indigenous farmers); refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan — a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage.
International environmental agreements
Party to:
Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
Signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification
Extreme points
This is a list of the extreme points of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
- Northernmost point: Unnamed location on the border with the Central African Republic in the Bomu river immediately west of the town of Mbaga in CAR, Orientale Province
- Easternmost point: At the point where the northern section of the border with Uganda enters Lake Albert immediately west of Mahagi Port, Orientale Province
- Southernmost point: Unnamed location on the border with Zambia immediately to north-west of the Zambian town of Ndabala, Katanga province
- Westernmost point: The point at which the border with Cabinda enters the Atlantic Ocean, Bas-Congo province
See also
- Subdivisions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Former place names in the Democratic Republic of the Congo