 Congo (DRC)
Facts and Figures
Source: CIA World Factbook |
| Coordinates |
0 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Area |
total: 2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
| Climate |
tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; 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 basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east |
| Population |
65,751,512 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
| Languages |
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba |
| Imports |
foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels |
| Exports |
diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt |
| Hazards |
periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes |
| Resources |
cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber |
| Geography |
straddles equator; has very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands |
| Nationality |
noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo |
| Capital |
name: Kinshasa geographic coordinates: 4 18 S, 15 18 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Internet Country Code |
.cd |
| Internet Users |
140,600 (2005) |
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