Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as the Republic of Zaire, is geographically the largest state in Southern and Central Africa. It is situated at the heart of Africa, and lies on the Equator, covering an area of 2,345,095 km². The DRC has 37 kilometres of coastline and geography characterised by a vast central basin low-lying plateau rising to volcanoes and mountains in the east.