GEOGRAPHY AND LOCATION

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a country located in central Africa, and it is the third largest country by area on the African continent. The country is bordered by the Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is divided into 26 autonomous provinces with Kinshasa serving as the capital. Congo is one-quarter the size of the U.S.A.

During the colonial period the name Congo was designated to two countries, the Belgian Congo and the French Congo. After independence, both countries were named Congo, but in 1971, Mobutu seized power over the larger region (former Belgian). He then changed its name to Zaire. In 1997, Kabila came into power and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the same year. The new regime decided to change the country’s name because of the revolution, which started in eastern Zaire.