According to COUNTRYAAH, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest country in Africa and at 2,345,410 km², around 6.6 times the size of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The country extends between 5º 30 ‘north and 13º 5’ south latitude and between 12º 15 ‘and 31º 15’ east longitude in central Africa on the equator.
A common border (a total of 10,730 km) exists with the states of the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) (2,410 km) in the west; Central African Republic (1,577 km) to the north; the Southern Sudan (628 km) to the northeast; Uganda (765 km), Rwanda (217 km), Burundi (233 km) and Tanzania (459 km) in the east; Zambia (1,930 km) to the southeast and south; Angola (2,511 km) in the south and south-west.
The 40 km long coast north of the Congo estuary is the only opening to the Atlantic Ocean. This separates the Angolan exclave Cabinda from the rest of the Republic of Angola. Among other things, there are oil deposits here.
The eastern border of the country forms the chain of lakes of the Great African Rift. These include (from north to south) Lake Albert, Lake Eduard, Lake Kivu, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Mweru. This border region also harbors some of the most important natural resources in Africa.
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Climate
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is located in the inner tropics, which are characterized by high annual rainfall as well as high temperatures and humidity.
The country can be divided into five climate zones – equatorial climate, tropical climate, tropical high altitude climate, forest / tree savannah climate, oceanic climate.
The equator with its typical climate zone runs north of the city of Mbandaka. To the north there is only a short dry season from November to March and a long rainy season from April to October. South of the equator, these times are exactly opposite. The change of the seasons manifests itself more and more irregularly due to the climate change.
The annual precipitation varies from 1,200 to 2,000 mm / year. The Congo Basin lies at an average of 600m above sea level and has a tropical rainforest climate.
The southern highlands, with their mountain ranges up to 1000m above sea level. is cooler and drier. The eastern and significantly higher highlands rise in the extreme east up to 3000m and are characterized by a mild climate.
The annual average temperature, for example in the cities of Goma and Bukavu, is around 20 ° C. The mining town of Lubumbashi, located in the south of the country, also has a mild climate due to its altitude of 1300m.
