Facts about DR Congo

Facts about DR Congo : The DR Congo in full is the Democratic Republic of Congo and is also known as Congo-Kinshasha or just the Congo and is commonly confused with the Republic of Congo which is a neighboring and different country. The Democratic republic of Congo is located in the central Africa and is among the largest in the entire continent. The DR Congo is sited on 2,345,409 square kilometers and 3.32% of this is country land is covered by water.

There are a few fascinating facts about this country. The DR Congo is associated with insecurity but over the years it is becoming a stable land and many visitors can now come without worry. The Virunga national park has contributed greatly to the security and the thriving of tourism in the eastern part of the country. The Virunga national park offers a full-time security convoy to escort guests through out their stay at the park and this makes visitors feel comfortable to visit the country.

Get to discover some of the facts about Congo listed below in this article.

Second largest country in Africa

The Democratic republic of Congo is sitted on an area of 2,345,409 square meters, quite an area, making it the second largest country on the African continent. The African continent has 60 countries but only 54 of these countries are legally recognized. The largest country is Algeria then the DR Congo follows. The Democratic republic of Congo is bordered by nine countries and these are Angola and Zambia in the south, the republic of Congo in the west, the central Republic of Congo and South Sudan in the north. Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania are neighboring the DR Congo in the East.

Common Language spoken

The Congolese people have up to 200 different groups of ethnicities which implies 250 and more languages spoken all over the county. There are as many dialects interpreted in the DR Congo but the two mostly commonly spoken languages are French and Swahili and these two go for all parts of this big country.

The capital city of the Democratic republic of Congo is Kinshasha and the most spoken language in this city is French and this makes it the world’s second largest French speaking city in the world.

Oldest national park in Africa

The Democratic republic of Congo is one of the countries that are still a home to the mountain gorillas as well as the lowland gorillas. The mountain gorillas in the DR Congo are visited in the Virunga national park and this is said to be Africa’s oldest national park as it was established in 1925. It is also a large park as it is sitted on an area of 8,090 square kilometers which is approximately 3,120 square miles.

Richest in resources.

The Democratic republic of Congo is among the richest countries in the world in terms of resources. The Democratic republic of Congo has one of the biggest gold mines in the world and on top of being a gold country, the country also has other minerals like tantalum, tungsten as well as tin.

These resources are locally mined and used to make local products like cellphones, jewelry or even laptops. It may be an economically poor country but is a very rich one in resources. The instability in this country may be factored by the resources and sense of entitlement among parties.

Largest United Nations base

The Democratic republic of Congo is currently hosting one of the largest peace keeping mission with over 21,000 peace keepers and soldiers and these are originating from over 50 different countries. These are from the United Nations deployment.

Active volcanic mountains.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a home to the Mount Nyiragongo and the Mount Nyamulagira that are still active volcanoes as of to day and these two volcanoes are located in the Eastern part of the country and are said to be responsible for up to 40% of the volcanic activity in Africa as a continent.

You can hike up one of these volcanoes that is the Mount Nyiragongo and get to spend a night at the summit with the view of the red boiling magma in the world’s largest crater lake of magma.

Book your Congo safari to the Virunga national park, the Kahuzi Biega national park or even to hike the mount Nyiragongo with us. Our expert consultants await to hear from you to plan the unforgettable Congo tour.