Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Capital: Kinshasa
- Middle Africa
- 9 neighbours in Travle
Democratic Republic of the Congo overview
Democratic Republic of the Congo is in Middle Africa, Africa. Its capital is Kinshasa. The World Bank counts about 112.8 million people for 2025 on 2,345,410 km² of surface area. The IANA time zone database lists 2 zones for it.
In the Travle map, Democratic Republic of the Congo has 9 neighbours: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. From there, 125 countries can be reached by land.
Population, density and language
The World Bank counts 112,832,473 people in Democratic Republic of the Congo for 2025, which is 15th of 170 by population. Spread over 2,345,410 km² of surface area (2024), that is about 48 people per km², 109th of 169 by density.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.POP.TOTL), data updated 2026-10-08; checked 2026-10-19.Rankings compare the entries in Travle's country list that have World Bank data (170 with population, 169 with surface area). Some list entries are territories, so a rank here is not a rank among sovereign states.
| Language | Share (est.) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| French | 51% | official |
| Swahili | 50% | official in some regions |
| Luba-Lulua | 9.6% | official in some regions |
| Lingala | 3.1% | official in some regions |
| Luba-Katanga | 2.3% | — |
| Kongo | 1.5% | official in some regions |
CLDR shares are estimates of people who use each language, so they can add up to more than 100%.
How big is Democratic Republic of the Congo, really?
With 2,345,410 km² (2024, land plus inland water), Democratic Republic of the Congo is 11th of 169 by surface area and covers 1.67% of the combined area of those entries.
In that ordering, Algeria (2,381,740 km²) is just larger; Saudi Arabia (2,149,690 km²) just smaller.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; checked 2026-10-19.Democratic Republic of the Congo at a glance
- Capital
- Kinshasa
- Region
- Middle Africa, Africa
- Population
- 112,832,473 (2025)
- Surface area
- 2,345,410 km² (2024)
- Density
- 48 people per km²
- Official languages
- French
- Currency
- Congolese Franc (CDF)
- Calling code
- +243
- Internet domain
- .cd
- Land neighbours
- 9 (Natural Earth) · 9 (Travle)
Each figure is sourced in its own section below. "Not available" means no source used on this page has the figure.
Democratic Republic of the Congo within Middle Africa
Natural Earth places Democratic Republic of the Congo in Middle Africa (UN subregion). Of the 8 entries from Travle's country list in that subregion, Democratic Republic of the Congo is 1st by population and 1st by surface area, with 51.5% of the combined population of those entries.
| Country | Population (2025) | Area km² (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 112,832,473 | 2,345,410 |
 Angola | 39,040,039 | 1,246,700 |
 Cameroon | 29,879,337 | 475,442 |
 Chad | 21,003,705 | 1,284,000 |
 Republic of the Congo | 6,484,437 | 342,000 |
 Central African Republic | 5,513,282 | 622,980 |
 Gabon | 2,593,130 | 267,670 |
 Equatorial Guinea | 1,938,431 | 28,052 |
Sources: World Bank WDI (SP.POP.TOTL, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; subregion from Natural Earth 1:110m. A dash means the World Bank has no figure.
Location, borders and position
Democratic Republic of the Congo is in Middle Africa, Africa. Its outline in Natural Earth lies in the northern and southern hemispheres and the eastern hemisphere. Its capital, Kinshasa, is at about 4.3° S and 15.3° E.
On land, Natural Earth's boundary data gives Democratic Republic of the Congo 9 neighbours; the Travle game map gives it 9.
Sources: Natural Earth 1:110m (outline and capital) and 1:10m boundary lines (neighbours), public domain.
Where Democratic Republic of the Congo is on the map
Countries bordering Democratic Republic of the Congo
Natural Earth's boundary data and the Travle map agree on these 9 land neighbours.
| Country | Direction | Land boundary in Natural Earth | Border in Travle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | south-west | Yes | Yes |
 Burundi | east | Yes | Yes |
| Central African Republic | north | Yes | Yes |
| Republic of the Congo | west | Yes | Yes |
 Rwanda | east | Yes | Yes |
 South Sudan | north-east | Yes | Yes |
 Tanzania | east | Yes | Yes |
 Uganda | north-east | Yes | Yes |
 Zambia | south | Yes | Yes |
Geographic column: Natural Earth 1:10m Admin-0 boundary lines (land) 5.1.0 (public domain), checked 2026-10-19; Natural Earth shows de facto boundaries and does not settle disputes. Travle column: the game's own border map.
Money and language in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Currency
- Congolese Franc: code CDF, numeric 976. ISO 4217 lists it for this country only.
Official languages
- French: official in 44 territories in CLDR, including Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 4 more languages have regional official status: Swahili, Luba-Lulua, Lingala and Kongo.
CLDR is a technical reference, not a legal text. Laws and constitutions can describe languages differently.
Currency, domain and dialling code
- Currency
- Congolese Franc (CDF)
Source: Unicode CLDR release-48-2 currencyData (region CD); code, name and number from ISO 4217 list one (SIX), published 2026-09-17; checked 2026-10-19. - Internet domain
- .cd
Source: IANA Root Zone Database; checked 2026-10-19. - International dialling code
- +243
Source: ITU, List of ITU-T Recommendation E.164 assigned country codes (position on 15 December 2016); checked 2026-10-19. - Time
- 2 zones in the IANA database; offsets range from UTC+01:00 to UTC+02:00 in 2026
IANA zones: Africa/Kinshasa, Africa/Lubumbashi
Source: IANA Time Zone Database 2026e (zone.tab); UTC offsets computed for 15 Jan and 15 Jul 2026 with Node.js ICU tz 2026a; checked 2026-10-19.
Democratic Republic of the Congo codes and abbreviations
| Standard | Code |
|---|---|
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 | CD |
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | COD |
| ISO 3166-1 numeric | 180 |
| ISO 4217 currency (Congolese Franc) | CDF · 976 |
| Country-code top-level domain | .cd |
| ITU-T E.164 country code | +243 |
Sources: Natural Earth (ISO 3166-1), ISO 4217 list one (SIX), IANA Root Zone Database, ITU E.164 list; linked with dates in the sections above.
Fun facts about Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo is 15th of the 170 entries in Travle's country list with a World Bank population figure.
- Only 10 entries are larger by surface area in Travle's country list.
- It has the largest population of the 8 entries in Middle Africa from Travle's country list.
- French has official status in 44 territories in Unicode CLDR, Democratic Republic of the Congo among them.
- The IANA time zone database lists 2 zones for Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- The longest Travle trip from Democratic Republic of the Congo takes 14 steps, to Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
- UNESCO lists 5 World Heritage properties in Democratic Republic of the Congo; the earliest inscription dates from 1979.
Each fact is calculated from the sources cited on this page.
How far can you travel from Democratic Republic of the Congo in Travle?
Starting from Democratic Republic of the Congo and moving one border at a time, this is how many countries in the game's map you reach at each step. Countries that need a sea crossing never appear, because the game only follows land borders.
| Steps | Countries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | |
| 2 | 11 | |
| 3 | 10 | |
| 4 | 8 | |
| 5 | 11 | |
| 6 | 8 | |
| 7 | 13 | |
| 8 | 13 | |
| 9 | 25 | |
| 10 | 10 | |
| 11 | 2 | |
| 12 | 1 | |
| 13 | 2 | |
| 14 | 2 |
In total 125 of the 171 other countries in the map can be reached by land. The longest trips take 14 steps and end in Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. The other 46 cannot be reached without crossing the sea (18 in North America, 13 in South America, 6 in Oceania, 5 in Asia, 3 in Europe, 1 in Africa).
Nearby routes from Democratic Republic of the Congo
Shortest land routes in the game's map to the countries up to 3 steps away. There can be several routes of the same length; this list shows one. The section above shows how many countries are reachable in total.
- Angola: 1 step (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Angola)
- Burundi: 1 step (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Burundi)
- Central African Republic: 1 step (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic)
- Republic of the Congo: 1 step (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Republic of the Congo)
- Rwanda: 1 step (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Rwanda)
- South Sudan: 1 step (Democratic Republic of the Congo → South Sudan)
- Tanzania: 1 step (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Tanzania)
- Uganda: 1 step (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Uganda)
- Zambia: 1 step (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Zambia)
Botswana: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Zambia → Botswana)- Cameroon: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic → Cameroon)
- Chad: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic → Chad)
Ethiopia: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → South Sudan → Ethiopia)- Gabon: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Republic of the Congo → Gabon)
Kenya: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → South Sudan → Kenya)
Malawi: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Tanzania → Malawi)
Mozambique: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Tanzania → Mozambique)
Namibia: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Angola → Namibia)
Sudan: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic → Sudan)
Zimbabwe: 2 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Zambia → Zimbabwe)
Djibouti: 3 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → South Sudan → Ethiopia → Djibouti)
Egypt: 3 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic → Sudan → Egypt)- Equatorial Guinea: 3 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic → Cameroon → Equatorial Guinea)
Eritrea: 3 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic → Sudan → Eritrea)
Eswatini: 3 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Tanzania → Mozambique → Eswatini)
Libya: 3 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic → Sudan → Libya)
Niger: 3 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic → Chad → Niger)
Nigeria: 3 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic → Cameroon → Nigeria)
Somalia: 3 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → South Sudan → Ethiopia → Somalia)
South Africa: 3 steps (Democratic Republic of the Congo → Angola → Namibia → South Africa)
World Heritage in Democratic Republic of the Congo
UNESCO lists 5 World Heritage properties in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The first, inscribed in 1979, was Virunga National Park.
- Virunga National Park (natural, inscribed 1979, on the List in Danger)
- Garamba National Park (natural, inscribed 1980)
- Kahuzi-Biega National Park (natural, inscribed 1980, on the List in Danger)
- Salonga National Park (natural, inscribed 1984)
- Okapi Wildlife Reserve (natural, inscribed 1996, on the List in Danger)
Source: UNESCO World Heritage List (XML feed); checked 2026-10-19. Names as listed by UNESCO; descriptions on this page are our own.
Democratic Republic of the Congo — frequently asked questions
What is the capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Kinshasa.
Which countries border Democratic Republic of the Congo?
On land, Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia, according to Natural Earth's boundary data. The Travle map uses the same neighbours.
What currency and language does Democratic Republic of the Congo use?
The currency is the Congolese Franc (CDF). Unicode CLDR gives French official status.
How far can you travel from Democratic Republic of the Congo in Travle?
Following land borders only, 125 countries are reachable. The farthest need 14 steps: Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
How many people live in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
The World Bank counts 112,832,473 people for 2025.
How big is Democratic Republic of the Congo?
2,345,410 km² of surface area (2024), according to the World Bank.
What is the dialling code and internet domain of Democratic Republic of the Congo?
The international dialling code is +243 and the country-code domain is .cd.
What time zone does Democratic Republic of the Congo use?
2 zones in the IANA database; offsets range from UTC+01:00 to UTC+02:00 in 2026.
Keep exploring
- Spin the country wheel to get a random country.
- Play Travle and try to cross the map border by border.
- Browse all countries of the world, countries by population, capitals, country codes or try the flag quiz.