e US

Land boundaries:

total: 10,730 km
border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary
of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central
African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda
217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km

Coastline:

37 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors

Climate:

tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier
in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north
of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to
February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry
season (April to October)

Terrain:

vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110
m

Natural resources:

cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem
diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal,
hydropower, timber

Land use:

arable land: 2.86%
permanent crops: 0.47%
other: 96.67% (2005)

Irrigated land:

110 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

1,283 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 0.36 cu km/yr (53%/17%/31%)
per capita: 6 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the
east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes

Environment - current issues:

poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution;
deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation,
soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a
mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing
environmental damage

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber
83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Geography - note:

straddles equator; has narrow strip of land that controls the lower
Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense
tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands