Africa · Middle Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo covers about 2,325,000 km² (898,000 mi²), the 11th largest of the 246 places listed here. That is close to Algeria, at about 2,309,000 km².

2,325,000km²Area, main territory
105.8 millionPopulation
75.8In Belgiums

500 km

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Facts

Area, main territory	2,325,000 km²898,000 mi²
Official area	2,345,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure
In Belgiums	75.8
Capital	Kinshasa
Population	105.8 millionWikidata, 2023
Density	45 people per km²
Latitude range	13°S to 5°N
In other languages	República Democrática del Congo Español · Demokratische Republik Kongo Deutsch · République démocratique du Congo Français · República Democrática do Congo Português · コンゴ民主共和国日本語 · 刚果民主共和国中文 · 콩고 민주 공화국 한국어
Continent	Africa#1 of 54 countries by area

What the numbers say about Democratic Republic of the Congo

Russia, the largest place listed, is 7.30× the size of Democratic Republic of the Congo.
At 45 people per km², Democratic Republic of the Congo is the 120th most densely populated of the 185 places over 1,000 km²; the median is 72 per km².
Democratic Republic of the Congo lies at 3°S, close to the equator, where a standard web map (Web Mercator) is nearly true to size: it inflates area by only about 1.0×.
Laid out flat, Democratic Republic of the Congo's main territory stretches about 2,090 km north to south and 2,110 km east to west.
Wikidata's official figure of 2,345,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 2,325,000 km², to within 2%.

How Democratic Republic of the Congo measures up

Democratic Republic of the Congo holds 7.8% of the land area and 7.5% of the people of the 54 countries listed for Africa. In Middle Africa it is the 1st largest of 9.

Where it ranks	Figure	Position
Area	2,325,000 km²	10th of 239
Population	105.8 million	15th of 237
Density	45 per km²	120th of 185
Farthest north	2.9°S	178th of 212

Compared with	Its area	Democratic Republic of the Congo is
Belgium	30,700 km²	75.8× its size
United Kingdom	244,000 km²	9.54× its size
Germany	358,000 km²	6.50× its size
Japan	374,000 km²	6.23× its size
France	548,000 km²	4.24× its size
India	3,151,000 km²	0.74× its size
Brazil	8,473,000 km²	0.27× its size
United States	9,447,000 km²	0.25× its size
Russia	16,980,000 km²	0.14× its size

Where Democratic Republic of the Congo sits

Democratic Republic of the Congo's centre lies at 2.9°S, 23.6°E, in the southern and eastern hemispheres, about 320 km from the equator.
It straddles the equator, spanning 13°S to 5°N.

Closest neighbours, by distance between centres

On the same latitude, elsewhere in the world

If Democratic Republic of the Congo had other densities

At Bangladesh's density of 1,252 people per km², Democratic Republic of the Congo would have 2.91 billion people. It has 105.8 million.
At Canada's density of 3.7 people per km², Democratic Republic of the Congo would have 8.6 million people. It has 105.8 million.
At the median density of the places listed, 72 per km², it would have 168.2 million.

About the same size as

Largest in Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo#1 · 2,325,000 km²
Algeria2,309,000 km²
Sudan1,856,000 km²
Libya1,624,000 km²
Chad1,266,000 km²

Compare Democratic Republic of the Congo

Sources and method

Outline: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded
Official figures: Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-11
Population: Wikidata, 2023; covers the whole country, overseas territory included
Data built: 2026-11-11

Full method