Rwanda vs. Democratic Republic of the Congo
Geography
| Rwanda | Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, north of Burundi | Central Africa, northeast of Angola |
| Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 30 00 E | 0 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 26,338 sq km land: 24,668 sq km water: 1,670 sq km | total: 2,344,858 sq km land: 2,267,048 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US |
| Land boundaries | total: 930 km border countries (4): Burundi 315 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 221 km, Tanzania 222 km, Uganda 172 km | total: 11,027 km border countries (9): Angola 2646 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 236 km, Central African Republic 1747 km, Republic of the Congo 1775 km, Rwanda 221 km, South Sudan 714 km, Tanzania 479 km, Uganda 877 km, Zambia 2332 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 37 km |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: since 2011, the DRC has had a Common Interest Zone agreement with Angola for the mutual development of off-shore resources |
| Climate | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible | 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 | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m mean elevation: 1,598 m | highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 726 m |
| Natural resources | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land | cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber |
| Land use | agricultural land: 74.5% (2018 est.) arable land: 47% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 10.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 17.4% (2018 est.) forest: 18% (2018 est.) other: 7.5% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 11.4% (2018 est.) arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 8% (2018 est.) forest: 67.9% (2018 est.) other: 20.7% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 96 sq km (2012) | 110 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga Mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo volcanism: Visoke (3,711 m), located on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the country's only historically active volcano | periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); active volcanoes in the east along the Great Rift Valley volcanism: Nyiragongo (3,470 m), which erupted in 2002 and is experiencing ongoing activity, poses a major threat to the city of Goma, home to a quarter million people; the volcano produces unusually fast-moving lava, known to travel up to 100 km /hr; Nyiragongo has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; its neighbor, Nyamuragira, which erupted in 2010, is Africa's most active volcano; Visoke is the only other historically active volcano |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; land degradation; soil erosion; a decline in soil fertility (soil exhaustion); wetland degradation and loss of biodiversity; widespread poaching | poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation (forests endangered by fires set to clean the land for agricultural purposes; forests also used as a source of fuel); soil erosion; mining (diamonds, gold, coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors for electronic devices) causing environmental damage |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Geography - note | landlocked; most of the country is intensively cultivated and rugged with the population predominantly rural | note 1: second largest country in Africa (after Algeria) and largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa; straddles the equator; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands; the narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River is the DRC's only outlet to the South Atlantic Ocean note 2: because of its speed, cataracts, rapids, and turbulence the Congo River, most of which flows through the DRC, has never been accurately measured along much of its length; nonetheless, it is conceded to be the deepest river in the world; estimates of its greatest depth vary between 220 and 250 meters |
| Total renewable water resources | 13.3 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 1.283 trillion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | one of Africa's most densely populated countries; large concentrations tend to be in the central regions and along the shore of Lake Kivu in the west as shown in this population distribution map | urban clusters are spread throughout the country, particularly in the northeast along the boarder with Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi; the largest city is the capital, Kinshasha, located in the west along the Congo River; the south is least densely populated as shown in this population distribution map |
Source: CIA Factbook
