The Democratic Republic of Congo, also known as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo is a country located in Central Africa. From 1971 to 1997 it was named Zaire, and from 1908 to 1960 it was called the Belgian Congo. The DRC borders the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the east; Zambia and Angola to the south; and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. With a surface of 2.345 million km² it is the second largest country in Africa, the largest in Subsaharan Africa, and the eleventh largest in the world. With 78.74 million inhabitants the DRC is the fourth most populated country in Africa.
For more than ten years there has been a civil war in Congo. The peoples security can not be guaranteed in some areas of the country, including North and South Kivu, Ituri and Katanga. As a functioning jurisdiction is largely lacking, extensive human rights violations remain totally unpunished.