Congo vs DR Congo

Why people mix them up

Two neighbouring countries in Central Africa share the same name, the same river and the same official language. The Republic of the Congo (often "Congo-Brazzaville") and the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DR Congo" or "Congo-Kinshasa") are separated only by the Congo River, and their capitals sit directly opposite each other on its banks, the closest pair of capital cities in the world. DR Congo was called Zaire from 1971 to 1997, which adds to the muddle.

How to tell them apart

• DR Congo is enormous, about 2.34 million km² and the second-largest country in Africa; the Republic of the Congo is roughly 342,000 km².
• The Republic of the Congo is north and west of the river; DR Congo is on the south and east bank and spreads far to the east, reaching the African Great Lakes.
• DR Congo has well over 100 million people; the Republic of the Congo has about 6 million.
• The Republic of the Congo's flag is green, yellow and red split diagonally; DR Congo's is sky blue with a yellow star and a red diagonal stripe edged in yellow.
• The capitals are Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo) and Kinshasa (DR Congo), facing each other across the Congo River.
• DR Congo borders nine countries, including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia; the Republic of the Congo borders Gabon, Cameroon, Central African Republic and DR Congo.

Memory hook

The long name belongs to the big country: "Democratic Republic" is the giant, plain "Congo" is the small one on the Atlantic side of the river.

On the map

For DR Congo, tap the huge country in the very middle of Africa, filling the space between Angola in the south and the Central African Republic in the north, with the Great Lakes on its eastern edge. For the Republic of the Congo, look at DR Congo's north-western corner, where the border runs along the river, and tap the smaller country on the other side, between Gabon and DR Congo, with a short Atlantic coastline.