The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the third largest country by area on the African continent with size of nearly 2.5 million sq km. It is situated at the heart of the west - central portion of sub - Saharan Africa and is bounded by 10 countries. Its territory straddles the Equator, with one- third to the north and two - thirds to the south. As a result of it's location,the sustains the second largest rain fall in the world. This area is surrounded by plateaus merging into savannas in the south and southwest, by mountainous terraces in the west, and dense grass lands extending beyond the Congo river in north. High glaciated mountains are found in the extreme eastern region.