The Democratic Republic of the Congo is also often referred to as DRC, RDC or formerly as Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa and Zaire (or Zaîre in French). The DRC is the third largest country by area on the African continent and although it is located in the Central African UN sub-region, the nation is economically and regionally affiliated with Southern Africa as a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The DRC has borders with Central African Republic and Sudan on the north, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania on the east, Zambia and Angola on the south, and the Republic of the Congo on the west. The country enjoys access to the ocean through a narrow forty kilometre stretch, following the Congo river into the Gulf of Guinea.

Formerly the Belgian colony of the Belgian Congo, the country's post-independence name was the Republic of the Congo until August 1, 1964, when its name was changed to Democratic Republic of the Congo (to distinguish it from the neighbouring Republic of the Congo). On October 27, 1971, then-President Mobutu renamed the country Zaire, from a Portuguese mispronunciation of the Kikongo word nzere or nzadi, which translates to "the river that swallows all rivers." Following the First Congo War which led to the overthrow of Mobutu in 1997, the country was renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.