Congo, Democratic Republic of

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire, has a land area of 905,351 sq. mi. (2,344,858 sq. km.), with a population of 63,655,000 (2007 est.), and a population density of 65 people per sq. mi. (25 people per sq. km.). Forests cover 80 percent of the country, with only three percent of the land arable, and 7 percent is used for pasture, mainly grazing cattle and sheep.

Only two percent of electricity production comes from fossil fuels, with 98 percent produced from hydropower. Most of the hydropower is generated from the hydroelectric plants at the Inga Dams, located on the Congo River. The two plants Inga I and Inga II provide electricity for the Shaha province, with plans to build Inga III and ...