The Congo River separates the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.
The river forms a major section of the international boundary between the two neighboring countries in Central Africa. Their capitals, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo, face each other across the river, making them the world’s closest pair of national capitals.
The Congo is Africa’s second-longest river after the Nile and the continent’s most powerful river by discharge. It flows through the Congo Basin before reaching the Atlantic Ocean, and its drainage basin covers a vast area of central Africa. Near the coast, the river’s lower course cuts through deep gorges and rapids.
A common mix-up is the Ubangi River, which also helps define part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s northern boundary, but it separates the DRC from the Central African Republic rather than from the Republic of the Congo. The Kasai is a major tributary of the Congo, while the Zambezi belongs to a different southern African drainage system.