The Democratic Republic of the Congo ( French: République démocratique du Congo (RDC) [kɔ̃ɡo]), also known as Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or simply either Congo or the Congo, and formerly Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. It is, by area, the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, the second-largest in all of Africa (after Algeria), and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 105 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country in the world, as well as the fourth-most populous country in Africa (after Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt) and the 15th-most populous country in the world. It is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, African Union, and COMESA. Since 2015, the Eastern DR Congo has be