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Lying in east central Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as Zaire from 1971 to 1997, is Africa's third-largest country. The rainforested basin of the Congo River occupies 60% of the land area. The notoriously corrupt Marshal Mobutu ruled from 1965 until his overthrow in 1997 by Laurent-Désiré Kabila. A rebellion launched in 1998 plunged the country into renewed chaos, and spiraled into regional conflict. Peace tentatively arrived two years after Joseph Kabila's succession in January 2001.