Kinshasa

Kinshasa
Ville de Kinshasa
Flag of Kinshasa
Official seal of Kinshasa
Nickname(s): 
Kin la belle
(lit.'Kin the beautiful')
Kinshasa on map of DR Congo provinces
Kinshasa on map of DR Congo provinces
Kinshasa is located in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa on map of DR Congo
Kinshasa is located in Africa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (Africa)
Kinshasa is located in Earth
Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (Earth)
Coordinates: 04°19′19″S 15°18′43″E / 4.32194°S 15.31194°E / -4.32194; 15.31194
Country Democratic Republic of the Congo
Founded1881 (as Leopoldville)
City hallLa Gombe
Communes
Government
 • TypeProvincial assembly
 • BodyProvincial Assembly of Kinshasa
 • GovernorGentiny Ngobila Mbaka
 • Vice-governorNéron Mbungu
Area
 • City-province9,965 km2 (3,848 sq mi)
 • Urban600 km2 (200 sq mi)
Elevation
240 m (790 ft)
Population
 (2021)
 • City-province17,071,000[1]
 • Density1,462/km2 (3,790/sq mi)
 • Urban16,316,000
 • Urban density27,000/km2 (70,000/sq mi)
 • Metro
17,239,463
 • Language
French and Lingala
Time zoneUTC+1 (West Africa Time)
Area code243 + 9
License Plate CodeDemocratic Republic of the Congo CGO / 01
HDI (2019)0.577[5]
medium1st

Kinshasa (/kɪnˈʃɑːsə/; French: [kinʃasa]; Lingala: Kinsásá), formerly named Léopoldville before June 30, 1966, is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of the world's fastest-growing megacities. With an estimated population of 16 million residents, it's the most densely populated city in the DRC and the most populous city in Africa. It is Africa's third-largest metropolitan area and the leading economic, political, and cultural center of the DRC.[6][7][8][9] Kinshasa houses several industries, including manufacturing,[10] telecommunications,[11][12] banking, and entertainment.[13][14] The city also hosts some of DRC's significant institutional buildings, such as the Palais du Peuple, Palais de la Nation, Court of Cassation, Constitutional Court, Cité de l'Union Africaine, Palais de Marbre, Stade des Martyrs, Immeuble du Gouvernement, Kinshasa Financial Center, and multiple federal departments and agencies.[15][16][17][18]

Geographically covering 9,965 square kilometers, Kinshasa stretches along the southern shores of the Pool Malebo, forming an expansive crescent across flat, low-lying terrain at an average altitude of about 300 meters.[19] Situated between latitudes 4° and 5° and longitudes East 15° and 16°32, Kinshasa shares its borders with the Mai-Ndombe Province, Kwilu Province, and Kwango Province to the east; the Congo River delineates its western and northern perimeters, constituting a natural border with the Republic of the Congo; to the south lies the Kongo Central Province. Across the river sits Brazzaville, the smaller capital of the neighboring Republic of the Congo, forming the world's second-closest pair of capital cities despite being separated by a four-kilometer-wide unbridged span of the Congo River.[20][21][19][22]

Kinshasa also functions as one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is administratively divided into 24 communes, which are further subdivided into 365 neighborhoods.[23] With an expansive administrative region, over 90 percent of the province's land remains rural, while urban growth predominantly occurs on its western side.[24] Kinshasa is the largest nominally Francophone urban area globally, with French being the language of government, education, media, public services and high-end commerce, while Lingala is used as a lingua franca in the street. The city's inhabitants are popularly known as Kinois, with the term "Kinshasans" used in English terminology.[6][25][26][27]

The Kinshasa site has historically been inhabited by Bantus (Teke, Humbu) for centuries and was known as Nshasa before transforming into a commercial hub during the 18th and 19th centuries.[19][28] The city was named Léopoldville by Henry Morton Stanley in honor of Leopold II of Belgium.[19][29][30] The name was changed to Kinshasa in 1966 during Mobutu Sese Seko's Zairianisation campaign as a tribute to Nshasa village.[19]

The National Museum of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is DRC's most prominent and central museum, housing a collection of art, artifacts, historical objects, and modern work of arts. The College of Advanced Studies in Strategy and Defense is the highest military institution in DRC and Central Africa. The National Pedagogical University is DRC's first pedagogical university and one of Africa's top pedagogical universities. N'Djili International Airport is the largest airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and ranks 37th in Africa in terms of passengers carried, with 12 international flights per day.[31] In December 2015, Kinshasa was designated as a City of Music by UNESCO and has been a member of the Creative Cities Network since then.[32][33] Nsele Valley Park is the largest urban park in Kinshasa, housing a plethora of fauna and flora.

According to the 2016 annual ranking, Kinshasa is Africa's most expensive city for expatriate employees, ahead of close to 200 global locations.[34][35][36]

  1. ^ Institut National De La Statistique. "Projections demographiques 2019–25 (in French)". Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kayembe2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "DemographiaWorld Urban Areas – 13th Annual Edition" (PDF). Demographia. April 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  4. ^ "PopulationStat.com". Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  6. ^ a b Cécile B. Vigouroux & Salikoko S. Mufwene (2008). Globalization and Language Vitality: Perspectives from Africa, pp. 103 & 109. A&C Black. ISBN 9780826495150. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  7. ^ Chignac, François (6 July 2023). "Conférence Risque Pays 2023 : le climat des affaires s'améliore en RDC". euronews (in French). Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  8. ^ Rouaud, Pierre Olivier (25 July 2022). "RD Congo: les fortes prévisions de croissance confortées par le FMI". Classe-export.com (in French). Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  9. ^ Kaseso, Joel Machozi (27 May 2023). "Faux, le magazine Forbes n'a pas publié un classement du "Top 10 des meilleurs villes de la RDC en 2023"". Congocheck.net (in French). Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Congo-Kinshasa: Les industries manufacturières affichent une bonne croissance". AllAfrica (in French). 13 September 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  11. ^ Syosyo, Crispin Malingumu (2015). "Analyse du marché des télécommunications mobiles en République Démocratique du Congo: Dynamique du marché et stratégies des acteurs". hal.science (in French). Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  12. ^ Tuema, Jacques Kiambu Di (5 December 2009). "Déréglementation des services de télécommunications en République Démocratique du Congo et inégale répartition des ressources". Revue d'Économie Régionale & Urbaine (in French) (2009/5): 975–994. doi:10.3917/reru.095.0975. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  13. ^ "La culture et le divertissement au Congo". Actualite.cd (in French). 27 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  14. ^ Luzonzo, Merseign (2016). "Les fondements de l'émergence économique de la République Démocratique du Congo: défis et perspectives" [The foundations of the economic emergence of the Democratic Republic of Congo: challenges and prospects] (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Université Catholique du Congo. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Actualité | Quelle est la nature juridique de l'autorité du ministre de la Justice sur le Parquet ?". www.mediacongo.net (in French). Kinshasa. 6 July 2020. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  16. ^ "En RDC, le difficile accès à la justice pour les femmes victimes de viols". RFI (in French). 25 November 2020. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  17. ^ Rédaction, La (28 January 2019). "Félix Tshisekedi s'installe dans "une modeste" villa à la cité de l'UA". Politico.cd (in French). Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  18. ^ Huband, Mark (20 May 2019). The Skull Beneath The Skin: Africa After The Cold War. Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom: Routledge. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-429-96439-8. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  19. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Buron, Thierry (22 November 2020). "Brazzaville et Kinshasa : proches, mais séparées". Conflits : Revue de Géopolitique (in French). Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  21. ^ Academie, Jan Van Eyck (12 June 2006). Brakin: Brazzaville-Kinshasa : Visualizing the Visible. Baden, Switzerland: Lars Müller Publishers. ISBN 978-3-03778-076-3. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  22. ^ Burke, Jason (17 January 2017). "Face-off over the Congo: the long rivalry between Kinshasa and Brazzaville". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  23. ^ Zimi, Gutu Kia (10 January 2021). Growing Trees in Urban Kinshasa: Shrub Vegetation in Residential Plots in Kinshasa. Bloomington, Indiana, United States. ISBN 978-1-6655-1262-6. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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  25. ^ Magnan, Pierre (2 June 2017). "Kinshasa a dépassé Paris comme plus grande ville francophone du monde". Franceinfo (in French). Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  26. ^ "This is the most French-speaking city in the world". En-vols.com. 10 October 2022. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  27. ^ Cornall, Flo (1 June 2023). "Congolese artists wear costumes made of trash to shine a light on Kinshasa's pollution problem". CNN. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ [Airport rankings: Africa https://gettocenter.com/airports/continent/africa Archived 16 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine]
  32. ^ "Kinshasa: Ville Créative de la Musique" [Kinshasa: Creative City of Music] (PDF). en.unesco.org (in French). Paris, France. 2016–2019. p. 3. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  33. ^ "Kinshasa: About the Creative City". En.unesco.org. 2015. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  34. ^ Velluet, Quentin (31 October 2018). "Offres d'emploi : les meilleures opportunités en Afrique – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  35. ^ Karuri, Ken (22 June 2016). "Luanda, Kinshasa ranked among world's most expensive cities for expats". Africanews. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  36. ^ Hughes, Martin (3 July 2016). "Kinshasa Is Most Expensive City To Live For Expats". Money International. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.

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