Kongo Central

Coordinates: 05°49′S 13°29′E / 5.817°S 13.483°E / -5.817; 13.483
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kongo Central
Province du Kongo Central (French)
Kizunga Kongo dia Kati (Kikongo)
Zongo Falls on the Inkisi River
Zongo Falls on the Inkisi River
Kikongo

Kongo Central (Kongo: Kongo dia Kati[4][5]), formerly Bas-Congo, is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[6] Its capital is Matadi.

History

At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the greater province of Léopoldville, along with the capital city of Kinshasa and the districts of Kwango, Kwilu and Mai-Ndombe. Under Belgian colonial rule, the province was known as Bas-Congo (as in "Lower Congo River") and was renamed Kongo Central after independence.[7][8]

Under the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko from 1965 to 1997, the Congo river was renamed as Zaire. The province was named as Bas-Zaïre. The name was later reverted to Bas-Congo. It was subsequently renamed as Kongo Central in 2015.

Geography

Landscape of Kongo Central
BaKongo masks from the Kongo Central region

Kongo Central is the only province in the country with an ocean coastline; it has narrow frontage on the Atlantic Ocean. It borders the provinces of

Republic of Angola to the south as well as the Republic of the Congo and Cabinda
to the north.

Divisions

The provincial capital is Matadi. The only other official city is

Boma
. The remainder of the province is administratively divided into ten territories, the most of any province:[9]

Before 2015 these territories were divisions of the Bas-Fleuve, Cataractes and Lukaya districts; except for Moanda, which was attached to Boma (a city/district hybrid).[10]

Towns with their 2010 populations are:

Name Former District Territory Pop. 2010[11] Coordinates[11]
Boma 167,326 5°51′S 13°03′E / 5.85°S 13.05°E / -5.85; 13.05 (Boma)
Inga Bas-Fleuve
Tshela
10,417 5°39′S 13°39′E / 5.65°S 13.65°E / -5.65; 13.65 (Inga)
Inkisi
Lukaya
Kasangulu
77,797 5°08′S 15°04′E / 5.13°S 15.07°E / -5.13; 15.07 (Inkisi)
Kasangulu Lukaya
Kasangulu
30,724 4°35′S 15°11′E / 4.58°S 15.18°E / -4.58; 15.18 (Kasangulu)
Kimpese Cataractes
Songololo
53,660 5°33′S 14°26′E / 5.55°S 14.43°E / -5.55; 14.43 (Kimpese)
Kimvula Lukaya Kimvula 5°43′03″S 15°57′44″E / 5.717412°S 15.962191°E / -5.717412; 15.962191 (Kimvula)
Kinzau-Mvuete Bas-Fleuve
Tshela
17,870 5°29′S 13°17′E / 5.48°S 13.28°E / -5.48; 13.28 (Kinzau-Mvuete)
Lukula Bas-Fleuve
Lukula
31,394 5°23′S 12°57′E / 5.38°S 12.95°E / -5.38; 12.95 (Lukula)
Luozi Cataractes Luozi 13,258 4°57′S 14°08′E / 4.95°S 14.13°E / -4.95; 14.13 (Luozi)
Madimba Lukaya Madimba 4°58′48″S 15°08′46″E / 4.980084°S 15.14622°E / -4.980084; 15.14622 (Madimba)
Matadi 291,338 5°49′S 13°29′E / 5.82°S 13.48°E / -5.82; 13.48 (Matadi)
Mbanza-Ngungu Cataractes
Mbanza-Ngungu
97,037 5°15′S 14°52′E / 5.25°S 14.86°E / -5.25; 14.86 (Mbanza-Ngungu)
Muanda
Boma
Muanda
86,896 5°56′S 12°21′E / 5.93°S 12.35°E / -5.93; 12.35 (Muanda)
Seke-Banza Bas-Fleuve Seke-Banza 6,015 5°20′S 13°16′E / 5.33°S 13.27°E / -5.33; 13.27 (Seke-Banza)
Songololo Cataractes
Songololo
12,382 5°42′S 14°02′E / 5.70°S 14.03°E / -5.70; 14.03 (Songololo)
Tshela Bas-Fleuve
Tshela
45,588 4°58′0″S 12°56′0″E / 4.96667°S 12.93333°E / -4.96667; 12.93333 (Tshela)

Notable people from Kongo Central

References

  1. ^ "Guy Bandu promet de faire du Kongo-Central le poumon économique de la RDC". Radio Okapi (in French). 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Kongo-central : le kikongo en voie de disparition, le lingala gagne progressivement du terrain [Enquête]". L'Opinion Info (in French). Le lingala est fortement utilisé dans les milieux des enfants et des jeunes, tandis que le Kikongo est principalement utilisé chez les vieilles personnes. [Lingala is used extensively among children and youth, while Kikongo is used primarily among older people.]
  3. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  4. ^ M. J. Hambrey and W. B. Harland, Earth's Pre-Pleistocene Glacial Record, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 157
  5. ^ Godefroid Muzalia Kihangu, Bundu dia Kongo, une résurgence des messianismes et de l’alliance des Bakongo?, Universiteit Gent, België, 2011, p. 1
  6. ^ Central Intelligence Agency (2016). "Democratic Republic of the Congo". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Constitution de la République Démocratique du Congo du 1er août 1964" [Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of 1 August 1964]. Global Legal Information Network (in French). 1964. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012. (Article 4)
  8. ^ "Constitution de la République Démocratique du Congo du 24 juin 1967" [Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of 24 June 1967]. Global Legal Information Network (in French). 1967. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012. (Article 1)
  9. ^ Institut National de la Statistique–RD Congo (March 2017). Annuaire statistique 2015 [2015 Statistical Yearbook] (PDF) (in French). pp. 8-9 Tableau 1.3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 2 Jan 2023.
  10. ^ Institut National de la Statistique–RD Congo (July 2015). Annuaire statistique 2014 [2014 Statistical Yearbook] (PDF) (in French). pp. 36–38 Tableau 1.5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 Mar 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Bas-Congo: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Archived from the original on 2012-12-16.

Bibliography