Loading AI tools
Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Kongo Central
| |
---|---|
Coordinates: 05°49′S 13°29′E | |
Country | DR Congo |
Capital and largest city | Matadi |
Government | |
• Body | Provincial Assembly of Kongo Central |
• Governor | Grâce Bilolo[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 53,920 km2 (20,820 sq mi) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 6,838,500 |
• Density | 130/km2 (330/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (West Africa Time) |
License Plate Code | CGO / 10 |
Official language | French |
National languages | Kikongo ya Leta, lingala[2] |
HDI (2017) | 0.432[3] low |
Non-national language | Kikongo |
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.
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 Kinshasa to the north-east, Kwango to the east, and the Republic of Angola to the south as well as the Republic of the Congo and Cabinda to the north.
The provincial capital is Matadi, with Boma being the other official city.. 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 |
Inga | Bas-Fleuve | Tshela | 10,417 | 5°39′S 13°39′E |
Inkisi | Lukaya | Kasangulu | 77,797 | 5°08′S 15°04′E |
Kasangulu | Lukaya | Kasangulu | 30,724 | 4°35′S 15°11′E |
Kimpese | Cataractes | Songololo | 53,660 | 5°33′S 14°26′E |
Kimvula | Lukaya | Kimvula | 5°43′03″S 15°57′44″E | |
Kinzau-Mvuete | Bas-Fleuve | Tshela | 17,870 | 5°29′S 13°17′E |
Lukula | Bas-Fleuve | Lukula | 31,394 | 5°23′S 12°57′E |
Luozi | Cataractes | Luozi | 13,258 | 4°57′S 14°08′E |
Madimba | Lukaya | Madimba | 4°58′48″S 15°08′46″E | |
Matadi | – | – | 291,338 | 5°49′S 13°29′E |
Mbanza-Ngungu | Cataractes | Mbanza-Ngungu | 97,037 | 5°15′S 14°52′E |
Muanda | Boma | Muanda | 86,896 | 5°56′S 12°21′E |
Seke-Banza | Bas-Fleuve | Seke-Banza | 6,015 | 5°20′S 13°16′E |
Songololo | Cataractes | Songololo | 12,382 | 5°42′S 14°02′E |
Tshela | Bas-Fleuve | Tshela | 45,588 | 4°58′0″S 12°56′0″E |
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.