Kinshasa

I

Introduction

Kinshasa, city in western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire), the capital of the country. Kinshasa is located on the southern bank of the Congo River opposite Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, and below Pool Malebo, a lake formed by the widening of the river. Kinshasa is the chief administrative, cultural, and economic center of the DRC and one of the most populous cities in sub-Saharan Africa. The city was known until 1966 as Léopoldville.

II

Description

Kinshasa and its surrounding area form a special political unit that is equivalent in status to the country’s other administrative regions. The Kinshasa region has an area of 9,965 sq km (3,848 sq mi), although the city proper is considerably smaller. The city center is dominated by the wide Boulevard du 30 Juin (“June 30 Boulevard”—June 30 is the country’s independence day), which runs from the railroad station and ferry terminal in the northeast to the western suburbs. On the eastern end of the boulevard are the city’s major offices, banks, and shops. South of this area is the Cité, a residential quarter that is also known for its sprawling Marché Central (French for “Central Market”) and the vibrant nightlife of its Matonge district. Overcrowded and laced with muddy alleys, the Cité is home to more than half of Kinshasa’s residents. In the Ndjili suburb south of the Cité is the city’s international airport and the 150-m (490-ft) high Monument to the Martyrs of Independence, an impressive structure of four concrete cylinders topped by television towers. Between the airport and railroad station are the Ndolo and Limété neighborhoods, where residential areas and industrial zones are separated by the railroad.

On the western end of the central boulevard is Gombe, a plush residential area where the Congolese parliament and high court and most foreign embassies are located. The National Museum of Kinshasa, the Academy of Fine Arts, and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame are located just southeast of Gombe. Also west of the city center, clustered around Mount Ngaliéma, is the Cité de l’OUA, a suburb built for the 1967 Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit. The president’s palace and some government offices are located here. Immediately west of Mount Ngaliéma, in the western hills overlooking the city, is the exclusive Binza residential district. West of Binza is the Île des Mimosas (Isle of Mimosas), located above scenic rapids in the Congo River.

Housing in Kinshasa ranges from plush modern suburbs inhabited by the city’s elite to desperately poor shantytowns (settlements of crudely built shacks). A number of modern office and commercial buildings have been erected since 1960.

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Within the Kinshasa administrative region but outside the city proper are several important towns and villages with strong links to the capital. Kinkolé, a marketing center for the fishing industry, and Maluku, a resort village, are located on Pool Malebo, east and northeast of the city. Many Kinshasa residents take regular excursions away from the heat of the bustling city to scenic spots such as Lac de Ma Vallée, a lake to the southwest.

III

Population and Culture

Kinshasa’s population has increased dramatically since the 1940s. Totaling only 400,000 in 1960, the inhabitants of the urbanized area centered on the city were estimated to number 5.3 million in 2003, constituting one-tenth of the DRC’s total population. The increase in city residents is due to a number of factors, including a high birth rate, a tendency for investment and government spending to concentrate in the capital, and Kinshasa’s reputation as a place of wealth, power, and culture.

The inhabitants of Kinshasa are known as Kinois (plural, Kinoise). Located in the area traditionally dominated by the Bakongo ethnic group, the city has been the destination of hundreds of thousands of migrants from other parts of the DRC; often these migrants are fleeing turmoil. Kikongo, the language of the Bakongo, has largely been supplanted by Lingala, which serves as a common language for the city’s diverse population. Kinshasa is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop. It is also the headquarters of the Baptist Church and of Kimbanguism, a Congolese sect that fuses Christianity and traditional African religions and is particularly strong in the region.

Kinshasa is a center of traditional and modern African culture, and the city’s artists are noted for their sculpture, oil painting, woodcarving, and jewelry making. The city is also known throughout Africa for its lively Congolese music scene, and several of its music and dance groups have achieved international recognition. Soukous, a popular guitar- and percussion-based music and dance style, developed in Kinshasa.

Kinshasa has several universities, including the University of Kinshasa and the Congo Protestant University of Kinshasa. Cultural institutions include the National Museum of Kinshasa, which contains archaeological and ethnological exhibits; the Academy of Fine Arts, which displays and sells paintings and sculpture; and a museum of prehistory at the University of Kinshasa. The city is also home to a zoo and several large sports complexes.

IV

Economy and Government

Kinshasa is the DRC’s center of industrial and commercial activity. The city’s main industries include food processing and the production of chemicals, paper, steel, tires, shoes, timber, palm oil, construction materials, and textiles. River boat building is also important, and the city is known for the production and sale of traditional African arts and crafts, particularly woodcarvings, masks, and malachite jewelry. Kinshasa is an important center for banking and telecommunications.

Kinshasa is the terminus of Congo River traffic from as far away as Kisangani, the major city in northeastern DRC, located more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi) upstream. The long series of rapids between Kinshasa and the Atlantic Ocean are unnavigable, so passengers and cargo must travel by rail or road to the seaport of Matadi, 265 km (165 mi) southwest of Kinshasa. A paved road also runs east to the city of Kikwit, and ferries provide connections to Brazzaville. Two airports serve Kinshasa: Ndjili International Airport, which is one of the largest in Africa, and the older and smaller but more central Ndolo Airport. Public transportation includes a heavily used system of city and regional buses. Kinshasa is the national center for radio and television broadcasting.

Since 1964 Kinshasa has been a special administrative unit equivalent to a region. Its governor, vice-governors, and city councilors are appointed directly by the president. Public participation in local governance has been strictly limited by the central government.

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