Kinshasa

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kinshasa, formerly (until 1966) Léopoldville, largest city and capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies about 320 miles (515 km) from the Atlantic Ocean on the south bank of the Congo River. One of the largest cities of sub-Saharan Africa, it is a special political unit equivalent to a Congolese region, with its own governor. The city’s inhabitants are popularly known as Kinois.

Kinshasa is not only the capital but also the centre of the dynamic and contradictory influences that have shaped the country’s character in modern Africa. The only city not clearly identified with any particular region of the country, it was until 1997 the seat of a long-lasting Zairean military government based, on the one hand, on the strength of the armed forces and, on the other, on a technique of political and social compromise that until its later years gained the rather grudging collaboration of most of the citizens. Caught between spectacular wealth and massive poverty, most Kinois must spend a considerable amount of their time scrambling for necessities that are in erratic supply. Nevertheless, they have found the means to make Kinshasa a source of distinctive influence in intellectual and popular culture felt throughout Africa.

The most heavily inhabited area of Kinshasa covers 58 square miles (about 150 square km). The total area subject to city government, much of it sparsely populated, is 3,848 square miles (9,965 square km). Pop. (2005 est.) 5,717,000.