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99-515: Brazzaville ( French pronunciation: [bʁazavil] , Kongo : Ntamo, Ntambo, Kintamo, Kintambo, Tandala, Mavula ; Teke : M'fa , Mfaa , Mfa , Mfoa ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo (Congo Republic). Administratively, it is a department and a commune . Constituting the financial and administrative centre of the country, it is located on the north side of

198-592: A marshy , alluvial plain , with altitudes ranging from 275 to 300 meters, along with hilly terrain that elevates from 310 to 370 meters. The city has four principal features: the Malebo Pool, a vast expanse of water with islands and islets; the Kinshasa Plain, which is a highly urbanizable space , but susceptible to drainage issues; the Terrace, which is a series of low ridges overlooking the plain; and

297-536: 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. Kinshasa also functions as one of the 26 provinces of

396-470: A waterway it provides a means of transport for much of the Congo Basin ; it is navigable for river barges between Kinshasa and Kisangani ; many of its tributaries are also navigable. The river is an important source of hydroelectric power , and downstream from Kinshasa it has the potential to generate power equivalent to the usage of roughly half of Africa's population. Topographically, Kinshasa has

495-594: A base of conflicts between forces of the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Angola . During the 1990s, civil wars resulted in thousands of civilian deaths here and forced hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee the city. More recently thousands of people leaving the DRC have made their way to Brazzaville; the local United Nations force and the DRC government have accused

594-518: A clay content typically below 20%, low organic matter , and absorbent complex saturation. The basement is composed of Precambrian bedrock , featuring finely stratified red sandstone often infused with feldspar . This rock is visible at the rapids' base near Mount Ngaliema and south of the N'djili River , and effectively withstands erosive forces. Kinshasa's vegetation comprises gallery forests , grassy formations , ruderal plant groups, and aquatic formations . These gallery forests, found along

693-668: A complete Christian Bible in 1905. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has published a translation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Fiote. The work of English, Swedish and other missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries, in collaboration with Kongo linguists and evangelists such as Ndo Nzuawu Nlemvo (or Ndo Nzwawu Nlemvo; Dom João in Portuguese) and Miguel NeKaka, marked

792-587: A deterioration of the overall budget balance. Nevertheless, the DRC's debt risk remains moderate, with public debt at 24.7% of GDP. The approval of the third review of the IMF program reflects the satisfactory performance of the country's reform efforts. Big manufacturing companies such as Marsavco S.A., All Pack Industries and Angel Cosmetics are located in the center of town (Gombe) in Kinshasa. There are many other industries, such as Trust Merchant Bank , located in

891-517: A dictionary in Kongo, the first of any Bantu language. A catechism was produced under the authority of Diogo Gomes, who was born in 1557 in Kongo to Portuguese parents and became a Jesuit priest. No version of that survives today. In 1624, Mateus Cardoso, another Portuguese Jesuit , edited and published a Kongo translation of the Portuguese catechism compiled by Marcos Jorge. The preface says that

990-519: A difficulty; it has therefore been decided to use s and z only, and in those parts where the sound of these letters is softened before i they will be naturally softened in pronunciation, and where they remain unchanged they will be pronounced as written. Kikongo belongs to the Bantu language family. According to Malcolm Guthrie , Kikongo is in the language group H10, the Kongo languages . Other languages in

1089-467: A greater role for automobile transportation but did not predict the city's significant population growth. Thus much of the urban structure has developed without guidance from a master plan. According to UN-Habitat , the city is expanding by eight square kilometers per year. It describes many of the new neighborhoods as slums , built in unsafe conditions with inadequate infrastructure. Nevertheless, spontaneously developed areas have in many cases extended

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1188-599: A hill commune with population verging on one million. In 2022, Kinshasa's GDP exceeded initial expectations by expanding 8.5%, as reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The mining industry in the DRC has been instrumental in maintaining a positive economic outlook, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic . Raw material exports, particularly cobalt and copper , have experienced historically high prices, resulting in substantial investment in

1287-645: A key port on the Congo River , Brazzaville still takes deliveries of raw materials , such as rubber , wood , and agricultural products . From here they are generally sent onward to Pointe-Noire for export. Many companies, government organizations and NGOs have regional offices in the capital city, where they can work with government officials. The World Health Organization has its regional office for Africa located in Brazzaville. Companies headquartered in Brazzaville include Equatorial Congo Airlines and

1386-463: A range between 5.3 million and 7.3 million. In 2017, the most recent population estimate for the city, it has a population of 11,855,000. According to UN-Habitat, 390,000 people immigrate to Kinshasa annually, fleeing warfare and seeking economic opportunity. According to a projection (2016) the population of metropolitan Kinshasa will increase significantly, to 35 million by 2050, 58 million by 2075 and 83 million by 2100, making it one of

1485-412: A rebel uprising began, which in 1997 finally brought down the regime of Mobutu. Kinshasa suffered greatly from Mobutu's excesses, mass corruption, nepotism and the civil war that led to his downfall. Nevertheless, it is still a major cultural and intellectual center for Central Africa, with a flourishing community of musicians and artists. It is also the country's major industrial center, processing many of

1584-434: A short trip is CF700. About twenty percent of the vehicles in Brazzaville are taxis. There are also collective taxis that drive certain routes and charge CF150. A road-rail bridge is proposed to connect Brazzaville with Kinshasa. The rail gauge on both sides is the same at 1067mm. Kongo language Historically, it was spoken by many of those Africans who for centuries were taken captive, transported across

1683-408: A system of 18 noun classes in which nouns are classified according to noun prefixes. Most of the classes go in pairs (singular and plural) except for the locative and infinitive classes which do not admit plurals. NB: Noun prefixes may or may not change from one Kikongo variant to another (e.g. class 7: the noun prefix ci is used in civili, iwoyo or ciladi (lari) and the noun prefix ki

1782-465: A total 976,000 workers. Most new jobs are classified as informal. By the end of 2022, Kinshasa's foreign exchange reserves had seen a significant improvement, soaring past $ 4.5 billion. The DRC benefits from support and partnerships with several global organizations and financial institutions, including the IMF, World Bank , African Development Bank , European Union , China and France . The People's Republic of China has been heavily involved in

1881-488: A two-page sermon written in Kongo. The dictionary has some 10,000 words. In the 1780s, French Catholic missionaries to the Loango coast created additional dictionaries. Bernardo da Canecattim published a word list in 1805. Baptist missionaries who arrived in Kongo in 1879 (from Great Britain) developed a modern orthography of the language. American missionary W. Holman Bentley arranged for his Dictionary and Grammar of

1980-403: A village named Kinshasa that once stood near the site. Kinshasa grew rapidly under Mobutu, drawing people from across the country who came in search of their fortunes or to escape ethnic strife elsewhere, thus adding to the many ethnicities and languages already found there. In 1991 the city had to fend off rioting soldiers , who were protesting the government's failure to pay them. Subsequently

2079-641: 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. 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. Nsele Valley Park

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2178-428: Is a commune (municipality) and a department but not with the same area. It is governed by a municipal council and a departmental council. The mayor is the president of the municipal council. The commune is divided into nine arrondissements (boroughs), each with an official number: The department includes the area of the commune and, since 2011, the new district of Ile Mbamou . The location of Brazzaville near

2277-464: Is a city of sharp contrasts, with affluent residential and commercial areas and three universities alongside sprawling slums. The older and wealthier part of the city ( ville basse ) is located on a flat area of alluvial sand and clay near the river, while many newer areas are found on the eroding red soil of surrounding hills. Older parts of the city were laid out on a geometric pattern, with de facto racial segregation becoming de jure in 1929 as

2376-536: Is a public university in Brazzaville, named after a former leader. The university was founded in December 1971 after independence. Today it has approximately 26,000 students. International schools: Brazzaville features a tropical wet and dry climate . Its wet season, which runs from October–May, is longer than its dry season, which covers the remaining months. Brazzaville's driest months, July and August, on average have no significant precipitation. Since Brazzaville

2475-652: Is also home to three large universities and an arts school: Primary and secondary schools: In 2020, 93% of children over six attended school and 70% of people over 15 were literate in French. There are twenty hospitals in Kinshasa, plus various medical centers and polyclinics. Since 1991, Monkole Hospital is operating as a non-profit health institution collaborating with the Health Department as district hospital in Kinshasa. Directed by Pr Léon Tshilolo, paediatrician and haematologist , Monkole Hospital opened

2574-765: Is also related to Kong creole. Kongo was the language of the Kingdom of Kongo prior to the creation of Angola by the Portuguese Crown in 1575. The Berlin Conference (1884-1885) among major European powers divided the rest of the kingdom into three territories. These are now parts of the DRC ( Kongo Central and Bandundu ), the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon. Kikongo is the base for the Creole language Kituba , also called Kikongo de l'État and Kikongo ya Leta ( French and Kituba, respectively, for "Kikongo of

2673-516: Is also the primate city of the DRC with a population several times larger than the next-largest city, Lubumbashi . The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known by its French acronym MONUSCO (formerly MONUC) has its headquarters in Kinshasa. In 2016, the UN placed more peacekeepers on active duty in Kinshasa in response to the unrest directed against Kabila, at that time. Critics, including recently

2772-455: Is flanked by the provinces of Mai-Ndombe , Kwilu , and Kwango to the east, while the Congo River delineates its western and northern boundaries, naturally demarcating the border with the Republic of the Congo . To the south, it is demarcated by the Kongo Central Province . The Congo River is the second longest river in Africa after the Nile and has the continent's greatest discharge . As

2871-529: Is south of the equator, its dry season begins at around its "winter" solstice, which is the month of June. The city has relatively consistent temperatures throughout the course of the year. The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport , which lies in the centre of the city and which has regular flights to Pointe-Noire as well as international destinations in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. A flight operates twice weekly between Brazzaville and Kinshasa, but

2970-454: 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 . Kinshasa's 2024 population was estimated at 17,032,322. It is the most densely populated city in the DRC , the most populous city in Africa , the world's fourth-most-populous capital city , Africa's third-largest metropolitan area , and

3069-567: Is the language of street signs, posters, newspapers, government documents, schools; it dominates plays, television, and the press, and it is used in vertical relationships among people of different social classes. People of the same class, however, speak the Congolese languages ( Kikongo , Lingala , Tshiluba or Swahili ) among themselves. Kinshasa hosted the 14th Francophonie Summit in October 2012. The head of Kinshasa ville-province has

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3168-413: Is the largest urban park in Kinshasa, housing a range 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. The origin of the name Kinshasa is rooted in multiple theories proposed by scholars. Paul Raymaekers, an anthropologist and ethnologist , suggests that the name derives from

3267-535: 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. The Kinshasa site has been inhabited by Bantus ( Teke , Humbu  [ fr ] ) for centuries and was known as Nshasa before transforming into a commercial hub during the 19th and 20th centuries. The city was named Léopoldville by Henry Morton Stanley in honor of Leopold II of Belgium . The name

3366-455: Is used in kisikongo, kiyombe, kizombo, kimanianga,...). NB: Not all variants of Kikongo have completely the same personal pronouns and when conjugating verbs, the personal pronouns become stressed pronouns (see below and/or the references posted). Conjugating the verb ( mpanga in Kikongo) to be ( kukala or kuba ; also kuena , kwena or kuwena in Kikongo) in the present: Conjugating

3465-578: The Atlantic slave trade spoke Kikongo. Its influence can be seen in many creole languages in the diaspora , such as: Prior to the Berlin Conference , the people called themselves "Bisi Kongo" (plural) and "Mwisi Kongo" (singular). Today they call themselves " Bakongo " (pl.) and "Mukongo" (sing.). Kongo was the earliest Bantu language to be written in Latin characters. Portuguese created

3564-480: The Congo Free State , not as a colony but as his private property. The post flourished as the first navigable port on the Congo River above Livingstone Falls , a series of rapids over 300 kilometres (190 miles) below Leopoldville. At first, all goods arriving by sea or being sent by sea had to be carried by porters between Léopoldville and Matadi , the port below the rapids and 150 km (93 mi) from

3663-580: The Congo River and its principal left bank tributaries, traversing the city from south to north. These include the Lukunga , Ndjili , Nsele, Bombo, or Mai-Ndombe rivers and the Mbale. Unfortunately, these waterways are polluted due to the city's demographic pressures and inadequate sanitation. Geologically, the soil in Kinshasa is of the Arenoferrasol category, characterized by fine sands with

3762-427: The Congo River , opposite Kinshasa , the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo). The population of the capital is estimated to exceed 2.1 million residents, comprising more than a third of the national populace. Some 40% are employed in non-agricultural professions. During World War II , Brazzaville served as the de facto capital of Free France between 1940 and 1942. In 2013, Brazzaville

3861-527: The Congo–Ocean Railway opened, linking Brazzaville with the Atlantic port of Pointe-Noire and bypassing the rapids on the Congo River. Construction of the railway resulted in the deaths of more than 17,000 Africans, and the people revolted against the French in 1928. During World War II, Brazzaville and the rest of French Equatorial Africa remained beyond the control of Vichy France , which served

3960-672: The US ambassador to the UN , have accused the peacekeeping mission of supporting a corrupt government. Other non-governmental organizations play significant roles in local governance . Since 2016, the Belgian development agency ( Coopération technique belge ; CTB) has sponsored the Programme d'Appui aux Initiatives de Développement Communautaire (Paideco), a 6-million-euro program aimed at economic development. It began work in Kimbanseke ,

4059-609: The equator , so its dry season begins around its winter solstice, which is in June. This is in contrast to African cities further north featuring this climate where the dry season typically begins around December. Kinshasa's dry season is slightly cooler than its wet season, though temperatures remain relatively constant throughout the year. Kinshasa is home to a diverse range of parks and gardens: An official census conducted in 1984 counted 2.6 million residents. Since then, all estimates are extrapolations. The estimates for 2005 fell in

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4158-450: The equator . Around the city are large plains. The town is relatively flat, and situated at an altitude of 317 m (1,040 ft). Downriver the Congo has numerous rapids, known as Livingston Falls, preventing navigation upriver to this point from its mouth at the Atlantic. Kinshasa , the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is located on the southern bank of the Congo, directly across from Brazzaville. To distinguish between

4257-469: The grid street plan of the original city. Kinshasa is both a city ( ville in French) and a province, one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Nevertheless, it has city subdivisions and is divided into 24 communes (municipalities), which in turn are divided into 369 quarters and 21 embedded groupings. Maluku , the rural commune to the east of the urban area, accounts for 79% of

4356-514: The 9,965 km (3,848 sq mi) total land area of the city-province, with a population of 200,000–300,000. The communes are grouped into four districts which are not in themselves administrative divisions. Under the Köppen climate classification , Kinshasa has a tropical wet and dry climate ( Aw ). Its lengthy rainy season spans from October through May, with a relatively short dry season, between June and September. Kinshasa lies south of

4455-776: The Atlantic, and sold as slaves in the Americas . For this reason, creolized forms of the language are found in ritual speech of Afro-American religions , especially in Brazil , Cuba , Puerto Rico , Dominican Republic , Haiti , and Suriname . It is also one of the sources of the Gullah language , which formed in the Low Country and Sea Islands of the United States Southeast. The Palenquero creole in Colombia

4554-594: The Congo since the 1970s, when they financed the construction of the Palais du Peuple and backed the government against rebels in the Shaba war . In 2007–2008 China and Congo signed an agreement for an $ 8.5 billion loan for infrastructure development. Chinese entrepreneurs are gaining an increasing share of local marketplaces in Kinshasa, displacing in the process formerly successful Congolese, West African, Indian, and Lebanese merchants. Mean household spending in 2005

4653-731: The Congo estuary, pursuant to the Royal Decree of 1 July 1923, countersigned by the Minister of the Colonies , Louis Franc. Before this, Léopoldville was designated an "urban district", encompassing exclusively the communes of Kintambo and the current Gombe , which burgeoned around Ngaliema Bay . Then the communes of Kinshasa , Barumbu , and Lingwala emerged. In the 1930s, these communes predominantly housed employees of Chanic, Filtisaf, and Utex Africa . In 1941, legislative ordinance n°293/AIMO of 25 June 1941, conferred Kinshasa

4752-515: The Congo, in particular its uranium. Less than a year after Lumumba's election, the Belgians and the U.S. bought the support of his Congolese rivals and set in motion the events that culminated in Lumumba's assassination. In 1964, Moïse Tshombe decreed the expulsion of all nationals of Republic of the Congo , Burundi and Mali , as well as all political refugees from Rwanda . In 1965, with

4851-489: The Democratic Republic of the Congo and is administratively divided into 24 communes , which are further subdivided into 365 neighborhoods. With an expansive administrative region, over 90 percent of the province's land remains rural, while urban growth predominantly occurs on its western side. 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

4950-462: The European and African neighborhoods grew closer together. City plans of the 1920s–1950s featured a cordon sanitaire or buffer between the white and black neighborhoods, which included the central market as well as parks and gardens for Europeans. Urban planning in post-independence Kinshasa has been limited. The Mission Française d'Urbanisme drew up some plans in the 1960s which envisioned

5049-676: The French colonial period. Christian churches are most prevalent in the city, where the Roman Catholic Church has an archdiocese . Since then, churches have been established by new immigrants and by local adoption of evangelical Protestantism. Examples include the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-du-Congo in Brazzaville , Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Brazzaville and Gabon ( Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa ), Evangelical Church of Congo ( World Communion of Reformed Churches ), and Assemblies of God . The Marien Ngouabi University

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5148-563: The Hills Area, which is characterized by deep valleys and cirque -shaped formations. The Malebo Pool spans over 35 kilometers in length and 25 kilometers in width and is encircled by Ngaliema Municipality to the west and Maluku Municipality to the east, traversing through Gombe , Barumbu , Limete , Masina , and Nsele municipalities. The Kinshasa Plain has a banana-like shape and is surrounded by eastward-oriented hills. Its low sandy alluvial masses extend from Maluku Municipality in

5247-522: The Kongo Language to be published by the University of Michigan in 1887. In the preface, Bentley gave credit to Nlemvo, an African, for his assistance. He described "the methods he used to compile the dictionary, which included sorting and correcting 25,000 slips of paper containing words and their definitions." Eventually W. Holman Bentley, with the special assistance of João Lemvo, produced

5346-453: The Kongo language cluster. Not all varieties of Kikongo are mutually intelligible (for example, 1. Civili is better understood by Kiyombe- and Iwoyo-speakers than by Kisikongo- or Kimanianga-speakers; 2. Kimanianga is better understood by Kikongo of Boko and Kintandu-speakers than by Civili or Iwoyo-speakers). There is contrastive vowel length . /m/ and /n/ also have syllabic variants, which contrast with prenasalized consonants. Kikongo has

5445-555: The Malebo Pool and is characterized by deep valleys and cirque-shaped formations. These hills reach heights surpassing 700 meters and exhibit gentle, rounded contours sculpted by local rivers. While their eastern counterparts may reflect remnants of the Batéké Plateau , their origins in the west and south remain enigmatic. Their natural erosion processes are exacerbated by human intervention, sometimes assuming catastrophic proportions. Kinshasa's hydrographic network encompasses

5544-514: The Nazi occupation. The city served as the capital of Free France from 1940 to 1943. In 1944, Brazzaville hosted a meeting of the French resistance forces and representatives of France's African colonies. The resulting Brazzaville Declaration represented an attempt to redefine the relationship between France and its African colonies. Until the 1960s, the city was divided into European (the centre of

5643-465: The Upper Congo (now Tshopo Province ). However, Hendrik van Moorsel, an anthropologist, historian and researcher, proposes that Bateke fishermen traded fish for cassava with locals along the riverbank, and the place of this exchange was called " Ulio ". In Teke , "exchange" is " Utsaya ", and "place of exchange" is " Intsaya ". Thus, the name evolved from Ulio to Intsaya , and later, under

5742-473: The adjunct regions of Ndjili and Matete were incorporated. After gaining its independence on 30 June 1960, following riots in 1959 , the Republic of the Congo elected its first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba whose perceived pro-Soviet leanings were viewed as a threat by Western interests. This being the height of the Cold War, the U.S. and Belgium did not want to lose control of the strategic wealth of

5841-590: The capital of the French Congo in 1904. It continued as capital when French Equatorial Africa was founded in 1910, as a federation of French colonial states: it included Gabon , the Central African Republic , and Chad until 1960. From 1910 to 1915 the major municipal buildings were constructed, including a courthouse and headquarters for the Banque de l'AEF and Institut Pasteur. In 1934,

5940-523: The city of deporting thousands of these refugees. In April 2016 fighting occurred between police and local militia units, with at least 18 people killed. As of the 2023 census, the city had a population of 2.15 million. The National Institute of Statistics for 2014 is 1.73 million. Kinshasa , DRC, had more than 10 million inhabitants in 2014. Together with Kinshasa, the combined conurbation of Kinshasa-Brazzaville has about 12 million inhabitants. Significant political and infrastructure challenges prevent

6039-403: The city) and African sections ( Poto-Poto , Bacongo, and Makélékélé). In 1980, it became a " commune " separated from the surrounding Pool Department and divided into nine " arrondissements " along the French model of administration. Since the late 20th century, the city has frequently been a staging ground for wars, including internal conflicts between rebel and government forces. It has been

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6138-589: The coast. The completion of the Matadi-Kinshasa portage railway , in 1898, provided an alternative route around the rapids and sparked the rapid development of Léopoldville. In 1914, a pipeline was installed so that crude oil could be transported from Matadi to the upriver steamers in Leopoldville. By 1923, the city was elevated to capital of the Belgian Congo , replacing the town of Boma in

6237-455: The colony's inaugural university, was founded in 1954. By 1957, Léopoldville comprised eleven communes and six adjunct regions: Kalamu , Dendale (present-day Kasa-Vubu commune ), Saint Jean (now Lingwala ), Ngiri-Ngiri , Kintambo , Limete , Bandalungwa , Léopoldville (current Gombe ), Barumbu , Kinshasa , and Ngaliema ; along with the adjunct regions of Lemba, Binza , Makala , Kimwenza , Kimbanseke , and Kingasani. Subsequently,

6336-522: The combination of the Kikongo and Kihumbu languages. The prefix " Ki(n) " signifies a hill or inhabited area, while " Nsasa " or " Nshasa " refers to a bag of salt. According to Raymackers, Kinshasa was a significant trading site where people from the Lower Congo (now Kongo Central Province ) and South Atlantic Ocean exchanged salt for goods like iron , slaves and ivory brought by those from

6435-434: The east to the western foothills of Ngaliema, covering approximately 20,000 hectares. The Terrace is mainly situated in the city's western expanse, between N'djili and Mount Ngafula . It comprises stony blocks of soft sandstone and silica -covered yellow clay , topped with brown silt , and ranges from 10 to 25 meters in height. It retains vestiges of an ancient surface. The Hills Area commences several kilometers from

6534-479: The establishment of Kinshasa, the area was for a time part of the Anziku Kingdom . By about 1698, it had become an essentially independent domain known as Nkonkobela . The city was established as a trading post by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881. It was named Léopoldville in honor of Stanley's employer King Leopold II of the Belgians . He would then proceed to take control of most of the Congo Basin as

6633-519: The flight time is only five minutes. The Congo-Ocean Railway has a station in the city and in 2014 was operating the La Gazelle train service every other day to Pointe-Noire and intermediate destinations. The city is an important river port , with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo . Ferries and fast private boats serve as the primary means of connection between Kinshasa and Brazzaville. The Livingstone Falls lie on

6732-496: The heart of the city. Food processing is a major industry, and construction and other service industries also play a significant role in the economy. Although home to only 13% of the DRC's population, Kinshasa accounts for 85% of the Congolese economy as measured by gross domestic product. A 2004 investigation found 70% of inhabitants employed informally, 17% in the public sector, 9% in the formal private sector, and 3% other, of

6831-419: The help of the U.S. and Belgium, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu seized power in the Congo. He initiated a policy of " Authenticity ", attempting to renativize the names of people and places in the country. On 2 May 1966, the government announced that the nation's major cities would be restored to their pre-colonial names, effective on 30 June, the sixth anniversary of independence. Léopoldville was renamed Kinshasa , for

6930-524: The industry. Parenthetically, production has increased, and Covid-related restrictions have eased, leading to sustained economic growth. Despite facing external challenges, including the repercussions of the Russo-Ukrainian War , the DRC has shown fiscal stability . In 2022, tax performance exceeded projections, showcasing improved revenue generation. However, increased expenditures related to security concerns and internal arrears resulted in

7029-510: The influence of Kikongo, transformed into Kintsaya , eventually becoming Kinshasa . Kinshasa , also known as N'shasa , is regarded as the primary "place of exchange" on the southern bank of the Pool Malebo , where bartering occurred even before the commercial boom of Kintambo . The name Nshasa is believed to originate from the Teke verb " tsaya " ( tsaa ), meaning "to exchange", and

7128-418: The largest metropolitan areas in the world. The official language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of which Kinshasa is the capital, is French (See: Kinshasa French vocabulary ). Kinshasa is the largest officially Francophone city in the world, albeit that the vast majority of people either cannot speak French, or struggle in speaking it. Although Lingala is widely used as a spoken language, French

7227-609: The leading economic , political , and cultural center of the DRC. Kinshasa houses several industries , including manufacturing , telecommunications , banking , and entertainment . 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. Covering 9,965 square kilometers, Kinshasa stretches along

7326-445: The main watercourses within humid valleys of the Congolese guinéo ombrophile type, have degraded into highly exploited pre-forest fallows, manifesting as reclusive foresters of varying ages. Ruderal plant groups line railway tracks within narrow strips, reflecting the region's vegetation cover's discontinuity and repetition. Kinshasa is home to diverse vegetation types, each intricately linked to specific ecological parameters. Kinshasa

7425-772: The mobile operator Warid Congo . Roger Erell , a highly regarded architect, designed a house in the city for Charles de Gaulle when he was the leader of Free France here. Other buildings include the Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Mausoleum, the Nabemba Tower , and the Congressional Palace (Brazzaville). The Marien Ngouabi Mausoleum, Brazzaville Zoo , and the Poto-Poto School of Painting are also destinations for visitors and city residents. Many Congolese converted to Catholicism during

7524-637: The natural products brought from the interior. Joseph Kabila , president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019, was not overly popular in Kinshasa. Violence broke out following the announcement of Kabila's victory in the contested election of 2006 ; the European Union deployed troops ( EUFOR RD Congo ) to join the UN force in the city. The announcement in 2016 that a new election would be delayed two years led to large protests in September and December which involved barricades in

7623-720: The noun " intsaya " ( insaa ), referring to any market or place of exchange. It was at this location that Teke brokers traded ivory and slaves from the Banunu slave traders, often mistaken for the Yanzi , for European trade items brought by the Zombo and Kongo people. Despite the various theories, the historical name of Kinshasa is known to have been Nshasa , as documented by Henry Morton Stanley during his crossing of Africa from Zanzibar to Boma in 1874–1877 when he mentioned visiting "the king of Nshasa" on 14 March 1877. Prior to

7722-463: The outskirts of the city, where the Djoué River meets the Congo, rendering river transport to the coast impossible, qualifying the railway as a portage railway . Although there is no organised public transport system, privately owned buses are available in the capital. Taxis are available on every street and are easily recognized, being painted with a green body and white top, and the fare for

7821-501: The pool of the Congo River enabled it to grow as an industrial, trading and port settlement. It was connected through trade by ships and boats traveling upriver to inland areas, which produced raw materials from the beginning of the colonial period. Construction of the railway connecting to Pointe-Noire increased the ability of city businessmen to get their products to the port for export. Industries present in Brazzaville include machine shops , textiles , tanning , and manufacturing . As

7920-536: The roller coaster Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida gets its name from the Kongo word for "roar". According to Filomão CUBOLA, article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Fiote translates to: Kinshasa Kinshasa ( / k ɪ n ˈ ʃ ɑː s ə / ; French: [kinʃasa] ; Lingala : Kinsásá ), formerly named Léopoldville until 30 June 1966,

8019-401: The same group include Bembe (H11). Ethnologue 16 counts Ndingi (H14) and Mboka (H15) as dialects of Kongo, though it acknowledges they may be distinct languages. Bastin, Coupez and Man's classification of the language (as Tervuren) is more recent and precise than that of Guthrie on Kikongo. The former say the language has the following dialects: NB: Kisikongo is not the protolanguage of

8118-487: The south side of the river, where King Leopold II ruled the Belgian Congo for a period as a private holding. The first large-scale building work of the city began four years later, as the French competed with Léopoldville (now Kinshasa ) which Belgian colonists were developing on the south side of the river. The Berlin Conference of 1884 placed French control over this area on an official footing. The city became

8217-523: The south. The urban populace swelled in 1945 with the cessation of forced labor , facilitating the influx of native Africans from rural regions. Léopoldville then became predominantly inhabited by the Bakongo ethnic group. In the 1950s, planned urban centers such as Lemba , Matete , and a segment of Ndjili were established to accommodate workers from the Limete industrial zone. Lovanium University ,

8316-504: The southern shores of the Pool Malebo , on the Congo River . It forms an expansive crescent across flat, low-lying terrain at an average altitude of about 300 meters. 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

8415-419: The standardisation of Kikongo. A large proportion of the people at San Salvador, and in its neighbourhood, pronounce s and z before i as sh and j; for the sound sh, the letter x was adopted (as in Portuguese), while z before i was written as j. Our books are read over a much wider area than the district of San Salvador, and in those parts where s and z remain unchanged before i, the use of x and j has proved

8514-534: The state administration" or "Kikongo of the State"). The constitution of the Republic of the Congo uses the name Kituba , and Democratic Republic of the Congo uses the term Kikongo . Kituba (i.e. Kikongo ya Leta) is used as the term in the DRC administration. This can be explained by the fact that Kikongo ya Leta is often mistakenly called Kikongo (i.e. KiNtandu, KiManianga, KiNdibu, etc.). Kikongo and Kituba are spoken in: Many African slaves transported in

8613-542: The status of a city and established an Urban Committee ( Comité Urbain ), with an allocated area of 5,000 hectares and a population of 53,000. Concurrently, it became the colony's capital, the Congo-Kasaï Province 's capital, and the Moyen Congo district. The city was demarcated into two zones: the urban zone, comprising Léo II, Léo-Ouest, Kalina, Léo-I, or Léo-Est, and Ndolo; and the indigenous zone to

8712-430: The streets and left dozens of people dead. Schools and businesses were closed down. Kinshasa is strategically situated on the southern bank of the expansive Malebo Pool , spanning 9,965 square kilometers, configured in a grand crescent shape atop a low-lying, flat terrain with an average elevation hovering around 300 meters. Positioned between latitudes 4° and 5° and longitudinal coordinates 15° to 16°32 east, Kinshasa

8811-415: The title of Gouverneur . Daniel Bumba  [ fr ] has been governor since 21 June 2024. Each commune has its own Bourgmestre . Although political power in the DRC is fragmented, Kinshasa as the national capital represents the official center of sovereignty, and thus of access to international organizations and financing, and of political powers such as the right to issue passports . Kinshasa

8910-425: The translation was done by Kongo teachers from São Salvador (modern Mbanza Kongo ) and was probably partially the work of Félix do Espírito Santo (also a Kongo). The dictionary was written in about 1648 for the use of Capuchin missionaries. The principal author was Manuel Robredo, a secular priest from Kongo (after he became a Capuchin, he was named Francisco de São Salvador). The back of this dictionary includes

9009-413: The two African countries that have "Congo" in their names, the Republic of the Congo is sometimes called Congo-Brazzaville, as opposed to Congo-Kinshasa. Kinshasa is more than five times larger than Brazzaville in population. This is the only place in the world where two national capital cities developed on opposite banks of a river, within sight of each other. In March 2018, the "Brazzaville Declaration"

9108-519: The two cities from functioning with any meaningful connection. Since the mid-19th century, the two cities have been rivals in trade, sports and power. There have been proposals to connect the two capitals by a Brazzaville–Kinshasa Bridge . In 2018, with relative peace re-established in the region, the African Development Bank and Africa50 signed a deal with both governments to develop the project. Brazzaville, like Pointe-Noire,

9207-560: The verb ( mpanga in Kikongo) to have ( kuvua in Kikongo; also kuba na or kukala ye ) in the present : NB: In Kikongo, the conjugation of a tense to different persons is done by changing verbal prefixes (highlighted in bold). These verbal prefixes are also personal pronouns. However, not all variants of Kikongo have completely the same verbal prefixes and the same verbs (cf. the references posted). The ksludotique site uses several variants of Kikongo (kimanianga,...). In addition,

9306-515: The world's largest terrestrial organic carbon stock was signed by Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Republic of the Congo , and Indonesia , which also has peatlands. Brazzaville was founded by the French colonial empire upon an existing indigenous Bateke settlement called Ncuna, during the Scramble for Africa when European nations established spheres of influence on the continent. The Italian-born explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza , who

9405-535: Was changed to Kinshasa in 1966 during Mobutu Sese Seko 's Zairianisation campaign as a tribute to Nshasa village. 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

9504-544: Was designated a City of Music by UNESCO ; since then it has also been a member of the Creative Cities Network . Brazzaville covers a large area to the north of the Congo River , just below the Pool Malebo . Mbamu , a large island within the Pool, is part of the Republic of Congo's territory. Brazzaville is 506 km (314 mi) inland from the Atlantic Ocean and approximately 474 km (295 mi) south of

9603-578: Was granted French citizenship in 1874, officially founded the settlement on 10 September 1880; it commemorates his name. The local King , Makoko of the Téké, signed a treaty of protection with Brazza, which subjugated his lands to the French Empire . From October 1880 until May 1882, a small squad of troops led by Senegalese Sergeant Malamine Camara occupied the site, in order to prevent the land from falling into Belgian hands. Their forces were active on

9702-553: Was signed to promote better management and conservation of the Cuvette Centrale , a region in Congo Basin and primarily in DRC. It is the world's largest tropical peatland , made up of swamp forests. Conservation of this area is important for the survival of megafauna, and also critical to the world's climate. Burning the peat would release too much carbon and raise the Earth's temperature. The declaration to save peatlands as

9801-402: Was the equivalent of US$ 2,150, amounting to $ 1 per day per person. The median household spending was $ 1,555, 66 cents per person per day. Among the poor, more than half of this spending goes to food, especially bread and cereal. Kinshasa is home to several higher-level education institutes, covering a wide range of disciplines, including civil engineering , nursing , and journalism . The city

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