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Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

19 articles

Boma

Boma (Mboma) is a port city in Kongo Central, DR Congo, on the north bank of the Congo River estuary; first capital of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo (1886 to 1926/1929), slave-trade hub until about 1868, one of three seagoing ports with Matadi and Banana.

Bunia

Bunia is the capital of Ituri Province in northeastern DR Congo, on a 1,275 m plateau near Lake Albert. Population estimates range from about 328,000 to 944,000; it faces armed-group conflict, displacement, and a 2026 Ebola outbreak.

Butembo

Butembo, a commercial city in northern North Kivu, DRC, on the RN2 between Beni and Lubero; Nande merchant hub, city status 2003, over 1.2 million residents by 2024, 11.85% annual urbanization.

Gandajika

Gandajika (Ngandajika), city and territory in Lomami Province, central DR Congo; INERA agricultural research center and site of the AfDB-financed Ngandajika Agro-Industrial Park (PRODAN); population about 208,000-346,000.

Gemena

Located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gemena is the capital of Sud-Ubangi province. The city acts as the administrative, commercial, and educational center of the region.

Kabinda

Kabinda is the capital of Lomami Province in the central Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Songye-Luba town on National Route 2 with Kabinda Airport (KBN), the HGR reference hospital, and ongoing RN2 paving; distinct from Angola's Cabinda exclave.

Kabongo

Kabongo is a town in Lomami territory, Haut-Lomami Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the name of the Luba chiefly dynasty that ruled there.

Kamina

Kamina is the capital city of Haut-Lomami Province in the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a railway junction with a large military base, founded in 1945, known for its 2026 Lovoy water plant and chronic electricity shortages.

Kananga

Kananga, formerly Luluabourg, is the capital of Kasaï-Central province, DR Congo, on the Lulua River. Founded 1884 by Hermann von Wissmann; UN estimate 1,557,073 residents in 2026, fifth-largest Congolese city.

Kikwit

Kikwit, largest city of Kwilu Province, DR Congo, on the Kwilu River; colonial trade hub, city since 1970, epicenter of the 1995 Ebola outbreak (315 cases, 254 deaths), with population estimates from about 400,000 to 1.3 million.

Kindu

Kindu (Kindu-Port-Empain), capital of Maniema province, DR Congo, on the Lualaba River; river-rail interchange with the SNCC line to Katanga, a domestic airport, about 172,000-235,000 residents, and severe transport isolation.

Kisangani

Kisangani, formerly Stanleyville, is a major river city in northeastern DRC, capital of Tshopo province below the Boyoma Falls. Founded by Stanley in 1883, renamed 1966; site of the 1999-2000 Ugandan-Rwandan battles.

Kolwezi

Kolwezi is a mining city in southeastern DR Congo, capital of Lualaba province since 2015. Founded in 1938 by Union Minière du Haut Katanga, it is a world center of copper and cobalt mining, site of the 1978 Battle of Kolwezi, and terminal of the Inga-Shaba power line.

Likasi

Likasi, formerly Jadotville until 1966, is a city in Haut-Katanga Province in the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Copperbelt mining center for copper, cobalt, and zinc founded in 1917.

Mbandaka

Mbandaka (formerly Coquilhatville, Équateurville) is the capital of Équateur Province, DR Congo, a river port at the Congo–Ruki confluence near the equator; founded 1883 by Stanley, renamed 1966, population roughly 475,000–557,000 in 2026.

Mbuji-Mayi

Mbuji-Mayi, formerly Bakwanga until 1966, is the capital of Kasaï-Oriental province in the south-central Democratic Republic of the Congo, built atop one of the world's largest diamond deposits.

Mwene-Ditu

Mwene-Ditu, a railway city in Lomami Province, central DR Congo, in Luilu district at about 959 m elevation; city population estimates range from about 189,000 to over 250,000, with a large central market and RN1 road rehabilitation.

Tshikapa

Tshikapa, capital of Kasaï Province, DRC, is a diamond-mining city founded in 1907 at the confluence of the Tshikapa and Kasaï rivers, about 165 km north of Angola, on the RN1 corridor.

Uvira

Uvira, also called cité d'Uvira, is a lake port city at the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika in South Kivu, DR Congo, near Burundi; a historic Arab-Swahili trading post with Port Kalundu, occupied by M23 from December 2025 to January 2026.