Kinshasa

Kinshasa , formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (<a href="/facts/Dutch_language/yIB5lbsx">Dutch</a>: Leopoldstad), is the <a href="/facts/Capital_city/aRTzKRH0">capital</a> and <a href="/facts/Cities_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo/hYFSLcUF">largest city</a> of the <a href="/facts/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo/E2KmHDdv">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a>. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing <a href="/facts/Megacity/8GFoJVeL">megacities</a>, with an estimated population of 17.8 million in 2024. It is the <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_and_towns_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo/MGMFMquH">most densely populated city in the DRC</a>, the <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_in_Africa_by_population/7qMMAAD9">second-most populous city</a> and <a href="/facts/List_of_urban_areas_in_Africa_by_population/YIhK2Dk8">third-largest metropolitan area</a> in Africa, and the world's <a href="/facts/List_of_largest_cities/5eVR5sk2">twenty-second most populous city</a> and <a href="/facts/List_of_national_capitals_by_population/arYsn87V">fourth-most populous capital city</a>. It is the leading <a href="/facts/Economy/okLWSsEY">economic</a>, <a href="/facts/Politics/1gDNy3RP">political</a>, and <a href="/facts/Cultural_center/VD5AW8DB">cultural center</a> of the DRC, housing several industries including <a href="/facts/Manufacturing/3qW7bcdy">manufacturing</a>, <a href="/facts/Telecommunications/vxoj1cxR">telecommunications</a>, <a href="/facts/List_of_banks_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo/IIY195YY">banking</a>, and <a href="/facts/Entertainment/XXRnLM62">entertainment</a>. The city also hosts some of DRC's significant institutional buildings, such as the <a href="/facts/People%2527s_Palace_(Kinshasa)/p8KE2quw">People's Palace</a>, <a href="/facts/Palace_of_the_Nation_(Kinshasa)/7SvH44N8">Palace of the Nation</a>, <a href="/facts/Court_of_Cassation_(Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo)/VTvAe2eM">Court of Cassation</a>, <a href="/facts/Constitutional_Court_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo/Y2Wwgnxp">Constitutional Court</a>, <a href="/facts/African_Union_City/udHENek7">African Union City</a>, <a href="/facts/Marble_Palace%2c_Kinshasa/9CFSu9V1">Marble Palace</a>, <a href="/facts/Martyrs_Stadium%2c_Kinshasa/IKtJoKKF">Martyrs Stadium</a>, <a href="/facts/Government_House%2c_Kinshasa/rw6lcYDG">Government House</a>, <a href="/facts/Kinshasa_Financial_Center/s3mNWfj7">Kinshasa Financial Center</a>, and other national departments and agencies.
The Kinshasa site has been inhabited by <a href="/facts/Teke_people/xNtGKYMV">Teke</a> and Humbu people for centuries and was known as Nshasa before transforming into a <a href="/facts/Commercial_area/cYHnB9zp">commercial hub</a> during the 19th and 20th centuries. The city was named Léopoldville by <a href="/facts/Henry_Morton_Stanley/gGLUwb3h">Henry Morton Stanley</a> in honor of <a href="/facts/Leopold_II_of_Belgium/eSC0yoVk">Leopold II of Belgium</a>. The name was changed to Kinshasa in 1966 during <a href="/facts/Mobutu_Sese_Seko/Qq9pprJa">Mobutu Sese Seko</a>'s <a href="/facts/Authenticit%25C3%25A9_(Zaire)/IWtCNNqs">Zairianisation</a> campaign as a tribute to Nshasa village. Covering 9,965 square kilometers, Kinshasa stretches along the southern shores of the <a href="/facts/Pool_Malebo/bBbwoCqP">Pool Malebo</a> on the <a href="/facts/Congo_River/VmRMnn8k">Congo River</a>. It forms an expansive crescent across flat, low-lying terrain at an average altitude of about 300 meters. Kinshasa borders the <a href="/facts/Mai-Ndombe_Province/LhTLkcSc">Mai-Ndombe Province</a>, <a href="/facts/Kwilu_Province/B186mh02">Kwilu Province</a>, and <a href="/facts/Kwango/o8nze3Ce">Kwango Province</a> to the east; the <a href="/facts/Congo_River/VmRMnn8k">Congo River</a> delineates its western and northern perimeters, constituting a <a href="/facts/Natural_border/cjhyYlTE">natural border</a> with the <a href="/facts/Republic_of_the_Congo/kNLEWqhl">Republic of the Congo</a>; to the south lies the <a href="/facts/Kongo_Central/favJ37qa">Kongo Central Province</a>. Across the river sits <a href="/facts/Brazzaville/NXlVVbKk">Brazzaville</a>, the smaller capital of the neighboring Republic of the Congo, forming the world's 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 <a href="/facts/Provinces_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo/GhGqfews">26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> and is administratively divided into <a href="/facts/Communes_of_Kinshasa/dqLQro7a">24 communes</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/Geographical_distribution_of_French_speakers/I9arP2JJ">Francophone</a> urban area globally, with <a href="/facts/French_language/qe1DnaQh">French</a> being the language of government, education, media, public services and high-end commerce, while <a href="/facts/Lingala/AfCYqDDq">Lingala</a> is used as a <a href="/facts/Lingua_franca/dlGrD7ra">lingua franca</a> in the street. The city's inhabitants are popularly known as Kinois, with the term "Kinshasans" used in English terminology.
The <a href="/facts/National_Museum_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo/Dr2jX5NT">National Museum of the Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> is DRC's most prominent and central museum. The <a href="/facts/Coll%25C3%25A8ge_des_Hautes_%25C3%2589tudes_de_Strat%25C3%25A9gie_et_de_D%25C3%25A9fense/PQoVxAg8">College of Advanced Studies in Strategy and Defense</a> is the highest military institution in DRC and Central Africa. The <a href="/facts/Universit%25C3%25A9_P%25C3%25A9dagogique_Nationale/xvb7rGme">National Pedagogical University</a> is DRC's first pedagogical university and one of Africa's top pedagogical universities. <a href="/facts/N%2527djili_Airport/vxAKgBbX">N'Djili International Airport</a> is the largest airport in the nation. In 2015, Kinshasa was designated as a <a href="/facts/City_of_Music_(UNESCO)/lTWejEqC">City of Music</a> by <a href="/facts/UNESCO/QSbkRv3o">UNESCO</a> and has been a member of the <a href="/facts/Creative_Cities_Network/zAgKpkVT">Creative Cities Network</a> since then. <a href="/facts/Nsele_Valley_Park/FwyNcIGJ">Nsele Valley Park</a> is the largest <a href="/facts/Urban_park/eXoHebeq">urban park</a> in Kinshasa, housing a range of <a href="/facts/Fauna/sMqPFxVD">fauna</a> and <a href="/facts/Flora/2xkcTn2d">flora</a>. According to the <a href="/facts/List_of_most_expensive_cities_for_expatriate_employees/yhspLftY">2016 annual ranking</a>, Kinshasa is Africa's most expensive city for <a href="/facts/Expatriate/DDoVHHHA">expatriate</a> employees, ahead of close to 200 global locations.

Kinshasa open-in-new

Kinshasa