# Kongo Central

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Kongo Central (Kongo: Kongo dia Kati), formerly Bas-Congo, is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi.

## History

At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the greater province of Léopoldville, along with the capital city of Kinshasa and the districts of Kwango, Kwilu and Mai-Ndombe. Under Belgian colonial rule, the province was known as Bas-Congo (as in "Lower Congo River") and was renamed Kongo Central after independence.
Under the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko from 1965 to 1997, the Congo river was renamed as Zaire. The province was named as Bas-Zaïre. The name was later reverted to Bas-Congo. It was subsequently renamed as Kongo Central in 2015.

## Geography

Kongo Central is the only province in the country with an ocean coastline; it has narrow frontage on the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It borders the city-province of Kinshasa to the north-east, the province of Kwango to the east, and the Republic of Angola to the south as well as the Republic of the Congo and Cabinda to the north.
The lower Congo River traverses the province from the north-east to the south-west. It is navigable from the Atlantic Ocean to the port city of Matadi after which there are a series of rapids that make it unnavigable until the Malebo Pool.

### Divisions

The provincial capital is Matadi, with Boma being the other official city. The remainder of the province is administratively divided into ten territories, the most of any province:
* Kasangulu
* Kimvula
* Lukula
* Luozi
* Madimba
* Mbanza-Ngungu
* Moanda
* Seke-Banza
* Songololo
* Tshela
Before 2015 these territories were divisions of the Bas-Fleuve, Cataractes and Lukaya districts; except for Moanda, which was attached to Boma (a city/district hybrid).
Towns with their 2010 populations are:
| Name | Former District | Territory | Pop. 2010 | Coordinates |
| Boma | – | – | 167,326 | 5°51′S 13°03′E﻿ / ﻿5.85°S 13.05°E﻿ / -5.85; 13.05﻿ (Boma) |
| Inga | Bas-Fleuve | Tshela | 10,417 | 5°39′S 13°39′E﻿ / ﻿5.65°S 13.65°E﻿ / -5.65; 13.65﻿ (Inga) |
| Inkisi | Lukaya | Kasangulu | 77,797 | 5°08′S 15°04′E﻿ / ﻿5.13°S 15.07°E﻿ / -5.13; 15.07﻿ (Inkisi) |
| Kasangulu | Lukaya | Kasangulu | 30,724 | 4°35′S 15°11′E﻿ / ﻿4.58°S 15.18°E﻿ / -4.58; 15.18﻿ (Kasangulu) |
| Kimpese | Cataractes | Songololo | 53,660 | 5°33′S 14°26′E﻿ / ﻿5.55°S 14.43°E﻿ / -5.55; 14.43﻿ (Kimpese) |
| Kimvula | Lukaya | Kimvula | | 5°43′03″S 15°57′44″E﻿ / ﻿5.717412°S 15.962191°E﻿ / -5.717412; 15.962191﻿ (Kimvula) |
| Kinzau-Mvuete | Bas-Fleuve | Tshela | 17,870 | 5°29′S 13°17′E﻿ / ﻿5.48°S 13.28°E﻿ / -5.48; 13.28﻿ (Kinzau-Mvuete) |
| Lukula | Bas-Fleuve | Lukula | 31,394 | 5°23′S 12°57′E﻿ / ﻿5.38°S 12.95°E﻿ / -5.38; 12.95﻿ (Lukula) |
| Luozi | Cataractes | Luozi | 13,258 | 4°57′S 14°08′E﻿ / ﻿4.95°S 14.13°E﻿ / -4.95; 14.13﻿ (Luozi) |
| Madimba | Lukaya | Madimba | | 4°58′48″S 15°08′46″E﻿ / ﻿4.980084°S 15.14622°E﻿ / -4.980084; 15.14622﻿ (Madimba) |
| Matadi | – | – | 291,338 | 5°49′S 13°29′E﻿ / ﻿5.82°S 13.48°E﻿ / -5.82; 13.48﻿ (Matadi) |
| Mbanza-Ngungu | Cataractes | Mbanza-Ngungu | 97,037 | 5°15′S 14°52′E﻿ / ﻿5.25°S 14.86°E﻿ / -5.25; 14.86﻿ (Mbanza-Ngungu) |
| Muanda | Boma | Muanda | 86,896 | 5°56′S 12°21′E﻿ / ﻿5.93°S 12.35°E﻿ / -5.93; 12.35﻿ (Muanda) |
| Seke-Banza | Bas-Fleuve | Seke-Banza | 6,015 | 5°20′S 13°16′E﻿ / ﻿5.33°S 13.27°E﻿ / -5.33; 13.27﻿ (Seke-Banza) |
| Songololo | Cataractes | Songololo | 12,382 | 5°42′S 14°02′E﻿ / ﻿5.70°S 14.03°E﻿ / -5.70; 14.03﻿ (Songololo) |
| Tshela | Bas-Fleuve | Tshela | 45,588 | 4°58′0″S 12°56′0″E﻿ / ﻿4.96667°S 12.93333°E﻿ / -4.96667; 12.93333﻿ (Tshela) |

## Notable people from Kongo Central

* Afonso I of Kongo, the sixth ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo.
* Zamenga Batukezanga, writer, was born in Kongo Central.
* Paul Panda Farnana, first Congolese with Belgian diploma of higher education.
* Thomas Kanza, Congolese diplomat. He was one of the first Congolese nationals to graduate from a university.
* Sophie Kanza, first Congolese woman to obtain a university degree; politician and sociologist).
* Joseph Kasa-Vubu, Democratic Republic of the Congo first president.
* Simon Kimbangu, founder of Christian new religious movement Kimbanguism.
* Ray Lema, France-based pianist, guitarist, and songwriter.
* François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi, virtuoso Congolese Rumba guitarist and singer.
* Ne Muanda Nsemi, Bundu dia Kongo leader.

## Citations

* ↑ Ndombasi, Exaucée (26 June 2024). "Grâce Bilolo prend officiellement ses fonctions de Gouverneur du Kongo Central". Voix du Kongo Central (in French). Retrieved 27 June 2024.
* ↑ "Kongo-central : le kikongo en voie de disparition, le lingala gagne progressivement du terrain [Enquête]". L'Opinion Info (in French). Le lingala est fortement utilisé dans les milieux des enfants et des jeunes, tandis que le Kikongo est principalement utilisé chez les vieilles personnes. [Lingala is used extensively among children and youth, while Kikongo is used primarily among older people.]
* ↑ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
* ↑ M. J. Hambrey and W. B. Harland, Earth's Pre-Pleistocene Glacial Record, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 157
* ↑ Godefroid Muzalia Kihangu, Bundu dia Kongo, une résurgence des messianismes et de l’alliance des Bakongo?, Universiteit Gent, België, 2011, p. 1
* ↑ Central Intelligence Agency (2016). "Democratic Republic of the Congo". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
* ↑ "Constitution de la République Démocratique du Congo du 1er août 1964" [Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of 1 August 1964]. Global Legal Information Network (in French). 1964. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012. (Article 4)
* ↑ "Constitution de la République Démocratique du Congo du 24 juin 1967" [Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of 24 June 1967]. Global Legal Information Network (in French). 1967. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012. (Article 1)
* ↑ Institut National de la Statistique–RD Congo (March 2017). Annuaire statistique 2015 [2015 Statistical Yearbook] (PDF) (in French). pp. 8-9 Tableau 1.3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 2 Jan 2023.
* ↑ Institut National de la Statistique–RD Congo (July 2015). Annuaire statistique 2014 [2014 Statistical Yearbook] (PDF) (in French). pp. 36–38 Tableau 1.5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 Mar 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
* 1 2 "Bas-Congo: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Archived from the original on 2012-12-16.

## General and cited references

* Gillet, J. (1927). Catalogue des plantes du jardin d'essais de la mission de Kisantu. Brussels. 166 pp.
* Kibungu Kembelo, A. O. (2004). Plantes medicinales du Bas-Congo et leurs usages. DFID. 197 pp.
* Latham, P. (2003) Edible Caterpillars and Their Food Plants in Bas-Congo. Mystole Publications. ISBN 0954301277, 60 pp.
* Latham, P. (2004). Useful Plants of Bas-Congo Province. DFID. ISBN 0954669835, 320 pp.
* Latham, P. (2008). Les chenilles comestibles et leurs plantes nourricières dans la province du Bas-Congo DFID. ISBN 9780955420863, 44 pp.
* Latham, P. et Konda ku Mbuta, A. (2010). Plantes utiles du Bas-Congo. Mystole Publications. ISBN 9780955420818, 372 pp.
* Latham, P. et Konda ku Mbuta, A. (2011). Some Honeybee Plants of Bas-Congo Province. DFID. ISBN 9780955420894, 248 pp.
* Latham, P. & Konda ku Mbuta, A. (2014). Useful plants of Bas-Congo province. ISBN 9780955420870, 553 pp.
* Pauwels, L. (1993). Nzayilu N'ti – guide des arbres et arbustes de la région de Kinshasa – Brazzaville. Meise. ISBN 9072619102, 495 pp.