Kongo Central
Encyclopedia
Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
There are currently ten provinces and one city-province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:* An Ituri Interim Administration also exists in the Ituri region of Orientale province- Proposed provinces :...
specified in the country's 2005 Constitution (effective 18 February 2006), under Article 2. It was to be created from country's the existing 10 provinces
ISO 3166-2:CD
ISO 3166-2:CD is the entry for the Democratic Republic of the Congo in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for the...
within 36 months (18 February 2009), according to Article 226. As of October 2010, this had not taken place.
Kongo Central was formerly known as Congo Centrale, Bas-Zaïre, and then Bas-Congo
Bas-Congo
Bas-Congo is one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the only province with a coastline and it borders Bandundu province to the east and Kinshasa to the northeast...
. At the time of the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the province was part of the greater province of Leopoldville
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
, along with the current provinces of Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
, Kwango
Kwango Province
Kwango is one of 25 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo specified in the country's 2005 Constitution , under Article 2. It was to be created from country's the existing 10 provinces within 36 months , according to Article 226...
, Kwilu
Kwilu Province
Kwilu is one of 25 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo specified in the country's 2005 Constitution , under Article 2. These 25 provinces were to have been created from the existing 10 provinces within 36 months , according to Article 226...
and Mai-Ndombe
Mai-Ndombe Province
Mai-Ndombe is one of 25 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo specified in the country's 2005 Constitution , under Article 2. It was to be created from country's the existing 10 provinces within 36 months , according to Article 226...
. It is the only province with a coastline (Atlantic Ocean), and its provincial capital is Matadi
Matadi
Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Bas-Congo province. It has a population of 245,862 . Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River from the mouth and below the last navigable point before rapids make the river impassable for a...
. It borders the provinces of Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
to the north-east, Kwango
Kwango Province
Kwango is one of 25 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo specified in the country's 2005 Constitution , under Article 2. It was to be created from country's the existing 10 provinces within 36 months , according to Article 226...
to the east, and the Republic of Angola to the south as well as the Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
and Cabinda
Cabinda
Cabinda may refer to:*Cabinda Province, an exclave and Province of Angola*Cabinda , the administrative capital of Cabinda Province*Republic of Cabinda, self-proclaimed government which claims sovereignty over Cabinda...
to the north.
Geography
The only other official city is BomaBoma
The port town of Boma in Bas-Congo province was the capital city of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo from 1 May 1886 to 1926, when it was moved to Léopoldville . It exports tropical timber, bananas, cacao, and palm products...
. Other towns include Banana
Banana, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Banana is a small seaport in Bas-Congo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the Atlantic coast. The port is situated in Banana Creek, an inlet about 1 km wide on the north bank of the Congo River's mouth, separated from the ocean by a spit of land 3 km long and 100 to 400 m...
, Muanda, Boma, Mbanza-Ngungu
Mbanza-Ngungu
Mbanza-Ngungu, formerly known as Thysville or Thysstad, named after Albert Thys, is a city in Bas-Congo Province in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying on a short branch off the Matadi-Kinshasa Railway...
, Kitona
Kitona
Kitona is a town of about 4,000 persons in the Bas-Congo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located to the southwest of the country along the Atlantic Ocean, about 190 miles southwest of the capital city of Kinshasa. Following the Second World War, a Belgian military base,...
, Lukula
Lukula
Lukula is a town in, and a territory of Bas-Congo province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies on the road and disused railway line between Boma, to the south, and Tshela, to the north, on the southern bank of the Lakula river...
, Maduda
Maduda
Maduda is a village in Bas-Congo province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town lies at an altitude of 1059 ft above sea level, and is northeast of the larger town of Tshela, to which it is connected by road. There are waterfalls to the north and southeast of the village. - External links :*...
, Kimpese
Kimpese
Kimpese is a town in the Cataractes District of Bas-Congo province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies on the main road and railway between Kinshasa and the provincial capital Matadi, at an altitude of 990 ft above sea level....
and Vivi
Vivi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Vivi is a town in the Bas-Congo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the Congo River, near the provincial capital of Matadi. In the 19th century, it served as the first capital of the Congo Free State from July, 1885 to May 1, 1886, when the capital was relocated to...
. In legal terms, Muanda is mainly a territory of the City of Boma, but also a town (territories take their names from the name of their main town). Banana is a town in the territory of Muanda.
Territories
- KasanguluKasanguluKasangulu is a town in Bas-Congo Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
- Kimvula
- LukulaLukulaLukula is a town in, and a territory of Bas-Congo province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies on the road and disused railway line between Boma, to the south, and Tshela, to the north, on the southern bank of the Lakula river...
- Luozi
- MadimbaMadimbaMadimba is a town in Bas-Congo Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo lying between the capital and the coast....
- Mbanza-NgunguMbanza-NgunguMbanza-Ngungu, formerly known as Thysville or Thysstad, named after Albert Thys, is a city in Bas-Congo Province in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying on a short branch off the Matadi-Kinshasa Railway...
- MuandaMuandaMuanda or Moanda is a town lying on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Democratic Republic of Congo at the mouth of the Congo River. It is situated in Bas-Congo Province, and has a population of 50,000...
- Seke-Banza
- SongololoSongololoSongololo is a town in Bas-Congo Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.-Transport:It is served by a station of the national railway system on the line between the ocean port and the capital of Kinshasa.-External links:*...
- TshelaTshelaTshela is the main town of Bas-fleuve district, in Bas-Congo Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo . It was the birthplace of Joseph Kasa-Vubu, the first president of the Republic of Congo, after independence from Belgium, in 1960. The town was linked to the port of Boma, Congo by an...