Kinshasa Republic Of Congo | Transportation Providers Search Platform

Description: Kinshasa formerly named Léopoldville before June 30, 1966, is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities.

With an estimated population of 16 million residents, it’s the most densely populated city in the DRC and the most populous city in Africa. It is Africa’s third-largest metropolitan area and the leading economic, political, and cultural center of the DRC.

Kinshasa houses industries like 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.

Population: 16,000,000

Demographics: More than 200 African ethnic groups are found in Kinshasa : the Luba, Kongo, and Anamongo are some of the larger groupings of tribes. Religions: Christian 70% (Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%); Kimbanguist 10%; other sects and traditional beliefs 10%; Muslim 10%.

History: Prior to the establishment of the city that is now 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, who would eventually seize control of most of the Congo Basin as the Congo Free State, not as a colony but as his private property.

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 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 1991 the city had to fend off rioting soldiers, who were protesting the government’s failure to pay them. Subsequently 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 the natural products brought from the interior.

Elevation: 240 m

Climate: Tropical wet and dry climate. Average annual temperature in Kinshasa is 25 C (78 F), the average for July is 28 C (82 F), the average for January is 23 C (74 F).

Attractions: Congo River, Ma Valee, Symphonie Des Arts, Texaf Bilembo, Serpents Du Congo, Mount Mangengenge

Airports: N’djili International Airport FIH, N’dolo Airport NLO

Distance To City Centre: 25 km

Commute Length: 45 min

Average Transportation Cost: 30 USD

Traffic Hours: 6 am – 10 am, 4:30 pm – 8:30 pm