Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This article is about administrative divisions. For cities in a broader sense, see List of cities and towns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Provincial cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Category	2nd-level administrative division of a unitary state
Location	DR Congo
Found in	Province
Number	33 (as of 2023)
Additional status	National Assembly constituency Provincial Assembly constituency
Government	Appointed administration
Subdivisions	Communes

The cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are administrative divisions of provinces with the exception of Kinshasa which itself has the status of a province. Cities are further divided into communes. They are led by mayors except for Kinshasa which is led by a governor.

Provincial cities

The 25 provinces of DR Congo are divided into 33 cities (fr. villes, sing. ville) and 145 territories (fr. territoires, sing. territoire). Each provincial division is also a constituency of the National Assembly as well as of the Provincial Assembly of its province.

Each city is led by a mayor (fr. maire) and is further divided into communes with each commune led by a burgomaster (fr. bourgmestre). Currently mayors, burgomasters, and their deputies are appointed by the government. Elections to bring about elected local government in provincial capitals are scheduled for December 2023—September 2024.

All provincial capitals are, by organic law, cities and do not need to meet the requirement of having a population of at least 100,000.

Kinshasa

The capital city of Kinshasa is a one of a kind administrative division due to article 2 of the Constitution which makes it a division of the country and gives it the status of a province. In practice this means that—like a province—it has a provincial government with an elected governor and an Assembly, but—like a city—it is divided into communes led by burgomasters. Uniquely, its 24 communes are also Provincial Assembly constituencies and are grouped into four National Assembly constituencies.

List of cities

Cities directly represented in the 2024–2028 National Assembly

City		Province	No. Com.	Assembly Seats		Coordinates	Pre-2015 Province
				Nat'l (500)	Prov'l (elected)
Bandundu	✪	Kwilu	3	2	3 of 43	3°19′S 17°23′E	Bandundu
Beni		North Kivu	4	2	2 of 44	0°30′00″N 29°28′00″E	North Kivu
Boende	✪	Tshuapa	2	1	1 of 17	0°13′11″S 20°51′36″E	Équateur (old)
Boma		Kongo Central	3	2	3 of 36	5°51′S 13°03′E	Bas-Congo
Bukavu	✪	South Kivu	3	5	7 of 44	2°30′00″S 28°52′00″E	South Kivu
Bunia	✪	Ituri	3	2	3 of 43	1°33′37″N 30°14′24″E	Orientale
Buta	✪	Bas-Uélé	4	1	1 of 17	2°49′N 24°44′E	Orientale
Butembo		North Kivu	4	4	4 of 44	0°07′30″N 29°17′56″E	North Kivu
Gbadolite	✪	Nord-Ubangi	3	1	2 of 17	4°16′30″N 21°00′00″E	Équateur (old)
Gemena	✪	Sud-Ubangi	4	1	2 of 26	3°15′00″N 19°46′00″E	Équateur (old)
Goma	✪	North Kivu	2	4	4 of 44	1°40′46″S 29°14′01″E	North Kivu
Inongo	✪	Mai-Ndombe	3	1	1 of 17	1°56′S 18°17′E	Bandundu
Isiro	✪	Haut-Uélé	3	1	1 of 18	2°47′00″N 27°37′00″E	Orientale
Kabinda	✪	Lomami	4	1	1 of 25	6°07′47″S 24°28′48″E	Kasaï-Oriental (old)
Kalemie	✪	Tanganyika	3	2	3 of 23	5°54′53″S 29°11′38″E	Katanga
Kamina	✪	Haut-Lomami	3	1	1 of 24	8°44′06″S 24°59′53″E	Katanga
Kananga	✪	Kasaï-Central	5	4	6 of 31	5°53′49″S 22°26′56″E	Kasaï-Occidental
Kenge	✪	Kwango	5	1	1 of 22	4°48′20″S 17°02′30″E	Bandundu
Kikwit		Kwilu	4	3	4 of 43	5°02′00″S 18°49′00″E	Bandundu
Kindu	✪	Maniema	3	1	3 of 20	2°57′00″S 25°55′00″E	Maniema
Kinshasa		n/a	24	56	44	4°19′24″S 15°18′29″E	n/a
Kisangani	✪	Tshopo	6	6	9 of 27	0°30′55″N 25°11′28″E	Orientale
Kolwezi	✪	Lualaba	2	3	6 of 22	10°43′00″S 25°28′00″E	Katanga
Likasi		Haut-Katanga	4	3	4 of 44	10°59′00″S 26°44′00″E	Katanga
Lisala	✪	Mongala	2	1	1 of 18	2°08′N 21°31′E	Équateur (old)
Lubumbashi	✪	Haut-Katanga	7	14	20 of 44	11°40′11″S 27°27′29″E	Katanga
Lumumbaville		Sankuru	2	1	1 of 23	4°04′29″S 24°33′05″E	Kasaï-Oriental (old)
Lusambo	✪	Sankuru	4	1	1 of 23	4°58′11″S 23°25′48″E	Kasaï-Oriental (old)
Matadi	✪	Kongo Central	3	3	4 of 36	5°49′00″S 13°29′00″E	Bas-Congo
Mbandaka	✪	Équateur	2	2	3 of 19	0°02′55″N 18°15′37″E	Équateur (old)
Mbuji-Mayi	✪	Kasaï-Oriental	5	6	10 of 22	6°07′15″S 23°35′48″E	Kasaï-Oriental (old)
Mwene-Ditu		Lomami	3	1	3 of 25	7°00′S 23°27′E	Kasaï-Oriental (old)
Tshikapa	✪	Kasaï	5	2	4 of 30	6°25′00″S 20°48′00″E	Kasaï-Occidental
Zongo		Sud-Ubangi	2	1	1 of 26	4°21′N 18°36′E	Équateur (old)
Total			139	140
✪ provincial capital

Due to the lack of reliable and comparable population figures, electoral districts are allocated seats in proportion to their voter registration numbers. The number of seats allocated to a city in the National Assembly and the Provincial Assembly is one measure of its relative political importance nationally and within its province respectively.

In 2018 cities accounted for 27% of the electorate, or 16% when Kinshasa is excluded.

Cities in the making

Further information: Subdivisions of the DR Congo § New cities and communes

In mid-2018, just before the general election of that year, the government upheld the 2013 granting of city status to a large number of populated places, including 65 not listed above. It was further decided to make these cities operational in stages. Since then the following ones have had their first mayor appointed and take office but are not National Assembly districts :

Settlements transforming into cities

Name	Province	No. Com.	Mayor	Coordinates	Pre-2015 Province
Baraka	South Kivu	3	Jacques Mmbucwa	4°06′15″S 29°05′38″E	South Kivu
Kamituga	South Kivu	2	Alexandre Bundya	3°04′S 28°11′E	South Kivu
Kasaji	Lualaba	3	Georges Kazadi	10°22′00″S 23°27′00″E	Katanga
Kasumbalesa	Haut Katanga	3	André Kapamba	12°15′23″S 27°48′10″E	Katanga
Oicha	North Kivu	3	Faustin Kambale Siluhwere	0°41′51″N 29°31′11″E	North Kivu
Tshimbulu	Kasaï-Central	3	Marcel Mutamba	6°29′S 22°51′E	Kasaï Occidental
Uvira	South Kivu	3	Kiza Muhato	3°24′16″S 29°08′16″E	South Kivu

See also

• Subdivisions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Communes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cited works

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