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Kinshasa

Kinshasa
Ville de Kinshasa
Ville-province (city-province)
City сentre
City сentre
Flag of Kinshasa
Flag
Official seal of Kinshasa
Seal
Nickname(s): Kin la belle
(English: Kin the beautiful)
DRC, highlighting the city-province of Kinshasa
DRC, highlighting the city-province of Kinshasa
Kinshasa is located in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kinshasa
Kinshasa
DRC, highlighting the city-province of Kinshasa
Coordinates: 4°19′30″S 15°19′20″E / 4.32500°S 15.32222°E / -4.32500; 15.32222Coordinates: 4°19′30″S 15°19′20″E / 4.32500°S 15.32222°E / -4.32500; 15.32222
Country  Democratic Republic of the Congo
Province Kinshasa
Founded 1881
Administrative HQ La Gombe
Communes
Government
 • Governor André Kimbuta
Area
 • City-province 9,965 km2 (3,848 sq mi)
 • Urban 583 km2 (225 sq mi)
Elevation 240 m (790 ft)
Population (2014)
 • City-province 10,125,000
 • Density 1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
 • Urban 21,265,000
 • Urban density 36,000/km2 (94,000/sq mi)
 • Language French, Lingala
Time zone GMT+1
Area code(s) 243 + 9
HDI 0.58 Medium (2012)
Website www.kinshasa.cd

Kinshasa (/kɪnˈʃɑːsə/; formerly Leopoldville (French: Léopoldville or Dutch About this sound Leopoldstad )) is the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is on the Congo River.

Once a site of fishing villages, Kinshasa is now an urban area with a 2014 population of over 11 million. It faces Brazzaville, the capital of the neighbouring Republic of the Congo, which can be seen in the distance across the wide Congo River, making them the two closest capital cities on Earth. The city of Kinshasa is also one of the DRC's 26 provinces. Because the administrative boundaries of the city-province cover a vast area, over 90% of the city-province's land is rural in nature, and the urban area only occupies a small section in the far western end of the city-province.

Kinshasa is Africa's third-largest urban area after Cairo and Lagos. It is also the world's largest "francophone" urban area (recently surpassing Paris in population), with French being the language of government, schools, newspapers, public services and high-end commerce in the city, while Lingala is used as a lingua franca in the street. Kinshasa hosted the 14th Francophonie Summit in October 2012.


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Wikipedia

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