Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo Population

Kinshasa is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the most populous city in the country. Located on the banks of the Congo River, Kinshasa is home to 14.4 million people in the urban area and 7.7 million within the city.

Formerly called Léopoldville, Kinshasa is Africa’s second-largest urban area after Cairo and is the world’s largest Francophone urban area, with a population that far surpasses Paris. Kinshasa is one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s 26 provinces. Due to this, the administrative boundaries of the province cover a wide area, which means that 90 per cent of the city-province’s land is actually rural in nature and Kinshasa’s formidable population occupies only a small area on Kinshasa’s western side.

Twin capital cities

The Democratic Republic the Congo and the Republic of the Congo sit side by side along the Congo River but are actually separate countries. However, their close quarters mean that their capital cities are actually within sight of each other. In fact, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo is only 1.6 kilometers apart. This makes them the second closest set of capital cities after Vatican City, Vatican, and Rome, Italy.

Crime in Kinshasa

Kinshasa remains a high-risk area when it comes to crime. During both daylight and night time hours violent crimes are perpetrated by groups that pose as the police. Travellers and tourists are especially at risk of attacks. Kinshasa, like many places in the Democratic Republic of Congo, also suffers from an extremely high rate of rape and sexual assault.

Street children can also be aggressive and involved in criminal activity and kidnapping is a very real threat in the DRC. These children, or "Shegués", are often orphaned and subject to abuse by the police and the military. There are an estimated 20,000 children that live on the city’s streets and almost a quarter of these are beggars. Some fled from abusive families or are outcasts, while a significant number are civil war orphans. While most of these children are boys, there is an increasing number of girls on the street as well.

The economy of Kinshasa

Though only 13% of the DRC’s population lives in Kinshasa, the city’s economy accounts for 85% of the country’s GDP. Large manufacturing companies such as Marsavco S.A., All Pack Industries and Angel Cosmetics are located in the centre of town (Gombe) in Kinshasa, which helps bolster the city’s employment rate. In 2004, 70% of the city’s residents were formally employed, with 17% working in the public sector.

Poverty and hunger

Kinshasa continues to have ongoing issues with poverty and hunger. Despite sub-Saharan Africa’s recent improvements in their economy, this hasn’t translated to a reduction in poverty or hunger issues for Kinshasa residents. There is still about 72% of the population that is considered under the poverty line and the DRC remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

Due to the city’s ongoing struggles with poverty, their infrastructure system has issues with running water and electricity with blackouts due to an electrical network in disrepair and exposed lines electrifying pools of rainwater. Regideso is the national public company that has primary responsibility for supplying the country with water serves the city of Kinshasa incompletely and without uniform quality. Ongoing issues affecting access to clean drinking water and sanitation resulting from war has meant that many people in the country suffer from water-borne illnesses and malaria. Approximately 40% of the deaths in the Congo still result from malaria.