KINSHASA

formerly (until 1966) Lopoldville, largest city and capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, situated on the southern bank of the Congo River, approximately 320 miles (515 km) upstream from the Atlantic Ocean. The city faces the Malebo Pool (formerly Stanley Pool), a widening of the Congo River. Sir Henry Morton Stanley established Lopoldville as a depot in 1881. The town grew rapidly after the railway from downstream Matadi was completed in 1898, and it emerged as the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa after World War II. Kinshasa lies on a plain at an elevation of 1,066 feet (325 m) and is partly rimmed by higher ground. It extends for about 7 miles (11 km) southward from its location along a 12-mile (19-kilometre) stretch of Malebo Pool's southwestern shore. Farms in the rain-forested countryside produce crops of cassava, sugarcane, oil palms, plantains, corn (maize), and beans. The tropical climate is hot and damp for most of the year, with an annual mean rainfall amounting to 60 inches (1,524 mm). The driest period is from May to September. There is little annual temperature variation. Although it is the financial, commercial, and industrial hub of the nation, Kinshasa has a surplus of unskilled labour, and unemployment and underemployment are widespread. Commercial and administrative services employ two-thirds of Kinshasa's work force. Manufacturing industries employ one-fifth of the city's workers and use raw materials transported by river to the port of Kinshasa. Light industries predominate and produce confectioneries, beer, soft drinks, textiles, tires, metalwork, paper, packing cases, and various chemicals. The city has the nation's largest college campus, the Universit de Kinshasa, as well as a teacher-training college and schools of administration and law, telecommunications, and fine arts. The university has an archaeological museum, and there are ethnographical and geological museums. Kinshasa is the transportation centre of the nation. Most of the country's imports reach the city via the rail line from Matadi, and most export products destined for Matadi first reach Kinshasa by water. The city is well-served by roads, and air services are provided by Ndjili International Airport and a smaller airport at Ndolo. Area 3,848 square miles (9,965 square km). Pop. (1994 est.) 4,655,000. formerly (until 1966) Lopoldville, largest city and capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies about 320 miles (515 kilometres) from the Atlantic Ocean on the south bank of the Congo River. One of the largest cities of sub-Saharan Africa, it is a special political unit equivalent to a Congolese region, with its own governor. The city's inhabitants are popularly known as Kinois. Kinshasa is distinctive not only as the capital of Congo but also as the centre of the dynamic and contradictory influences that have shaped the country's character in modern Africa. The only city not clearly identified with any particular region of the country, it was (until 1997) the seat of a long-lasting military government based, on the one hand, on the strength of the armed forces and, on the other, on a technique of political and social compromise that until its later years gained the rather grudging collaboration of most of the citizens. Caught between spectacular wealth and massive poverty, most Kinois must spend a considerable amount of their time scrambling for necessities that are in erratic supply. Nevertheless, they have found the means to make Kinshasa a source of distinctive influence in intellectual and popular culture that has been felt throughout Africa. Additional reading A full description of Kinshasa is contained in Marc Pain, Kinshasa: cologie et organisation urbaines, 3 vol. (197879); the Republic of Zaire's Atlas de Kinshasa, issued by the Institut Gographique du Zare, Bureau d'tudes d'Amnagements Urbaines (1975), contains an excellent descriptive text supporting the 44 thematic maps. Works of historical significance include Henry M. Stanley, The Congo and the Founding of Its Free State, 2 vol. (1885, reprinted 1970); and Crawford Young, Politics in the Congo: Decolonization and Independence (1965). Jean S. La Fontaine, City Politics: A Study of Leopoldville, 1962-63 (1970), describes the city's social organization; and Mbumba Ngimbi, Kinshasa, 1881-1981: 100 ans aprs Stanley: Problmes et avenir d'une ville (1982), describes its administrative history and problems. Kankuenda M'baya, Les Industries du ple de Kinshasa (1977), discusses the city's economic role. James Oladipo Adejuwon Wyatt MacGaffey Janet MacGaffey