Haut-Katanga (“Upper Katanga”) sits in the far south-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the Zambian border, with Lubumbashi as its capital. It is one of the 26 provinces created by the 2015 repartitioning, covers 132,425 km², and had a projected population of about 5,718,800 in 2020 — the sixth largest in the country.
| Capital | Lubumbashi |
|---|---|
| Population | 5,718,800 (projected, 2020) |
| Area | 132,425 km² |
| Territories | 6 |
| Cities (villes) | Lubumbashi, Likasi, Kasumbalesa, Kipushi |
| Languages | French (official), Swahili (national), Kisanga, Bemba, Kiluba, Chokwe |
| Neighbours | Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, Tanganyika; Zambia |
Towns, Cities and Territories
Haut-Katanga has six territories and four statutory cities. Every territory takes its name from its headquarters town.
| Territory or city | Headquarters | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Kambove | Kambove | Copper and cobalt pits |
| Kasenga | Kasenga | Luapula River, Zambian border |
| Kipushi | Kipushi | Zinc and copper mine |
| Mitwaba | Mitwaba | Kundelungu plateau, upland farms |
| Pweto | Pweto | North end of Lake Mweru |
| Sakania | Sakania | Rail border post to Ndola |
| Lubumbashi | City (ville) | Provincial capital |
| Likasi | City (ville) | Copper refining, ex-Jadotville |
| Kasumbalesa | City (ville) | Main road border with Zambia |
| Kipushi | City (ville) | Mining town on the border |
Other towns people ask about: Kamatanda, Panda and Shituru, the three processing settlements around Likasi; Kilwa and Kaseya on the Lake Mweru shore in Pweto Territory; Mokambo, a second rail and road crossing into Zambia in Sakania Territory; and Kasomeno on the Luapula in Kasenga Territory. Lubumbashi itself is divided into seven communes — Annexe, Kamalondo, Kampemba, Katuba, Kenya, Lubumbashi and Rwashi.
Geography
The province occupies high savanna at 1,100–1,400 m. Lubumbashi stands at 1,208 m, which is why nights in June and July are genuinely cold. Zambia forms the whole southern and eastern boundary. Inside the DRC, Haut-Katanga meets Lualaba to the west, Haut-Lomami to the north-west and Tanganyika to the north.
Lake Mweru, shared with Zambia, fills the north-western corner; the Luvua River leaves it at Pweto through rapids and runs north to join the Lualaba. The Luapula River marks the border past Kasenga. The Kundelungu plateau rises behind Mitwaba, and Kundelungu National Park covers much of that upland.
Demographics
Density averages roughly 43 people per km², well above the national figure, because the mining corridor from Lubumbashi through Likasi to Kambove is densely urban while Mitwaba and Pweto are thinly settled. The DRC has held no census since 1984, so every current number is a projection.
Swahili is the working language of the street, the market and the mine. Kisanga, Kiluba, Bemba and Chokwe are widely spoken; French is the language of administration and schooling. The Basanga, Baluba, Bemba and Bayeke (Garanganze) are the main long-settled peoples, alongside decades of in-migration to the copper towns.
Economy and Local Life
Copper and cobalt pay for nearly everything. Haut-Katanga and Lualaba together form the Congolese half of the Central African Copperbelt, and the DRC is the world’s largest cobalt producer and a top-five copper producer. Kipushi works zinc and copper; Kambove and Likasi handle ore and refining, with electrodes produced at Shituru. Artisanal digging runs alongside the industrial concessions.
Lubumbashi adds cement, brewing, milling, printing and textiles. Kasumbalesa is a trading town in its own right: truck queues at the Zambian border can run for kilometres, and haulage, warehousing and money-changing employ thousands. Away from the belt, people farm maize, cassava and groundnuts, fish Lake Mweru at Pweto and Kilwa, and keep cattle on the Kundelungu grass.
History
Haut-Katanga, Lualaba, Haut-Lomami and Tanganyika were all carved out of the old Katanga province in 2015. The new province joined the former Haut-Katanga district to the separately administered cities of Lubumbashi and Likasi, and its outline matches the short-lived Katanga-Oriental province of 1963–1966. Lubumbashi was founded in 1910 as Élisabethville, built around the Union Minière smelter; Likasi was Jadotville until 1966.
Getting There
Lubumbashi International Airport is the country’s second busiest, with daily flights to Kinshasa and regional services to Johannesburg, Nairobi and Addis Ababa. The rail line from Sakania north through Likasi and Kolwezi is the historic Copperbelt route to Ndola and, via the Benguela line, to the Angolan coast; it carries mostly freight. The paved N1 links Lubumbashi to Likasi and Kolwezi, and the Kasumbalesa crossing is the main road gate to Zambia and to Durban. Roads to Mitwaba and Pweto are unpaved and hard in the November–April rains.
FAQ
What is the capital of Haut-Katanga?
Lubumbashi, the DRC’s second city and the centre of its mining industry.
How many territories does Haut-Katanga have?
Six: Kambove, Kasenga, Kipushi, Mitwaba, Pweto and Sakania. It also has four cities — Lubumbashi, Likasi, Kasumbalesa and Kipushi.
What language is spoken in Haut-Katanga?
Swahili is the everyday lingua franca. French is official, and Kisanga, Kiluba, Bemba and Chokwe are spoken locally.
What is Haut-Katanga known for?
Copper and cobalt. It forms part of the Central African Copperbelt, with mines and refineries at Kipushi, Kambove and Likasi.
Which countries border Haut-Katanga?
Only Zambia, along the province’s southern and eastern edge, with the busiest crossing at Kasumbalesa.
What was Haut-Katanga before 2015?
It was the Haut-Katanga district of Katanga province, plus the independently run cities of Lubumbashi and Likasi.